Amon Amarth
Photo: M. Johansson

Ours is an age in which nobody buys records anymore, so when an underground band like Amon Amarth — Sweden's Viking overlords of metal — releases new material, and that album manages to debut within Billboard's coveted top 50, people take notice. And when you release a blood-drenched video, depicting the violent pillaging of a small village, people also take notice.

While they've been a band for more than 15 years, it seems people are finally paying attention to Amon Amarth. Earlier this month, their latest studio set, Twilight of the Thunder God, sold more than 11,400 copies and entered the Billboard top 200 at #48 — besting the sales of such established mainstream artists as Tina Turner, Faith Hill, T.I. and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello's solo project, the Nightwatchman — and no one was more shocked about that than frontman Johan Hegg.

"I think we were all actually kind of surprised we'd reached that high," he told MTV News last week; since the album's release, Twilight of the Thunder God has sold close to 25,000 copies, which, for a metal act, is quite an accomplishment. "We're happy we did, and I think one of the key elements that contributed to [the high debut], obviously, is building a fanbase. That's what we've been doing all these years as we've steadily grown as a band. The fact that we've had a couple of successful tours in the U.S. has helped, and the fact that this record actually is really good didn't hurt."

By now, Amon Amarth's fans know what to expect from the band: albums that focus on Norse mythology, the Viking age and the pre-Christian world. For Hegg, these are topics he's been fascinated with since his childhood, and themes that will no doubt saturate the band's future efforts.

"I've been interested in Vikings from the first time I read about them in school when I was 10 years old, so it's always been there for me," he said. "It's become almost like a mentality and a way to be that I think really fits my personality well and speaks to me in a good way. Vikings are misunderstood. They were very sophisticated people. Some people think they were brutal savages who just raped and killed, but that's not quite true. Obviously, they did stuff like that as well — but those were the days. That's what people did in those days, whether you were a pagan Viking or a Christian. But there's a certain code of ethics and a certain way of thinking that really appeals to me within the Viking heritage and history and mythology."

Not too long ago, Amon Amarth took over the old Viking site of Jomsborg, home of the Jomsvikings in Wolin, Poland, to shoot a video for the album's title track with director Dariusz Szermanowicz behind the lens. The band was forced to edit the clip twice because the original was too gory for public display.

"It's a pretty brutal story, actually," Hegg explained. "We did two versions because we knew no one would play it. It's a pretty bloody story. It's about a Viking raid on a village, so it's pretty simple and straight to the point, metaphorically talking about the lyrics in the song. It's hard to take for some people; there were blood splatters on the camera and stuff like that."

The band, fresh from wrapping a U.S. tour, will be heading overseas this week for the launch of this year's Unholy Alliance III Tour, which runs through November 27 in Helsinki and also features Slayer, Trivium and Mastodon. Hegg said the band plans to return to the U.S. in early '09 and would be open to playing one of the summer's traveling festivals. But don't expect to hear new music from Amon anytime soon.

"We're a band that put a record out, tour and tour until we drop, and then we start thinking about writing new material," he said. "We've never been good at writing on the road. Of course, you can get some ideas, but actually, writing songs on the road has never been our strong point."

The rest of the week's metal news:

According to Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato, the band is currently writing material for its next album, which it plans on recording in 2009. The band, he said, will also be playing several "random" gigs early next year, with a few possible for later this year. We'll keep you posted once those dates are official. ...

Isis have booked studio time for November, when they'll start recording their fifth full-length. Expect that set to be in stores sometime in early 2009. The band revealed that Joe Barresi (Tool, Kyuss) will be tracking the disc. "We could not be luckier than to have the one and only Evil Joe Barresi to be at the engineering helm," the band commented. "It's going to be great to have him on board, and [we] can't wait to hear the results." ...

Texas' own the Sword will be headlining a slew of off-dates, while on tour with Metallica. They've scheduled more than 20 gigs, the first being in Minneapolis on October 27. For a full list of dates, swing by the band's MySpace page. ...

Is a full-on reunion in defunct Brooklyn metal act Candiria's future? According to guitarist John Lamacchia, perhaps. In an online posting, he wrote that, while it's unlikely the band's fabled seventh LP, Kiss the Lie, will ever see commercial release, "There has been talk of new recordings, new ideas, possibly new releases in the not-so-distant future. Expect the unexpected, but expect to be pleasantly surprised. Stay tuned, folks. We are back on track ... officially." ...

Exodus have scheduled a batch of off-date shows in 2009 that will take place during the band's upcoming tour with Kreator; Warbringer have signed on as direct support. The first of the shows is set for March 28 in Reno, Nevada, and dates are scheduled through May 24 in Lubbock, Texas.

