Red Chord's Guy Kozowyk
Photo: MTV News

AUBURN, Washington — While most young metal acts would maim — maybe even kill — for a chance to spend their summer traveling the U.S. as part of Ozzfest, the Red Chord's Guy Kozowyk's sort of blithe about the whole situation.

Sure, he's excited about being on this summer's Ozzfest and appreciates his band being invited. But to him, it's no big deal — he's not nervous, like some of the other bands on the tour because, the way he sees it, Ozzfest is just another gig.

"Whatever," he said, when asked what was going through his head the morning before Ozzfest kicked off here. "Honestly, for us, it's just like another day at the office. It's definitely exciting. If you'd asked me a year ago if my band would ever be on Ozzfest, it's like, 'We're a death-metal/grindcore/whatever band — Ozzfest is never going to go for that.' And so it's definitely unexpected and definitely crazy, but at the same time, we've played over 800 shows. We've played backyards, we've played basements and we've played the Sounds of the Underground in front of thousands of people. We're ready for anything. As excited as we are, we're just going to go do what we always do."

Kozowyk, who runs his own label, Black Market Activities, knows that Ozzfest is perhaps the biggest tour his band will ever be on and has heard people talking about how beneficial a slot on the fest can be for a band like the Red Chord. But he's not letting it go to his head.

"People say Ozzfest can make or break a band, but for us, we're ready to get bigger and we're ready to go back if it comes down to it," he said. "We've played so many small shows, and we're so comfortable in the small environment, that if Ozzfest doesn't break us into the mainstream, we're ready to go back to playing VFWs and basements. We've had such a good time that it doesn't matter what happens on Ozzfest for us. We're going to just roll with it. If it comes down to us being the big Ozzfest success, that's great. We'll sell a bunch of records. But as soon as the metal/hardcore/extreme-music thing drops off, and it isn't making the Billboard charts anymore, we really don't care — whatever. We'll be happy selling 20,000 records and playing to a couple hundred kids a night. It doesn't matter to us.

"Our attitude has always been the Red Chord are normal people playing to normal people out in the crowd. We're not better or bigger than anyone," he continued. "It's intriguing to think that we can come out of this tour and be the biggest death-metal band to date, because I don't know that there's any real brutal death-metal bands that have done this in the past. I think if [death metal's] ever going to get big, this might be our only shot. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. We could care less."

The Red Chord's 2005 LP, Clients, was reissued last month with demo and live tracks, and Kozowyk said the band will settle into the writing process for its next album following Ozzfest and some more U.S. touring. He hopes to start recording the Chord's third disc, which they've already named Birdbath, early next year.

"We started naming songs but we haven't really written any songs yet," he explained. "We have a bunch of song titles ['I Am Not a Lawnmower,' 'The Robot From the Future,' 'Skin Beef' and 'The Brian Slagel Song,' to name a few], ideas and a bunch of parts, but we just don't have the actual songs done yet. We want to have a new record ready for next summer."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Want to hear Slayer's forthcoming album Christ Illusion before it lands in stores August 8? Well, if you live in or around Brooklyn, New York, you'll get a chance this weekend. Duff's Brooklyn, a bar in Williamsburg, will host a listening bash for the disc Saturday night. Look for the band to perform on "The Henry Rollins Show" on the Independent Film Channel July 29. ... Soulfly will tour this fall with Full Blown Chaos, Wicked Wisdom and Incite along for the ride. After an appearance August 17 in Tempe, Arizona, the band plans to return to the road on September 18 in San Diego. So far just seven dates have been announced, running through October 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. More gigs will be revealed in the coming weeks. ...Virginia extremists Arsis will hook up with Becoming the Archetype next month for a run of shows that'll keep them on the road through early September. Demiricous will open the first two gigs (August 18 in Madison, Wisconsin, and the following day in Indianapolis) and Ed Gein will lead things off on the remainder of the trek. Dates are scheduled through September 2 in Hinesville, Georgia. ...

