Formed in the late 1980s, British progressive metal frontrunners Threshold combined influences of heavy metal and prog rock to craft their very own trademark style that was a far cry from the typical contemporary sound.

Their highly acclaimed debut album "Wounded Land" was released in 1993, followed-up by “Psychedelicatessen” (1994) “Extinct Instinct” (1997) “Clone” (1998) “Hypothetical” (2001) “Critical Mass” (2002) and “Subsurface” (2004) accompanied by tour combos with Dream Theater, Psychotic Waltz and Pain Of Salvation.   

2007 saw the release of the band’s successful Nuclear Blast debut “Dead Reckoning” (#30 UK Indie Charts, #37 UK Rock Charts, #64 Germany, #95 Netherlands)  – shortly afterwards, original singer Damian Wilson rejoined Threshold for a period of extensive touring, replacing former vocalist Andrew “Mac” McDermott, who sadly passed away on the 3rd of August 2011.  Over the course of their 20th anniversary, they released a collector’s box set entitled “Paradox – The Singles Collection” in 2009.   

After five years, Threshold are back with a brand-new studio album, recorded & produced in Thin Ice Studios (Dragonforce, Pendragon) by Karl Groom and Richard West with additional production at Eightspace Studio (League Of Lights, The Morning After). Progressive as always but stronger than ever - it’s not for nothing that the opus is entitled “March Of Progress”

Fans can download the track free from - http://bit.ly/thresholdfree

www.thresh.net
www.facebook.com/threshold

Fearless Records has announced the formation of new sister label, Old Friends Records.     

"Old Friends came about from us being fans of other styles of music, in addition to the genres that fall under the Fearless brand, and wanting to release records that were more geared towards the indie rock / alternative world." notes president and founder, Bob Becker. 

"It will allow us to work with the bands that we discover that don't necessarily fit with Fearless, and release music geared towards alternative radio, without confusing our established audience. We're excited that we will be able to diversify and work with even more talented artists via Old Friends." 

Sign up with OldFriendsRecords.com to hear about the first signing announcement next month!

Canadian heavy metal trio Cauldron have confirmed a European tour in support of their new album, 'Tomorrow's Lost', which kicks off in London, UK on November 28th.

The band will be playing a number of headlining shows in the UK, including a performance at Hard Rock Hell festival with the likes of Testament, Gravedigger, Molly Hatchet and more, before joining Dutch hard rockers Vanderbuyst for a string of shows in continental Europe.

Cauldron vocalist and bassist Jason Decay comments about Hard Rock Hell:

"Getting ready to rock a thousand churches to the ground, brother.  I've been trapped in a hard rock hell my whole life, so this should be like rite at home."

Jason Decay comments regarding the European tour with Vanderbuyst:

"Europe was very good to us last time on the Burning Europe tour, so we are pleased to announce that we will be hitting Europe again first in support of Tomorrow's Lost.  We are excited to be playing a bunch of shows with the excellent Vanderbuyst from Holland as I think they are a great band and a great match for us.  These will be some rad fucking gigs!  We will also be doing a bunch of our own shows in the UK, Scandinavia, Spain and more, so watch for those dates coming soon!"

Tour Dates.

Nov. 28 - London, UK - Barfly
Nov. 30 - Edinburgh, UK - Bannermans

Dec. 01 - Pwllheli, UK - Hard Rock Hell
Dec. 02 - Newcastle, UK - Northumberland Arms
Dec. 04 - Leeds, UK - The Well
Dec. 06 - Cardiff, UK - Bogiez