• Amon Amarth
• The Vikings
• The Sword

The Sword
Photo: Kemado Records

Back in fall 2006, the Sword — who, at that time, were just a retro-metal four-piece out of Austin, Texas, who were trying to spread the word about their doom-chord-thick debut, Age of Winters — were on tour in Canada with Trivium, when out of nowhere, they were approached by an ominous man, claiming to be the brother of Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach.

Of course, they reacted like most folks would in the face of lame, has-been name-dropping. Still, they humored the man and decided to chat him up.

"He tells us that he was hanging out with [Metallica drummer] Lars [Ulrich] and that he loved our record," recalled bassist Bryan Richie. "We just sort of laughed it off, and after that, as a joke, we just started putting Lars on the guest list each night. We figured, 'If he does like our record, maybe he'll show up wherever we're at.' "

But Lars never showed, and the inside joke lived on. That's until the Trivium tour took the Sword to San Francisco's Slim's. "We were shocked, because he actually showed up to see us," Richie continued. "It was crazy. He totally just wanted to hang with us. He didn't necessarily care about watching Trivium." And really, who could blame him?

Ulrich wanted to talk shop with the Sword, but, since Trivium had taken all the club's dressing rooms, the boys snatched up a couple of bar stools and escorted the file-sharing detractor to a shadowy back alley. "That's where we kicked it with Lars," the bassist explained. "We're talking, and Lars goes, 'We're going to take you guys on tour.' And I'm just like, 'Sure. This is one hell of an ego inflator, but I'll believe it when I'm on it.' "

In July, following their appearance at this year's Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 12, the Sword will, indeed, be heading out with Metallica and Down for a seven-gig European tour, which launches July 16 in Bergen, Norway. "It's pretty mind-blowing," Richie enthused.

For a little-known band, signed to an independent label, the Sword have certainly come a long way since forming back in 2003. They've released two critically lauded LPs, 2006's Age of Winters and 2008's Gods of the Earth, and may even participate in this summer's Ozzfest (when asked if his band had been approached for the heavy-metal festival, Richie demurred, saying, "I don't really know that I'm at liberty to talk about that").

Sales of Gods of the Earth — which was released earlier this month and, had it not been for time constraints, would have featured guest appearances by Lamb of God's Mark Morton and Clutch's Mick Schauer — have been better than you'd imagine. The record debuted at #102 on Billboard's Top 200, selling more than 7,500 copies, and last week, it fell to #145, selling around 5,000 units.

"It's insane what writing some badass songs will do for your career," Richie joked.

While the Sword's J.D. Cronise wrote the majority of Age of Winters on his own, over the course of four years, Gods of the Earth was a group effort, from beginning to end — an effort wrought with the pressures most bands face while trying to evade that "sophomore slump."

"It went from one very large contributing member to four contributing members," Richie said. "We all brought ideas to the table, and even though the general parts for the first record were written by J.D., there were a lot of things that were fleshed out in the studio. Each member was able to put his own spin on those tracks. This time, it was much more of a group experience. They were both a labor of love to make and get finished, and I feel the same way when I listen to both of them. These are two really good albums that don't necessarily sound alike.

"We could have played out the whole 'every song in the key of C' thing, and done another record like Age of Winters," he added. "But we didn't want to. All along, I had the confidence that, whatever record we were going to make, it wasn't going to suck to us. That's really what matters — putting something out you really believe in."

Now that they've got two albums under their belt, and a glorious opening slot on Metallica's upcoming tour, the Sword — who will be out with Slough Feg and Children through April 29 in Oklahoma City — can now concentrate on what really matters: investigating the smoking habits of extraterrestrials.

"We're trying to find out if aliens smoke [marijuana]," Richie explained. "We're really trying to get to the bottom of that one, and that's why we feel our shows in Lubbock, Texas [on April 14], and Albuquerque, New Mexico [on April 15], were canceled — because we have been thumbing around and trying to figure out if aliens do smoke the kind. I'm guessing they're not stoked and not looking to be had just yet."

Richie said that the guys' gig in New Mexico was nixed after the club they were supposed to play at burned to the ground, and the Texas date was canceled after police busted the joint for serving alcohol to its underage patrons.

"[The aliens] went so far as burning down the club in Albuquerque and informed the police that Jake's in Lubbock had been selling booze to children," the bassist explained. "I'm just going to go ahead and assume it was the aliens, because I think we know too much."

The rest of the week's metal news:

It's been little more than two weeks since Velvet Revolver sent frontman Scott Weiland packing, and guitarist Slash is still running his mouth about the split. During a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine, Slash said that Weiland's dismissal was a long time coming. "[Scott] didn't know that we were already planning on extraditing him," the guitarist said. "When we started touring the second record, it just felt like we were losing Scott, as far as our connection went. We basically didn't speak a word [during the band's recent U.K. tour]. We gave him the cold shoulder like nobody's business. There were a couple of arguments around the stage, but other than that, nobody spoke to him. I imagine he was quite uncomfortable." Slash, who spent years alongside Axl Rose in Guns N' Roses, said the band is looking forward to finding Weiland's replacement. "At least people know what we're doing — they know we're a rock-and-roll band and that we're successful enough that you're going to have to be on your game if you're going to hook up with us," he said. "I just want to find this guy so we can write some songs." ...