Long Island, New York, hardcore outfit This Is Hell have parted ways with guitarist Joe Osolin. The band has not offered an explanation for his departure, stating only, "We wish him luck in the future." This Is Hell plan to carry on as a foursome for the remainder of their current tour with I Am the Avalanche and the Blackout Pact, and plan to enlist a replacement axeman in time for their August gigs, for which they'll be opening for the reunited Gorilla Biscuits. ... The Relapse Records-sponsored Contamination Tour, which this year boasts Unearthly Trance, Facedowninsh--, F--- the Facts, Jucifer, Buried Inside, Minsk and others, will launch September 2 in Philadelphia, with dates scheduled through October 1 in Middletown, Connecticut. ... Animosity's Evan Brewer and Look What I Did's Barry Donegan have teamed up for what they're describing as a "genre-bending" new side project. The guys have started working on material and hope to have an album's worth of songs ready to go by the middle of next year. The project will boast a number of surprise collaborators, but there's no word yet on what they'll be calling the project or what label will be releasing it. ...

Montreal stoner-rock enthusiasts Priestess will join Gwar and Suicide City next month for a week of shows, according to the band's Web site. The first stop's set for August 15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with dates running through August 21 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The band also revealed that it will be busy this fall "on a sweet package bill that [we] can't just yet divulge, but it's really sick." ... The Melvins have set A Senile Animal as the title of their forthcoming LP, which will be in stores October 10. Frontman Buzz Osborne said that he's "very pleased with the results" and "can't wait to play this stuff live." ... Isis will issue their first DVD, "Clearing the Eye," September 26. The release features live footage captured at New York's CBGB and West Hollywood's Troubadour, as well as a music video for "In Fiction," interactive photo galleries, a discography and a 20-page booklet. Isis, who will release their yet-untitled CD on Halloween, will tour this fall as the opening act on Tool's North American trek. ...

Some of the biggest names in modern and experimental metal drumming have contributed audio and video tracks to Drum Nation Volume 3, which comes out August 15. The CD and DVD package will include cuts by Lamb of God's Chris Adler, Shadows Fall's Jason Bittner, Killswitch Engage's Justin Foley, Dillinger Escape Plan's Chris Pennie, Unearth's Michael Justian and others. Musical styles range from ethereal soundscapes to blast-beat metal. The DVD also features additional footage shot in unusual settings: Bittner is interviewed while getting a tattoo; Soulfly's Joe Nunez answers questions from the dentist's chair; Candiria's Kenneth Schalk talks from a golf course and more. ... Massachusetts '80s thrash band Meliah Rage will release The Deep and Dreamless Sleep September 12. The disc will be the follow-up to their 2004 album, Barely Human, which marked their return following an eight-year recording hiatus. The new record was recorded at Danger Multitrack Studios in Providence, Rhode Island, and Sherwood Forest Recording Studios in Bedford, Massachusetts. Tracks include "Permanently Damaged," "Twisted Wreck," "Last of the Wanted" and "Undefeated." A video for the latter can be seen on the band's Web site. ...

Metalcore purists Caliban will launch a North American tour with the Acacia Strain September 8 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The Burning Season and Across Five Aprils will open until September 14 in Indianapolis, when Bloodlined Calligraphy and Too Pure to Die will start warming the crowd for the two main acts. Light This City and Stick to Your Guns will take over the early slots starting September 27 in Fresno, California, and will remain onboard until the final date: October 1 in West Hollywood, California. ... Gritty Syracuse, New York, quintet Brand New Sin will release their third album, Tequila, on October 3. The disc was recorded last fall at Method of Groove Studio in Brooklyn with producer Joey Z (Life of Agony, Stereomud). Type O Negative frontman Pete Steele appears on one track, "Reaper Man." Frontman Joe Altier said fans can expect a tougher, more immediate-sounding record than 2005's Recipe for Disaster, "We recorded this album live as a band, and we think it perfectly captures our raw energy," he said. "We feel that a lot of bands nowadays make things sound too polished, and we have been told for years that our albums are good but our live shows are much better, so that's what we went for." ...