CAULDRON w/ VANDERBUYST

Dec. 08 - Essen, Germany - Turock
Dec. 11 - Paris, France - TBA
Dec. 12 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
Dec. 13 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Dec. 14 - Osnabrück, Germany - Bastard Club
Dec. 15 - Katwijk, Netherlands - Scum
Dec. 16 - Barcelona, Spain - Rock Sound (no VANDERBUYST)
Dec. 20 - Breda, Netherlands - Mezz
Dec. 21 - Heusden, Netherlands - Jonosh
Dec. 23 - Berlin, Germany - K17
Dec. 27 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Ekko
Dec. 28 - Tilburg, Netherlands - TBA
Dec. 29 - Sliedrecht, Netherlands - Elektra
Dec. 30 - Kerkrade, Netherlands - Rock Temple

http://www.facebook.com/CAULDRONmetal
http://cauldronmetal.tumblr.com
http://www.myspace.com/cauldronmetal
http://twitter.com/cauldronmetal

Edmonton's favourite mischievous metallers ALL ELSE FAILS are proud to announce they will be performing once again at this year's 2nd annual Blankfest Calgary on November 3rd at The Blind Beggar. The charity event is organized by the SIN Agency and volunteers to raises awareness, clothing and funds for the city's shelter, The Mustard Seed.

"We are excited to watch as this event gets bigger and better every year, and are always honoured to be a part of it. Helping the homeless is the least we can do to give back to the community and we look forward in aiding with the donations." comments vocalist / guitarist Barrett Klesko.

All Else Fails – Blank-fest 2012 Promo Spot - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_9w2DHmqmY

Blankfest Calgary Details:

Blank-Fest Calgary II – Comp – Vol2 - http://blankfest.bandcamp.com/album/blank-fest-calgary-ii-comp-vol2-its-about-the-homeless-nothing-more-nothing-less

Date: Saturday, Nov 3, 2012 

Venue: Blind Beggar Pub, 5211 Macleod Trail SW

Cost: Clothing Donation For The Homeless (Blankets, Sweaters, Shirts, Socks, Pants, Jackets etc.) or Pay What You Want Donation (all proceeds go to The Mustard Seed)

Facebook Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/469641383057152/

In additional news, AEF premiered their latest music video 'This Burden of Life' on Blank TV earlier this month. The single is from their award nominated album "The Oracle: What Was, Is and Could Have Been" and was directed by AEF's vocalist / guitarist Barrett Klesko with his production company FadeBack Studio United.

Video Link - http://blanktv.com/index.php/component/content/article/37-premieres/273

In show news, AEF will be supporting Montreal's colossal Endast, Canadian prog metal giants Protest The Hero and ska /metal /funk blenders Ninjaspy as they all tour through AEF's home province of Alberta in the month of November.

Show Dates:

November 1, 2012 - The Pawn Shop - Edmonton, AB w/ Endast, These Colors Don't Run, Submerge, Tyrant - $8 Adv. - Doors 7pm - 18+ - Show Details

November 3, 2012 - The Blind Beggar - Calgary, AB - Blankfest Calgary - Show Details - w/ Matt Blais, Jung People, Mammoth Grove, Atacama Republic, Dreams of Reason, Bloom, Stone Iris, Open Air, Dusty Tucker, Leave the Living, Before The Storm

November 10, 2012 - The Vat - Red Deer, AB - w/ Protest The Hero, Ninjaspy - $20 Adv. $25 Door - Doors 8pm - 18+ - Show Details

All Else Fails released Episode 4 'Working For A Living' from their webisode series Breaking Acclaim, that is now streaming exclusively on Blank TV at the following link here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cxbu1Szm_A)

“What is also apparent on this third release is not only the sheer creativity of the group, but also its stone cold knack for writing songs designed to permanently embed in the gray matter…There is just something about the band’s songwriting approach; it seems so darn natural and effortless. On “The Oracle” nothing ever sounds forced, formulaic, or identifiable as anyone but ALL ELSE FAILS. Don’t let this one slip past your radar. “  – Blabbermouth.net

“It would not surprise me in the slightest if you heard this group grace the airwaves from the obscure darkly lit, pubs of Gothenburg to the soundboards of our own local modern rock stations. It seems more than fortunate that these Alberta natives named their album The Oracle because these local talents have clearly seen the future.”  – Edmonton Journal