Following the recent departure of bassist Todd Evans, Gwar have announced the return of Casey Orr to his "Beefcake the Mighty" role. Guitarist Balsac the Jaws of Death said fans will get their first chance to see Orr's return this May, when the band heads out on a brief tour of the Midwest and East Coast. No dates for the trek have been released yet. Evans left Gwar so he could focus full-time on his band Mobile Deathcamp, which, rumor has it, will serve as direct support for Green Jellÿ's upcoming summer jaunt. ... Divine Heresy, featuring former Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares, have been added to the lineup for this year's New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. If you can't make it up to Worcester, Massachusetts, you can catch the Heresy this May, on tour with Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity and Firewind. ...

Gwen Stacy were struck with some bad luck recently in Los Angeles, when nearly $3,000 was pilfered from their van. "We stopped at [a] grocery store to get some food and just to get out of the van for a little bit," the band said in a statement. "After being inside for close to 10 minutes, we came out, [and] we noticed our driver's-side window was busted out. We found that our cash box was stolen." Needless to say, the band's in a tight spot — but rather than establish a PayPal account and beg for donations, the Christian metallers ask only that "you keep us in your thoughts and prayers." Or maybe you could go see the band live and buy some merch. Check the band's MySpace page for a complete list of dates. ... The pride of Brazilian death metal, Krisiun, are hard at work on their next LP with producer Andy Classen (Rotting Christ). The still-untitled effort is slated for release this summer, and when more information about the record is released, we'll bring it to you here. ...

Canadian prog-metallers What's He Building In There? have lost two guitarists — Christopher Cookson and David Halk — and replaced them with another. Mason Tikl will be taking over guitar duties, and Aiden Stevenson has joined the band as its new bassist. The band's self-titled debut hit stores last year, and already, the boys are working on new material, they said in a statement. ... Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky will soon hit the studio to begin tracking their debut offering for Nuclear Blast. The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry is being produced by former Death guitarist James Murphy and could be in stores as early as fall. ... Duck Duck Goose have inked a deal with Warcon Entertainment. The newcomers have posted a new track, "Sgt. Slaughter," on their MySpace page. The song appears on the band's forthcoming LP, Noise, Noise and More Noise.

• Metallica
• The Sword
• Velvet Revolver
• Divine Heresy

Daughters
Photo: Hydra Head Records

Daughters frontman A.S.F. Marshall (or Lex, to fans of the intense, Rhode Island noisecore artisans) doesn't care if you like his band, or if you get offended by the fact that he likes to disrobe mid-gig and hock loogies at the audience. In fact, he's a rather sullen dude. The one thing that seems to brighten his churlish mood is Daughters' forthcoming album, Hell Songs, in stores Tuesday.

Why's that? Well, for the last three years, his band's been playing the same 10 tunes — all of them from Daughters' 2003 debut, Canada Songs. So this fall, when the crafters of cacophonic chaos hit the road, Marshall won't be so bored.

"We've been rehearsing, and it feels so much better to be playing the new stuff," the singer said. "There are a couple of old songs we've been playing, but I don't even want to deal with them."

Of course, several of those fans who do turn out for Daughters' tour with Red Sparowes — which will commence August 12 with an album-release soiree in Providence — might want to hear some of that older material. And sure, Daughters will be blasting out a couple of those tracks during their sets — much to Marshall's chagrin. It took Daughters three years to get around to writing fresh material, and the singer blamed turnover for Hell Songs' delay.

"We spent a lot of time on tour, and whenever we'd get home, someone would leave the band," he said. "So, we had to fix all that and find people who would stick around. Every time we had a chance to write, we'd spend the time teaching someone else all this old crap. That was a bit of a problem. But we have people now who don't want to leave, so that's good."

With Hell Songs, Marshall tried to convince the rest of Daughters — which formed in 2001 and rose from the ashes of As the Sun Sets — that longer is better. "I was pushing them to make the songs a bit longer, which I think we all wanted to do," he said. "It's boring playing short songs over and over again." The average length of the tunes on Canada Songs is about a minute and 20 seconds, with the shortest track running 34 seconds long. On Hell Songs, the average is about a minute and 50 seconds, with one track lasting six minutes.

"It's boring playing for 30 seconds, then you stop, then you play another 30 seconds — it's stupid," he continued. "I couldn't stand doing it any more. The only goal I had with this record was to make it longer. But as far as what kind of music we were going to write, we weren't trying to top ourselves. It just came out naturally. I was listening to a lot of gospel stuff — like old '30s, '40s gospel music. The lyrics are about hell, Jesus, sex, death, fire — whatever. I don't know what people want to hear, and I don't give a sh--. I don't expect anything — I don't listen to new music, because I don't want to. I have no hopes of anything good happening in music at all, other than us. We're probably the only good thing out there anymore.