Contemporary hardcore-metal savages Terror will release their third disc, Always the Hard Way, Tuesday. Zuess (Hatebreed , All That Remains) produced the disc. "The album turned out exactly how we wanted in terms of songwriting, recording, layout and lyrics," singer Scott Vogel said. "The final product is the most aggressive, fastest, hardest, heaviest thing we have ever done." ... Psychedelic sci-fi metal band Danava will release their self-titled debut on Halloween. The effect-laden disc was recorded and produced by Johnny Jewel and is reminiscent of early Monster Magnet crossed with Cream. Tracks include "Long Dance," "By the Mark," "Maudie Shook" and "Quiet Babies Astray in a Manger." ... Multicultural death-metal band Echoes of Eternity are in the studio working on their debut album with Los Angeles engineer Eric Ryan. Female singer Francine Boucher, who may be the hottest vixen in extreme metal since Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow, fronts the band. The band's album, due in 2007, will likely include "Gardens of the Gods," "Circles in Stone," "The Sacred Feminine" and "Expressions of Flesh." ... Defunct punk-metal pioneers Botch will release four new discs in the next year. The first, which comes out September 26, is a reissue of out-of-print 7-inch material, compilation cuts and other rarities called Unifying Themes Redux. The disc was originally released on Excursion Records in 2002, the year the band broke up. The 16 songs on the album include "God Vs. Science," "Contraction," "Leavers Take on Genesis" and "Liquored Up and Laid."

• The Red Chord
• Slayer
• Botch
• Terror

As I Lay Dying
Photo: MTV News

The second installment of the Sounds of the Underground Tour — which rivaled Ozzfest in its successful first year of existence — is set to launch July 8 in Cleveland and wrap on August 27 in Los Angeles. The organizers behind the traveling metal-and-hardcore circus have enlisted special guests to help bolster the lineup during three of the tour's 27 stops.

As I Lay Dying top the bill, which also features In Flames, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Gwar, Terror, the Black Dahlia Murder, Behemoth, the Chariot and Through the Eyes of the Dead (see "As I Lay Dying, In Flames Confirmed For Sounds Of The Underground").

The special guests include New England metal stalwarts Killswitch Engage (who'll perform only at the July 14 show in Mansfield, Massachusetts); Shadows Fall, It Dies Today and Still Remains (who will augment the bills in Mesa, Arizona, on July 26 and San Diego two days later); and hardcore champions Evergreen Terrace will hop on the Sounds express on July 19 and remain on board for the rest of the tour.

This summer's trek hits the road one week after this year's Ozzfest kicks off in San Francisco (see "System Of A Down, Disturbed To Headline Ozzfest").

The festival organizers are taking a different approach to this year's festival by having fewer bands on the bill and extending the set times for each group. Last year, most bands got no more than 30 minutes to play.

Presale tickets will be available starting April 11 but will officially go on sale April 15; more information on where concertgoers can score tickets is available at the Sounds of the Underground Web site.

The 2006 Sounds of the Underground tour dates, according to the festival's publicist:

• 7/8 - Cleveland, OH @ Plain Dealer Pavilion
• 7/9 - Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre parking lot
• 7/11 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
• 7/12 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
• 7/13 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid-Hudson Civic Center
• 7/14 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center parking lot
• 7/15 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
• 7/16 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 7/17 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
• 7/19 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
• 7/21 - Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theater
• 7/22 - Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Amphitheatre
• 7/23 - Selma, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre parking lot
• 7/26 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
• 7/27 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
• 7/28 - San Diego, CA @ TBA
• 7/29 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre Parking Lot
• 7/31 - Denver, CO @ City Lights Pavilion
• 8/2 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's Nightclub
• 8/3 - Sterling Heights, MI @ Freedom Hill Amphitheater
• 8/4 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
• 8/5 - St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
• 8/6 - Winnipeg, MB @ Convention Centre
• 8/7 - Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Center
• 8/8 - Edmonton, AB @ Northlands Agricom
• 8/10 - Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
• 8/12 - Universal City, CA @ Gibson Universal Amphitheatre

• As I Lay Dying
• Cannibal Corpse
• GWAR
• Terror
• The Black Dahlia Murder

SikTh
Photo: Bieler Bros. Records

There's a good chance you've haven't heard SikTh's brand of highly technical, forward-thinking noisecore — even though the British six-piece has released a pair of EPs, Let the Transmitting Begin ... and How May I Help You, as well as a proper full-length, 2003's The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild. That's because while SikTh's been around for more than four years, they've yet to release an album Stateside. Of course that's all about to change.

SikTh will release Death of a Dead Day in either January or February through Bieler Bros. Records; the band signed with the label, home to Nonpoint and Skindred, earlier this year. The album's in the mixing phase at this point, according to guitarist and pianist Dan Weller.

"Within the next fortnight, we should be done," he said. "It's been a long process. We stayed away from putting an album out in the States until we knew we'd have someone in the States who was worth working with and could support us."