“Obsidian Walls” is a colossal song” – Planet Mosh

“”The Oracle” is a highly addictive journey that captures the listener from start to finish.” – SpazioRock.it (Italy)

“When it came down to the track list at hand, I can point a few starlets that mesmerized me. I recommend on “This World In Flames”, both electric and acoustic, bone crushing “Rebirth” and “Obsidian Walls”, “Fallen” was a great treat even though it was lyrically heavy, and I even found the last parody “Robots!!! KOLTG” as cool. In addition to the names of the hits, I urge to take a deep listen to the rest while trying to notice the strong connection between the musical diversities and the strong lyrical sense. ALL ELSE FAILS did more than a fine job on those creations.” – Metal-Temple.com

With a release date set for early December 2012, Blodarv have today revealed the track listing and artwork for “Gâst”, the fourth full-length album from the veteran Danish Black Metallers. The eight-track album will be released in two versions on Self Mutilation Services – regular CD format and a limited edition in A5 format which will feature different artwork.  Both versions come with a 16 page booklet which includes lyrics. Limited edition merchandise will also be available to mark the release. All artwork for “Gâst” is done by the blasphemer himself - Blodarv founder and frontman Hugin. 

The recording, mixing and engineering were all done by Hugin at his HammerArt and Studios, where the artwork was also produced, and which is located on the frontman’s home island of Bornholm. 

Tracklisting for “Gâst”, which will run for 45 minutes, is as follows:

1. Indelukket
2. A Snowy Night In November
3. I Blaek Og Blod
4. Korset Paa Baalet
5. The Heart Of Art
6. Lonely Journey
7. Surrounded By Dust
8. Into The Halls Of Orion  

In the Bornholmsk (Burgundian) dialect of Bornholm a “Gâst” is a type of a ghost demon or energy that possesses a mortal and inspires them in much the same way as a muse, with visions, stories, smells, sounds, emotions and pictures.  

Commenting on the album, which is a powerful blend of Blodarv’s mid-tempo black metal spiced with both fast and slow tracks, Hugin had this to say: “It’s fitting that the release of “Gâst” will take place in winter, when the winds howl and the snow blankets the island of Bornholm, creating the perfect setting for an album that explores life philosophies, death, the micro and macro cosmos, and the forces of nature and power of the universe and all the energies that cling to it. Like our previous releases, the album contains a mix of tracks in both Danish and English, and is a piece full of hateful blasphemous poetry, dark visions, possessive muses, and soul-seeking demons”.   

Blodarv’s next live appearance will be on the 1st December with Horned Almighty at the Club Brutal in Arhus, Denmark.  They have also been confirmed to appear at next year’s Kvlt Fest which will be held on the 1-2 March in Odense.  

www.facebook.com/blodarvofficial

The premiere "pirate metal" band, Napalm Records recording artists Alestorm will be setting sail to North American waters once again, touring the United States and Canada this month and next as direct support to Epica! The 28-date tour begins next week on October 23rd in Washington, DC and concludes November 24th in Baltimore, with three headlining Alestorm shows along the way.

Also joining the tour will be Insomium, System Divide, and Destiny Potato.

Here are the confirmed dates/venues:  

10/23 Washington DC @ Howard Theater
10/24 Richmond, VA @ Kingdom (HEADLINE SHOW)
10/25 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
10/26 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
10/27 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
10/28 Ottawa, ONT @ Maverick's (HEADLINE SHOW)
10/29 Quebec City, QC @ Imperial
10/30 Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
10/31 Toronto, ON @ The Opera House

11/1 Buffalo, NY @ Broadway Joe's (HEADLINE SHOW)
11/2 Cleveland, OH @ TBA
11/3 Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
11/4 Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
11/5 St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
11/7 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
11/8 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
11/10 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
11/11 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
11/12 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
11/14 San Francisco, CA @ The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center
11/15 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
11/16 West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues Sunset Strip
11/17 Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
11/19 Dallas, TX @ Trees
11/20 Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
11/21 San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
11/23 Louisville, KY @ Headliner's Music Hall
11/24 Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage  