"We get together and we write what we want to play," he continued. "We don't try to sound like this or that or whatever. I'm not going to stop screaming because so-and-so is popular. I don't give a damn. ... I don't know if we fit in anywhere. All the bands I like are broken up or someone's dead."

Daughters will be on tour with Red Sparowes through September 19 in Austin, Texas, and will team up with Pelican and Nachtmystium the following day in Denton, Texas, for seven shows — the last being on September 30 in Seattle. Marshall said the band will play several shows this fall with Since by Man too, but that trek's still be worked out. You can see also catch Daughters at the 10th annual Dirt Fest in Birch Run, Michigan, on August 19, along with the Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, the Black Dahlia Murder and Fear Before the March of Flames.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Danzig have shot a video for "Crawl Across Your Killing Floor," which appears on the band's forthcoming Lost Tracks of Danzig LP. The two-disc set of unreleased Danzig material should surface in November. ... Possibly the only sludge-metal band armed with two drummers — Savannah, Georgia's Kylesa — will release their third album, Time Will Fuse Its Worth, on Halloween. Tracks include "What Becomes an End," "Hollow Severer," "Identity Defined" and "Where the Horizon Unfolds." Kylesa will preview some of the new material on a short tour that begins August 11 in Philadelphia and runs through August 17 in Richmond, Virginia. ... Full Blown Chaos have dropped off the upcoming Hell on Earth Tour, a European run that features God Forbid, Cataract and Maroon on the bill. "Unfortunately we had to pull out of the Hell on Earth Tour in Europe. There was a complication with our plane tickets," reads a post on the band's Web site. Instead, the boys will head out with Scars of Tomorrow starting September 1 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with dates running through September 17 in West Hollywood, California. ... More dates have been rolled out for DragonForce's upcoming tour with All That Remains and Horse the Band. The tour will hit Los Angeles (September 8); San Francisco (September 9); Portland, Oregon (September 11); Seattle (September 13); Boise, Idaho (September 15); Salt Lake City (September 16); Cincinnati (September 22); Detroit (September 23); Worcester, Massachusetts (September 28); New York (September 29); Tempe, Arizona (October 5); and San Diego (October 6). ...

Doomy Columbus, Ohio, noisemakers Teeth of the Hydra have recorded their first disc since their 2002 full-length debut, We Are the Fantasy. The new album, Greenland, is scheduled for release September 19 and includes "Sawing Through the Ice," "The Garden of Rotten Teeth" and "Purgatorium." ... Canadian melodic-thrash band Threat Signal's guitarist Rich Howard has quit the band to pursue "other life goals," according to a post on the band's Web site. His final show will be August 29 in Windsor, Ontario. Afterward, bassist Marco Bressette will take over on guitar. The band is currently seeking a new bassist for their tour with Soilwork and Mnemic, which starts October 5 in Springfield, Virginia. Requirements: "A dude who can slay a bass like a guitar, must use a pick, have professional gear, willing (and able!) to tour the world and make Threat Signal top priority." Interested applicants should write to threatsignal@hotmail.com. Threat Signal's debut, Under Reprisal — which was produced by Fear Factory's Christian Olde Wolbers — comes out August 22. ... "The Wolf Is Loose" will serve as the first single off Mastodon's forthcoming album Blood Mountain, which drops September 12. The band plans to shoot a video for the track within the next week or so. ... Having performed Deep Purple's signature tune "Smoke on the Water" for decades, the band's singer Ian Gillan is giving other folks a shot by launching a contest in which fans can submit their own versions of the track over the Internet. Participants in the Smoke This contest should upload their version to Gillan's Web site. Winners will be chosen in best vocal and best Guitar categories. First-place winners in each will be flown to Las Vegas, where they will perform the song onstage with Gillan on September 17 at the House of Blues. A separate contest category enables bands to submit their rendition of the song for a chance to win $2,500 in music gear. The contest ends August 27. All winners will be chosen September 4. ...

Scandinavian metal legends Dark Funeral and Enslaved will launch the Candlelight II: Phoenix Rising tour January 9 with Abigail Williams. Shows run through February 4 and exact dates will be announced soon. The concerts will mark Dark Funeral's first North American visit since 2002. "Since we announced the first European tour dates for our latest album Attera Totus Sanctus earlier this year, there has been a constant and completely overwhelming flow of [e-mails] from the U.S. and Canada asking when the hell we will tour North America," guitarist Lord Ahriman said. "It'll be killer to finally return overseas." Added Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjornson: "I have awaited this moment since I don't know when. You won't be disappointed; neither will we." ... The Sword have shot a video for "Freya" from their acclaimed self-titled debut, which came out in February. The Texan doomsters worked on the clip with director Barnaby Roper, who has previously shot videos with alternative bands Razorlight and OK Go. The band's further revealed that it'll be one of the support acts on Trivium's upcoming North American headliner this fall. No dates for the trek have been announced. ... Oregon's arty Agalloch will release their new album, Ashes Against the Grain, on Tuesday, but fans who want a sneak preview can hear the entire disc streaming on mp3.com. Agalloch recently shot a video for "Not Unlike the Waves" with director Nicole Phillips and cinematographers Richard Stark and Juan Mosqueda.