SikTh — Weller, dual vocalists Mikee W. Goodman and Justin Hill, bassist James Leach, guitarist Pin and drummer Dan "Loord" Foord — sound like the Dillinger Escape Plan on fire. Or at least their earlier stuff sounded that way. It was almost comically chaotic.

"For me, Trees was quite gimmicky and had a jokey feel and a bit of a humorous edge," Weller explained. "I think that left a lot of people feeling, you know, 'Are they taking a piss? Are they winding us up? What are they trying to do here?' That's not the impression we wanted to put across. So we wanted to take a more mature, deadly serious approach this time. We're not playing around."

The end result is Death, which Weller says still has its melodic moments, but also houses huge, memorable riffs and complicated structures. "It grooves, too," he said. "Our goal is to make an album that can be put up there with the best metal albums made in the past 20 years. That's all we're doing this for. We're not writing our music to be second best. We want people to aspire to be as good as this and, although that sounds arrogant, we're totally approaching it from the angle that there isn't enough innovation going on in our genre. We're determined to show that there's still things that can be done, rhythmically and with melody, without sounding like someone else."

Weller said the band hasn't agreed on which of the album's 11 tracks will serve as the first single, but considers "Bland Street Bloom," "Flogging the Horses" and "Another Sinking Ship" to be strong contenders.

SikTh are looking forward to making a fresh start with Death more than anything else, Weller said. "When we first came out in the U.K., there was a hype, a buzz and a kind of excitement around the band. And a shock factor. So when you play for a while in a country, people become familiar with you, and you lose that, leaving you to just create music that's hopefully great. What's exciting about starting in the States is we're relatively unknown, so we have that potential to start fresh and shock people and blow people away.

"We see this record as a turning point for this style that we're playing. And maybe I'm far too confident and deluded, but we want this to be something where people go, 'Sh--, what's that? That is great,' " he continued. "I do believe there's a huge sort of metal fraternity out there who're satisfied by a lot of bands but are still not getting what they want. I don't want to be the arrogant pr--- who says we're going to give everybody what they really want, because we're probably not, I just think we're encapsulating so many things that so many bands don't risk encapsulating and I hope we get noticed for that. And if we don't, tough sh-- — we tried."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Cannibal Corpse will enter Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 7 to start recording their 10th LP; Erik Rutan (the Absence, Soilent Green) will produce. "We are doing everything we can to make sure it's the heaviest, most brutal one we've ever made," reads a post on the band's Web site. "We have 11 songs completed and if possible we'd like to write one or two more before entering the studio." ... Anthrax bassist Frankie Bello hosts MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" this Saturday. Throwdown will be this week's in-studio guests. ... Gwar have tapped DevilDriver, A Dozen Furies and Mensrea as the openers for their North American tour. The trek kicks off October 7 in Sayreville, New Jersey, and runs through November 11 in Seattle. ... New York hardcore metal band Cipher are looking for a new bassist to replace Mark Dollar, who had been in the band a little over a year but recently quit to pursue other ventures. Interested candidates should be at least 18 years old and be able to practice regularly in Western Long Island near Queens. Contact cipher@cipheronline.com for more information. ... Brazilian-American metal kingpins Soulfly and Orange County hardcore outfit Throwdown will tour together starting in October 12 in Fort Worth, Texas. Dates run through November 9 in Denver. ... That city's sardonic metalcore band Grace Gale will release their debut album, Few Easy Steps to Secure Heli-Camel Safety, on September 27. Tracks include "There's Nothing Honorable About This Discharge," "James Caan Make Yourself at Home" and "I Don't Know How to Put This ... But I'm Kind of a Big Deal." A video for the latter is available for viewing on BlackoutRecords.com. ...