Freewheeling front-man/keytar-player Chris Bowes had the following to say:

"Ahoy there, you bunch of filthy North American pirates! This fall, Alestorm is gonna be coming back to your shores for a huge-ass party and maybe a few shows, if we manage to stay sober long enough. Last time 'round during the Paganfest USA tour, we had a hell of a lot of fun, and this one is gonna be even better! Prepare to have your presidential elections ruined, and our sweaty scurvy-infested testicles smeared all over your Thanksgiving dinners! See you soon!" 

www.alestorm.net
www.facebook.com/alestormband.

The winner band of the ROCK THE NATION AWARD 2012 has been picked! Before we announce the name of the band in a moment, we would like to thank all the bands that took part, all the users for their voting, and of course this years presenters of the award Noizeletter, Metalnews.de, Stormbringer.at and Rock Hard Italy.  

The ROCK THE NATION AWARD was launched 2009 for the very first time and is happening this year for the third time already.

2009, Steelwing and Suicidal Angels won the award, 2010 Heavy Metal shooting stars Skull Fist had been voted the lucky winner! Suicidal Angels and Steelwing both have been releasing very successful albums and were touring with well-known bands all over Europe as well as playint at several big European festivals. Skull Fist released their highly-acclaimed debut album "Head öf the Pack“ and hit the road alongside Sabaton, Grave Digger and Powerwolf on the Power of Metal tour, this year they played the Metalfest Open Air series, were voted "Newcomer of the Year“ by Terrorizer UK and are about to be one of metal´s biggest names in the near future!  

Last year two bands could claim the RTN award for themselves: Krampus hailing from Italy and Nexus Inferis from the UK. Krampus are about to release their debut album "Survival of The Fittest“ on August 24, they´ll also play Metalcamp and are confirmed for the Heidenfest Tour with Wintersun and Korpiklaani. Nexus Inferis unleashed "A Vision of the Final Earth“ in January this year and went out on the Full of Hate tour w/ Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse and Legion of the Damned and also played Metalfest as well as Extremefest 2012.  

So, who`s the winner of the ROCK THE NATION AWARDS 2012?  

It`s the Thrash Metal Band ESSENCE! The Danish yonkers (the band has a average age of 23 years) have convinced the jury with their enormous energy and their joy of playing. Essence has already shared the stages with acts like In Flames, Entombed, and Vader within the last years and they have played the Danish Roskilde Festival and the Vagos Open Air in Portugal among others. The new Essence album, which has been recorded, engineered and produced with mastermind Peter Tägtgren (Pain, Hypocrisy, Immortal, Children of Bodom, Dimmu Borgir etc.) in his Abyss Studio, will be out early 2013 via NoiseArt Records.
 
This is what the band has to say about winning the award: 

"We are extremely proud and honored to have been chosen as winners of the Rock the Nation Award! In our eyes, Rock The Nation and NoiseArt Records are the best in the business and for several years we dreamed of becoming a part of their rosters. They treat their bands brilliantly and are highly professional in their work - everything we value in our partners. Though an immense honor has been given to us, we know that the hard work has only just begun and we will treat this award and co-operation with respect and humbleness. We send our heaviest of devil horns to all the great bands who was nominated!"  

The winners benefit is:

1) a record deal with NOISE ART records – with worldwide distribution
2) a worldwide booking contract with one of the leading metal agencies/management companies ROCK THE NATION which is the home of bands such as KREATOR, BEHEMOTH, SABATON, KATAKLYSM, LEGION OF THE DAMNED, ELUVEITIE, FINNTROLL, WINTERSUN and many more…

3) touring Europe in 2013 – Rock The Nation books highly successful festival tours these days, like FULL OF HATE, NECKBREAKERS BALL, HEIDENFEST, PAGANFEST, THRASHFEST .