For more metal madness, check out our feature "The Greatest Metal Bands Of All Time."

• Daughters
• Dark Funeral
• Dragonforce
• Kylesa
• Full Blown Chaos

• The Sword

Matchbook Romance's <i>Voices</i>
Photo: Epitaph

They Heart Loud Music: Matchbook Romance and Bullet for My Valentine must have known there'd be so few Valentine's Day-related releases dropping Tuesday.

Matchbook were farm-bound for their second effort, tracking their Voices in a supposedly haunted barn (aren't they all?) in rural Massachusetts. While fans wise enough to preorder were rewarded with free tees, everyone will be able to sharpen their wiseassery with songs like "You Can Run, but We'll Find You," "Goody, Like Two Shoes" and "Singing Bridges (We All Fall)."

Bullet for My Valentine's brand of loud rock is more of the metal variety, and with "Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow," "All These Things I Hate" and "4 Words (To Choke Upon)," The Poison might be a tough swallow for some. Preorders were packed with a color poster and candies (for the sweethearts), although everyone will be treated to some enhanced goodies on the proper release. (Don't miss instru-metal greats Apocalyptica on the intro track.)

This Bossa Nova's Boss: Is anything possible with a Pea behind the decks? Sergio Mendes will soon find out as he attempts a Carlos Santana-style makeover with Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am. Even though Mendes is largely responsible for importing bossa nova to America, Timeless — his first set of new material in eight years — is more of an urban affair, jacked up with guest spots by Justin Timberlake, John Legend, the Peas, Stevie Wonder, Jill Scott and many more.

Ghettopoly: Even though his grandfather was one of the Drifters, Jaheim is busy trying to make his own classics — Ghetto Classics, that is. He nabbed white-hot producers Scott Storch, KayGee and Bink for his latest outing (although he does twiddle some of the knobs himself). And yup, that's Jadakiss siding with Jaheim on the first single, "Everytime I Think About Her." This title should fit comfortably alongside Jaheim's previous efforts, Ghetto Love and Still Ghetto.

Tori's Story: Still trying to catch your breath after the 12-disc Original Bootlegs box Tori Amos put out late last year? If so, you might not be prepared for another comprehensive item, "Fade to Red: Video Collection," which recaps everything from "Crucify" — the first track on her 1992 solo debut, Little Earthquakes — to "Sweet the Sting" from last year's Beekeeper. (Don't miss two bonus clips — a remixed "Professional Window" and the U.K. version of "Cornflake Girl" — that appear at the end of disc two.)

Song Title Of The Week:

"If I Drop Names of Exotic Towns That You'll Never See, in the Songs That I Write, It's That That's All I Have When I Miss My Girl & You're Taking Yours Home Tonight" on Luke Doucet's Broken (and Other Rogue States)

Other Notables:

Various artists' I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey and Fahey's The Yellow Princess reissue: Although many had written him off as another folk fogy, John Fahey is getting a posthumous shot in the arm from some of indie rock's finest: Sufjan Stevens, Calexico, Devendra Banhart, M. Ward, the Fruit Bats, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Granddaddy. Also this week — to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Fahey's death and the 40th anniversary of his signing with Vanguard — the label is brushing up 1968's The Yellow Princess with three bonus tracks and fresh liner notes.

The Sword's Age of Winters: Not to be confused with the Swords Project, Da Swordzmen, Two Lone Swordsmen or the other metal bands that have also taken up the sharp moniker, the Austin, Texas, outfit is stepping up to the plate for the first time with a nine-track maiden release. Conrad Keely of Austin buddies ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead — who took the Sword on the road in early 2004 — embellishes the Age of Winters cover with some magical sketches, sure to make the LP version even more illustrious.

The Veronicas' The Secret Life of ... the Veronicas: If you don't have someone to smooch with this Valentine's Day, you might want to pucker up with the Veronicas — their debut cover's covered with kisses. Unlike Tegan and Sara, these 20-year-old identical twins are decidedly more pop; for their debut, they've brainstormed with writers and producers who have previously teamed with Britney, Madonna and Kelly Clarkson.