The first of four teasers for Machine Head's "Elegies" DVD, which hits stores October 11, is available on the band's Web site. ... More than a few indie-rock acts on Matador Records have mocked heavy metal in the past, so it's kind of odd that one of the most rippin' new duos, Early Man, are now on the label. And they're no joke. Singer/guitarist Mike Conte and drummer Adam Bennati's first album, Closing In, comes out October 11 and sounds like a fierce hybrid of Blizzard of Ozz-era Ozzy and Master of Puppets-era Metallica. ... Dutch death dispatchers Severe Torture will release Fall of the Despised November 7 through Earache. Tracks include "Endless Strain of Cadavers," "Unconditional Annihilation," "Impulsive Mutilation" and "Dead From the Waist Up." ... French metal outfit Wormfood will release their next disc, called, um, France, through Code666 Records November 18. Carnival in Coal frontman Axel Wursthorn produced the effort, which the label describes as "a bizarre and grotesque view of modern French society, a melting pot of doom, thrash, death, gothic, punk, pop, classic, baroque, jazz and black humor." ... Los Angeles '80s death-rock/punk-metal band .45 Grave have pulled out of all dates on the Misfits tour, which runs through November 19 in Springfield, Virginia. They blamed the cancellations on "circumstances beyond their control." Madball used the same excuse for two shows they recently canceled, September 19 in Portland, Oregon, and September 20 in San Francisco, however they resumed the tour September 21 in Los Angeles. Madball dates are scheduled through October 1 in Buffalo, New York. ...

Mediaskare Records needs help naming its upcoming Slayer tribute record, which should surface early next year. The disc is set to include contributions from On Broken Wings, Scars of Tomorrow, Contra, the Esoteric, New Dead Radio, the Burning Room, Death by Stereo and others. More info can be found at www.myspace.com/atributetoslayer . ... The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza will hit the road for a 16-date run starting October 1 in Birmingham, Alabama. The trek wraps October 16 in London, Kentucky. ... Lamb of God frontman D. Randall Blythe's Halo of Locusts side project, Byzantine and the Dream Is Dead will embark on the Under the Underground Tour, a three-week jaunt across the country that's set to kick off October 13. A complete list of dates will be released soon. ... Detroit band Still Remains will tour with Atlanta metalcore outfit Norma Jean starting October 8 in Memphis, Tennessee. Dates run through October 30 in Nashville, then the band will return to the road in November with U.K. scream kings Bullet for My Valentine; Buffalo, New York's It Dies Today; and Riverside, California's Sinai Beach. ... German thrash band Dew-Scented have been added to the Polish invasion tour that features Decapitated and Vader. Dates run from November 7 in New York through November 30 in Utica, New York. Decapitated will return to the road with Greenville, South Carolina Egyptologist death-metal band Nile, New Orleans hardcore doomsayers Soilent Green and Sacramento, California, melodic death metallists With Passion. Dates run from January 13 in Houston through February 12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ...

Virginia's Arsis will release a three-song EP, A Diamond for Disease, October 25. The disc will feature "Roses on White Lace," "The Promise of Never" and the 13-minute title track. ... Members of Kiss, AC/DC, Motörhead, Anthrax, Dio, Judas Priest, Testament, Extreme, Whitesnake, Slaughter, Helmet, Dokken and others are banding together in tribute to Iron Maiden, literally comprising new bands for each of the 11 songs on Numbers From the Beast: An All-Star Salute to Iron Maiden, due October 11. For instance, "Wasted Years" features Dee Snider on vocals and Jason Bonham on drums, while "The Trooper" features Lemmy Kilmister on vocals, Suicidal Tendencies' Rocky George on guitar and AC/DC's Chris Slade on drums. Another pairing has Chris Jericho on vocals and Alice in Chains' Mike Inez on bass for "The Evil That Men Do." ...

• Sikth
• Cannibal Corpse
• Terror
• GWAR

Manntis (file)
Photo: Century Media

Although Manntis didn't end up the big winners at "Battle for Ozzfest," Sharon Osbourne's "American Idol" meets "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" reality-television experiment, Jake Sirokman says the crushing Southern California quintet's doing just fine. The singer says it seems as though Manntis have been on the road ever since taking home the third-place ribbon in "Battle"; at the moment, they're tagging along with Otep on that band's U.S. tour. Plus, the furious act's Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Social Distortion)-produced Century Media debut, Sleep in Your Grave, hits stores June 28.

"We're happy we didn't win," Sirokman said bluntly. "I mean, we were bummed at first. But hey, we're f---ing signed. We're stoked. We knew there was no way we were going to win. The other two bands were a little more radio-friendly. But we're stoked."

The band — Sirokman, bassist Clint Gregory, drummer Jimmie Sanders, and guitarists Jeremy Swanson and Adair Cobley — even has a video on the way, for the track "Axe of Redemption."

