Heavy metal band CAGE have signed an exclusive deal for the release of their eagerly awaited fourth CD titled Hell Destroyer? in the United States and Canada with new up and coming American record label Destroy All Records Entertainment (www.darecordsonline.com) and BCD Music Group (www.bcdmusicgroup.com).

Hell Destroyer was recorded, engineered, produced and mixed by Richard ?The Guru? Carr and executive producers Cage vocalist Sean Peck and guitarist Dave Garcia at Richard Carr Studios in San Diego, California.

The CD was mastered by 2 time Grammy award winner Gavin Lurssen (GUNS N ROSES, ALICE COOPER, MOTÖRHEAD)) at Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, California.

The cover artwork was done once again by Marc Sasso who did the cover for Cage's third CD ?Darker Than Black? and who has also done recent artwork for HALFORD; DIO; MORBID ANGEL and ROB ROCK among many others artists.

Source BW&BK

There have been a ton of stories circulating online about Nine Inch Nails’ new album, Year Zero, due out 4.17.07. The concept is somewhat difficult to explain, so here is a pasted note from Trent below that sums up his vision for this record:

This record began as an experiment with noise on a laptop in a bus on tour somewhere. That sound led to a daydream about the end of the world. That daydream stuck with me and over time revealed itself to be much more. I believe sometimes you have a choice in what inspiration you choose to follow and other times you really don't. This record is the latter. Once I tuned into it, everything fell into place... as if it were meant to be. With a framework established, the songs were very easy to write. Things started happening in my "real" life that blurred the lines of what was fiction and what wasn't. The record turned out to be more than a just a record in scale, as you will see over time.

Part one is year zero. Concept record. Sixteen tracks. All written and performed by me, produced / programmed by me and Atticus Ross, mixed by Alan Moulder, mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner. Release date: April 17, 2007.
What's it about? Well, it takes place about fifteen years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point - politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, "year zero" examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth. How does it sound? You will hear for yourself soon enough, but given the point of this document is to provide information...
This record is much more of a "sound collage" than recent efforts from me.
A lot of it was improvised.
It is very tedious describing your own music.
It's not just music.
It's probably too long, but it felt like the right thing to do to paint the complete picture.
It will sound different after a few listens.
You can think about it and it will reveal more than you were expecting.
You can dance to a lot of it.
You can f*ck to a lot of it (maybe all of it depending on what you're into).

Source AntiMusic

Reunited black metallers IMMORTAL have issued the following update:

"A new dawn rises with the return of IMMORTAL and we strongly appreciate all the great support from every one of you...

"From above the gates we stride at hand as 'The Seven Dates of Blashyrkh' draw nearer and the force is strong upon this coming storm.

"Under the banner of Blashyrkh we ride mightier than all years before at one with you: the IMMORTAL horde....the wind will lead us!"

After 13 successful years as one of the pioneers of black metal, IMMORTAL disbanded in 2003 with a legacy of seven full-length albums, including the 2002 milestone, "Sons of Northern Darkness". Following a long hiatus, the band decided to enter the live battlefield again.

Come 2007, the world will experience a ferocious new IMMORTAL lineup, featuring Abbath, Horgh, and new bass player Apollyon from AURA NOIR.

"I needed a break," Abbath explained. "I think we all did! We were simply burnt out, and there was no point in continuing. We had a Norwegian tour booked, and had performed at some great festivals both in the U.S. and Europe, but it just didn't feel right any longer."

In the meantime, drummer Horgh toured with Sweden's death metal masters HYPOCRISY and released the "Virus" album, while Abbath has been working on his sideproject, I, featuring members of ENSLAVED and SAHG, along with IMMORTAL's original drummer, Armagedda.

"I'm really proud of that album," Abbath stated enthusiastically, "and it was an important album to make in order to be able to focus on IMMORTAL again."

Source Immortal