Shawn Mullins' 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor: Somewhat akin to Sonic Youth putting out an album the site of their studio, which was devastated in the 9/11 attacks (Murray Street), Shawn Mullins has titled his latest after the New Orleans studio that used to be located right near the levee on Dauphine Street. Needless to say, some of the songs — "Beautiful Wreck" (the first single, co-written with Glenn Phillips), "Solitaire" and even Mullins' cover of "The House of the Rising Sun" — have a much different resonance now than originally intended.

New Releases:

• Carlos Barbosa-Lima - Carioca (Zoho)
• Batagraf/ Jon Balke - Statements (ECM)
• Stefano Battaglia - Raccolto (ECM)
• The Beautiful Girls - We're Already Gone (Cornerstone)
• Elliott Brood - Ambassador (Six Shooter)
• Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison (enhanced; Trustkill)
• Béla Fleck & the Flecktones - Hidden Land (Columbia)
• Agnes Chan - Forget Yourself (Bungalo)
• Luke Doucet - Broken (and Other Rogue States) (Six Shooter)
• Frog Holler - Haywire (ZoBird)
• Iro Haarla - Northbound (ECM)
• Jaheim - Ghetto Classics (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Ghetto Classics (Warner Bros.)
• Lil G - The Southside Way (Thump)
• The Lucky Tomblin Band - In a Honky-Tonk Mood (Texas World)
• Magnet - The Tourniquet (Filter)
• Paul Manousos - For Better or Worse (Shock and Fall)
• Matchbook Romance - Voices (Epitaph)
  Read: "Matchbook Romance Declare War On Cheesy Music With Voices"
  Buy Now: Voices (Epitaph)
• Sergio Mendes - Timeless (Concord)
  Read: "Will.I.Am Wants To Pull A Rick Rubin With Sergio Mendes, Macy Gray"
• Jeff Merchant - Window Rolled Down (True Classical)
• Mountain Heart - Wide Open (Skaggs Family)
• Shawn Mullins - 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor (Vanguard)
  Buy Now: 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor (Vanguard)
• National Eye - Roomful of Lions (Park the Van)
• New Radiant Storm King - The Steady Hand (Darla)
• Terje Rypdal - Vossabrygg (ECM)
• Sing-Sing - Sing-Sing & I (Aerial)
• Sissel - Into Paradise (Decca)
• Tyler Stephenson - Life (LmgKidSource)
• The Subways - Young for Eternity (Sire/Warner Bros.)
• The Sword - Age of Winters (Kemado)
  Buy Now: Age of Winters (Kemado)
• Three Fantastic - Three Fantastic (Dot Point Period)
• Toto - Falling in Between (Frontiers)
• April Verch - Take Me Back (Rounder)
• The Veronicas - The Secret Life of ... the Veronicas (Sire/Warner Bros.)

Read: "You Hear It First: The Veronicas"
Buy Now: The Secret Life of ... the Veronicas (Sire/Warner Bros.)
• Watermelon Slim and the Workers - The Coolest New Name in Blues (Northern Blues)
• Various artists - I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey (Vanguard)
• Various artists - "Firewall" soundtrack (Varèse)
• Various artists - "Tsotsi" soundtrack (Milan)

Notable Reissues And Archival Material:

• Cannonball Adderley - Spontaneous Combustion (Savoy Jazz)
• Burt Bacharach - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O)
• Bad Company - Bad Company (gold disc; Audio Fidelity)
• Etta Baker - Traditional Years: Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians (Empire Musicwerks)
• Miles Davis - Out of Nowhere (Savoy Jazz)
• Doris Day - The Love Album (Feinery)
• John Fahey - The Yellow Princess (Vanguard)
• Red Garland Trio - At the Prelude (two CDs; Prestige)
• Freddie King - Live at the Electric Ballroom, 1974 (Shout! Factory)
• Los Lobos - The Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos (Rhino)
• Liza Minnelli - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O)
• Charlie Parker - Now's the Time (Savoy Jazz)
• Django Reinhardt - An Introduction to Django Reinhardt (Fuel 2000)
• Nina Simone - Broadway-Blues-Ballads, High Priestess of Soul, I Put a Spell on You, Let It All Out, Pastel Blues and Wild Is the Wind (Verve)
• Talking Heads - Little Creatures, Naked, Speaking in Tongues and "True Stories" soundtrack (DualDiscs; Rhino)
• Various artists - A Tribute to Nicolette Larson: Lotta Love Concert (Rhino)
• Various artists - The Best of the 80's Reloaded (Water)
• Various artists - Constellation: The Brightest Stars of Jazz (Savoy Jazz)

DVDs:

• Tori Amos - "Fade to Red: Video Collection" (Rhino)
  Read: "Tori Amos Assembles A Valentine's Day Gift For Her Fans"
• The Moody Blues - "Lovely to See You: Live" (Image Entertainment)

February 21:

• Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Domino)
  Read: "You Hear It First: Arctic Monkeys"
• Ray Davies - Other People's Lives (V2)
• William Orbit - Hello Waveforms (Sanctuary)