4) guaranteed summer festival appearances in 2013
5) plus many more festivals and future tours...
6) presentation through Europe’s premiere metal magazines who present the RTN award – followed by a huge European wide campaign.  

www.essencemetal.com  

The ROCK THE NATION AWARD 2012 was presented by:  

NOISEART RECORDS
ROCK THE NATION
NOIZELETTER
METALNEWS.de
STORMBRINGER.at
ROCK HARD Italy  

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 

www.award.rockthenation.eu
www.noiseart.cc
www.rtn-touring.com  

Ever wondered who works 24/7 to get the hottest and loudest bands right to you? Now is your chance to find out and take an exclusive look behind the scenes! Have a peek at the inner workings of Europe’s rock & metal empire Napalm Records! Get ready for swords, riffs, handcuffs, axes, a wild chase, and a deafening explosion!

This video was done as a presentation for our new partner Universal, who handles our distribution in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland! The intent of the video was to introduce us to our new partner and present them with our label roster - and of course, to bring some serious metal to the table! That is why we want to share this little cinematic milestone with you, as well! So sit back, click HERE and fasten your seat belts, it’s gonna be a wild ride!

http://www.napalmrecords.com/
http://www.facebook.com/napalmrecords
http://www.youtube.com/napalmrecords
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuRX9x494Mk



Listen to the preview of Paragon's new album here on Napalm's YOUTUBE CHANNEL
"FORCE OF DESTRUCTION" will be released in North America on November 6th!

https://www.facebook.com/paragonmetal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq0U2pbwPxk

Reign Of Fury have now released their new video entitled 'Born To Die' on Saturday 20th September, taken from their debut album 'World Detonation'.
 
This is a light hearted, riff snorting romp through their 'Born To Die' track, bringing what Reign Of Fury love the most - metal and fun - to your screens!

Mastered by Nicolas Decleve,
Mixed by Dave Cleaves and Jon Priestley at Abatis Studios (UK) 
Director: Andy Pilkington

Tour dates are now pending, leading up to a short Belgian tour before their show at the Wizzfest in Belgium, March 2013

Reign Of Fury are blasting their way through the remainder of 2012 and will without doubt, give the start of 2013 a most serious kicking. Make sure you catch their ridiculously fine debut album 'World Detonation' and prepare for an almighty monster thrash aural assault in the coming months, it's going to be a blast!  

https://www.facebook.com/reignoffury
http://www.myspace.com/reignoffury
http://www.reverbnation.com/reignoffury

Today, underground cult icons Arktau Eos premiere the new video "Sunken Luminaries" off their forthcoming 'Ioh-Maera' album on Svart Records. The video can be viewed in its entirety here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DIF_MkoajwQ.  

Additionally, both the release date of CD-only 'Ioh-Maera' and the vinyl-only 'Unworeldes' have been altered to November 16th worldwide. Respective covers and track-listings are as follows:    

Track-listing for 'Ioh-Maera' CD

1. Unbinding Kaamos
2. Noxfaros
3. Sunken Luminaries
4. Ioh-Maera
5. Otherstone Refraction

Track-listing for 'Unworeldes' LP (vinyl-only)

1. The Cypress Watcher
2. Cove of the Seven-winged
3. Black Leaf Gaze
4. Geometry of Emptiness

This Autumn, they will perform for the first time in the United States at the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle, and the Stella Natura Festival in Sierra Nevada, with appearances in Bucharest, Romania and Västerös, Sweden following. Scheduled for February 2013 are dates in Sankt-Petersburg, Moscow and Volgograd. The music of the band has also been used at Muzeum Alchymie in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. Recently, they were invited to contribute a track to Tesserae 1.0, a musical supplement to Abraxas: International Journal for Esoteric Studies no 2. (Fulgur Limited 2011).

www.helixes.org/arktau-eos/
www.facebook.com/pages/Arktau-Eos/123979047646990
www.svartrecords.com
www.facebook.com/svartrecords