Shot at the Poodle Parlor in downtown Los Angeles in late May, the video will feature Manntis playing before a rabid crowd of mosh-frenzied fans. And then it really gets good, as the pit's invaded by 20 dodgy-looking, tattoo-heavy Suicide Girls. Sirokman said the sexy punk pin-up chicks proceed to dispense a severe pounding on the windmilling, lawnmower-starting dudes.

Alas, there was no time for love after the shoot, Dr. Jones: "We've all got girlfriends, man," Sirokman explained, with a slight hint of regret in his voice.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Iron Maiden will release a dubiously titled double-disc, The Essential Iron Maiden, on July 5. Tracks include "2 Minutes to Midnight," "Brave New World," "The Klansman," "Aces High" and "Wasted Years," none of which will be performed during the band's jaunt on this year's Ozzfest since Maiden's set will only feature songs from their first four albums. ... Industrial black metallers Dimmu Borgir will start writing songs for their next record in August or September, according to the band's Web site; look for a mid-2006 release for the as-yet-untitled offering. ... This summer, W.A.S.P. headline American Metal Blast 2005, which will also feature L.A. Guns and ex-Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy. Metal Church and Twisted Sister will be added on select dates. The tour begins June 28 in West Hollywood and runs through August 20 in Dallas. W.A.S.P.'s last album, The Neon God, Pt 2: The Demise, came out September 28. ...

New England metal stalwarts Shadows Fall will headline a number of Ozzfest off-dates with Arch Enemy, In Flames, the Haunted and Trivium, among others. ... This year's Hellfest is starting to take shape and might end up being one of the darkest to date. The annual event, set for August 19 through August 21 at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey, will feature close to 200 bands, including Between the Buried and Me, Bold, Converge, Curl Up and Die, Dead to Fall, the Early November, Hatebreed, Madball, Nile, Pig Destroyer, the Red Chord, Sick of It All, Suffocation, the End and a reunited Youth Of Today. ...

Rob Zombie's longtime guitarist Riggs is on tour with his new band Scum of the Earth. They'll play Chicago on Friday night (June 17), and dates run through July 21 in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Riggs described the show as a "full carnival of carnage" and added, "I figured out more spots in the show where I could douse people in blood and still play the songs." Bring a raincoat. ... Finnish rockers Amorphis have begun writing and rehearsing new material for the follow-up to 2004's Far From the Sun, which could see release before the end of the year. A statement from the band characterized the new songs as "heavier than ever" and said there'd be an "epic theme through the album." ...

In one fell swoop, Swedish melodic-metal band Cipher System have lost their singer, Daniel Scholdstrom, and bassist, Henric Carlsson. "Due to lack of inspiration and fire, our friends Henric and Daniel have decided to quit," the remaining bandmembers wrote in a statement. They're currently seeking replacements. ... Crematorium's all finished with their next opus, The Process of Endtime; look for the record to hit stores on July 19 through Prosthetic Records. ... Post-hardcore Texans the Jonbenet have signed a deal with Pluto, which will release a compilation of previously released material from the band called The Plot Thickens in July. Look for its full-length debut to drop later this year. ...

Belgian grindcore quintet Leng Tch'e will release their third album, The Process of Elimination, on June 28. For those keeping score, the band's name is Chinese for "death by a thousand cuts," referring to an ancient execution ritual in which a victim is severely drugged and slowly cut to pieces. ... Hardcore band Terror have reissued their first album, 2003's Lowest of the Low, with three extra studio tracks and a full 10-song set recorded in Tokyo. The band will appear on the Sounds of the Underground tour, which launches June 25 in Lowell, Massachusetts, and runs through July 31 in Denver. ...

French extreme-metal band Blut Aus Nord will release their previously unavailable back catalog in the U.S. on June 28. Both 1995 albums, Ultima Thulée and Memoria Vetustae, will be remastered. The group is currently working on songs for its next record, MoRT, which is scheduled for release in early 2006. ... Scars of Life will release their new album, What We Reflect, on August 9. The band's songs have previously been heard in numerous pay-per-view shows, commercials, video games and other "Ultimate Fighting Championship"-related media. New tracks include "Alone Inside," "Lost Years" and "Away From Me."

• Manntis
• Dimmu Borgir
• W.A.S.P.
• Terror
• Crematorium