February 28:

• Hawthorne Heights - If Only You Were Lonely (Victory)
• Kid Rock - Live Trucker (Atlantic)
• Ne-Yo - In My Own Words (Def Jam)
  Read: You Hear It First: Jay-Z's Picks

March 7:

• Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas (V2)
• Juvenile - Reality Check (Atlantic)
• Matisyahu - Youth (Epic)

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• Matchbook Romance
• Tori Amos
• Jaheim
• The Sword
• The Veronicas

Sepultura
Photo: Roadrunner

When guitarist Andreas Kisser sat down more than a year and a half ago to start working on the forthcoming album by Brazilian heavy-metallers Sepultura, he wanted to find "a strong source of inspiration" to help shape the songs he'd be crafting for the effort.

"We've done many soundtracks for films in Brazil, so we thought about picking up a movie or a book to be inspired by," Kisser explained. "We thought about 'A Clockwork Orange,' a few other things," he said. But then the guitarist picked up a copy of Dante's "The Divine Comedy" and a few pages in "was blown away. It's a f---ing strong story and very rich in detail. It's very human."

Kisser says Sepultura's 11-track Dante XXI — which hits stores March 14 — will make the perfect soundtrack to Dante's book. "We read the book and started making a parallel between the book and today," Kisser said. "It was very inspiring for the music, the lyrics, the artwork, everything. The album is divided too — the first five songs [including 'Dark Wood of Error,' 'Convicted in Life' and 'Fighting On'] represent [Dante's travels through] hell, and the next five songs [like 'Ostia,' 'Buried Words' and 'Repeating the Horror'] represent purgatory."

The album's closing track, "Still Flame," signifies paradise. "It's a song that's totally different than anything we've ever done," Kisser said. "It sounds more like Massive Attack."

Kisser — who was in Los Angeles last week to record his contribution to the forthcoming album from Asesino, a band that features former Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares and Static-X bassist Tony Campos — is also preparing his first solo album. "I've been working on it for the past three years," he said. "It will be a double album — the first [disc] will be related to the electric guitar, with different musicians, and the second will be acoustic. I'm taking my time with it, and it should be out by the end of this year, [although] nothing's set. It won't be a masturbation guitar album; it will explore different tones, different guitars and different instrumentation."

Like any metalhead worth his salt, Kisser said he's heard all the rumors about Sepultura reuniting with founding member and current Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera for a spot on this summer's Ozzfest. He's even heard the one that involves the band's "plans" to perform three different sets from the main stage — one featuring Soulfly material, a second of just Roots and Chaos A.D. tracks, and the last consisting of songs off Dante XXI. But at this point he said they're nothing more than rumors, period.

"Nothing is really set," he said. "We need to go on tour with this new album, but nothing's set. There's a lot of talking going on, but nothing's being done as far as I know. A lot of people are working for these things to happen, but so far nothing's going on. People are excited to hear that there's a possibility for us to get back [together], and it would be cool to play with Max again, to jam together. It would be great and it's cool to see that everyone thinks it's a good idea. The way I see it is, if you do this sh--, we're only going to do stuff that we recorded up to Roots and hopefully maximize — do a DVD or something. I haven't talked to Max [about a reunion]. So far it's just really rumors — which is a start."

The rest of the week's metal news:

More details have emerged about Iron Maiden's long-awaited "Death on the Road" triple-DVD set, which will come out February 21. The first two discs feature a full set from a show at Westfalenhalle Arena in Dortmund, Germany, in December 2003. Tracks include "Wrathchild," "The Trooper," "Rainmaker" and "Paschendale." The third disc includes two documentaries on the band, "Life on the Road" and "Death on the Road," interviews with fans and videos for "Rainmaker" and "Wildest Dreams." Iron Maiden released the live double-CD Dance of Death last year. ... Fans waiting to hear Dimebag Darrell's posthumous guitar playing on the upcoming Rebel Meets Rebel will have to wait a little longer — the album's been bumped from April 4 to May 2. The disc, a metal-country hybrid recorded between 1999 and 2002, features country-music maverick David Allan Coe, Dime and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul and bassist Rex Brown. Tracks include "Nothin' to Lose," "No Compromise," "Rebel Meets Rebel" and "One Night Stand." ... Madball, Zao, Remembering Never, Scarlet and the Banner will help hardcore and metalcore label Ferret celebrate its first decade of existence on the Under the Gun Tour. The festivities kick off March 14 in Cleveland and run through April 5 in Tempe, Arizona. The headliner will rotate every night and additional opening bands will be announced in the days ahead. ... Jawsh Mullen has left Denver's Cephalic Carnage, trading in his bass for the books. "I have decided to retire from the road," he wrote in a post on the band's Web site. "This has not been an easy decision to make, trust me — however, where I want to be in 10 years requires sacrifice. I'm gonna go back to school. But right now I have to work and save to get there." Mullen's last gig with the band is set for February 24 at Denver's 3 Kings Tavern. Cephalic are in need of a bassist — e-mail them at info@cephaliccarnage.net for details. ...

As I Lay Dying's out-of-print Pluto Records releases will be reissued in May as one disc. It will contain the band's debut, Beneath the Encasing of Ashes, along with As I Lay's half of a split they did with American Tragedy. The record will also feature a revamped version of "Reinvention." ... The out-of-print 2003 tribute record Black on Black: A Tribute to Black Flag will be re-released March 14 with six extra tracks by newer artists Bleeding Through ("My War"), the Black Dahlia Murder ("I've Heard It Before"), Zao ("Black Coffee"), Remembering Never ("Spray Paint the Walls"), Most Precious Blood ("Rise Above") and Drowningman ("Loose Nut"). Highlights resurfacing include Converge's take on "Annihilate This Week," Coalesce's cover of "Jealous Again" and the Dillinger Escape Plan's version of "Damaged." ... Through the Eyes of the Dead have replaced Bullet for My Valentine on the upcoming Children of Bodom tour, which kicks off March 18 in New Haven, Connecticut. In related news, both Bullet for My Valentine and Trivium have been confirmed for this year's Download Festival bill; the three-day fest is set for June 9 through June 11 in England's Donington Park. ... Emperor frontman Ihsahn is nearly done with his debut solo record, The Adversary, tentatively scheduled for release April 18. The enigmatic Norwegian wrote all the songs for the album, which he recorded at Symphonique Studios in Norway. Ihsahn also played all the instruments on the disc, except drums, for which he recruited Borknagar member Asgeir Mickelson. "He has been the perfect drummer for this album," Ihsahn said in a statement. "He has really brought to life the patterns I programmed in pre-production." ... The Sword kicked off their U.S. tour with Priestess and Early Man February 1 in Philadelphia. Dates run through March 11 in Hoboken, New Jersey. ...

Exodus will head out on a U.S. headlining tour that begins in Concord, California, April 15. Dates run through May 19 in San Francisco, with Full Blown Chaos, Cryptopsy, the Classic Struggle, Suffocation and Immolation opening on various dates. The band will be Jamey Jasta's guest of honor Saturday night during MTV2's "Headbangers Ball." On a related note, Full Blown Chaos will enter New Jersey's Trax East Studios this month to record their next album, scheduled to drop sometime this summer. ... Swedish death-metal veterans Dismember will release their seventh full album, The God That Never Was, March 7. The disc was recorded at Dug Out Studios and produced by drummer Fred Estby. Tracks include "Shadows of the Mutilated," "Autopsy" and "Into the Temple of Humiliation." The band's entire back catalog was recently reissued with bonus tracks. ... Indiana Christian metalcore band Haste the Day have hired singer Stephen Keech to replace Jimmy Ryan, who left in November to pursue other ventures. Keech's first major outing with the band will be with Bleeding Through and Every Time I Die. Dates start February 11 in Reno, Nevada, and run through April 1 in Anaheim, California. Haste the Day will return to the rehearsal space in April to start writing material for their next album. Their second album, When Everything Falls, came out in June. ...

Melancholic Swedish doom-metal band Katatonia will release their seventh record, The Great Cold Distance, March 14. The album was recorded and mixed at Fascination Street in Orebro, Sweden, and co-produced by singer Jonas Renske, guitarist Anders Nystrom, Jens Bogren and David Castillo. Tracks include "Leaders," "Consternation," "Increase" and "My Twin." A single featuring two versions of "My Twin" and the B-sides "Displaced" and "Dissolving Bonds" will be released February 14, but will be available for download on Katatona.com starting February 6. Katatonia's last album was Viva Emptiness, which came out in 2003. ... Arkansas exploratory sludge-metal band Rwake are working on their next album, which is scheduled for release later this year. Titles include "The Lure of Light," "The Finality" and "Fire and Flight." The group's last disc, If You Walk Before You Crawl You Crawl Before You Die, came out in 2004. ... North Carolina gloom-metal band Daylight Dies will release their second disc, Dismantling Devotion, March 7. The follow-up to the band's 2002 debut No Reply, was mixed by Jens Bogren. Tracks include "A Life Less Lived," "Dead Air" and "All We Had." Daylight Dies will open for Emperor on their four U.S. reunion/farewell shows in July. ... Nerve Gas Tragedy have begun writing their second album. The band, which features ex-members of All Out War, will hit New Jersey's Big Blue Meenie Studios this spring to record the effort. Meanwhile the band's lined up 14 East Coast dates, spread out between February 3 in Middletown, New York, and June 4 at the Adams Aggressive Music Festival in Adams, Massachusetts.

• Iron Maiden
• Sepultura
• The Sword
• Dante

You Hear It First: The Sword Photos

• The Sword