Metal News.

First up, big hails to a Myles Merritt for being the first to answer my call for punk-related contributions to this column. Myles is in a local punk band called Anti, which he invites people to check out by going to www.myspace.com/myknifehislife. In his words, "It's no fucking bullshit, balls to the wall punk. It's self-produced and it's brutal! I don't care for shitty weak punk bands..." Two tracks (Punk Kids and My Knife His Life) are already up for people to listen to and two more should be up soon. Anti are currently on the look-out for new members; for more info go to their myspace site.

A reminder that on Fri 10 November, US death metal band Skinless will be doing an 18+ show at the Lizard Lounge, with support from Tasmania's MSI, as well as locals Omnium, Meat Wallet and Obsidian Aspect. Doors open at 7 pm and tickets will only be available on the night. For those unfamiliar with the headlining act and wondering if they'd be worth going to see, some of their tracks (including a delightful piece entitled Tampon Lollipops) can be found on their myspace site, www.myspace.com/skinless.

Also on Fri 10 November, local band Impartial will be launching their new CD, 'The Negative Developed', the follow-up to 2004's 'Impatient For Change'. The launch will take place at the Enigma Bar and also feature The Borderland, Saving Savanah and the intriguingly-titled, Eat Paint. It'll be an 18+ event, with doors opening at 9 pm. To preview a couple of tracks from the new album - If You Only Knew and Cross Your Heart - go to www.myspace.com/impartial.

After some seven months spent concentrating on writing and demoing new songs, locals Tidal will return to the live scene on Sat 11 Nov, when they'll appear at the Bridgeway Hotel with Diatribe, Officer Down, Dead Hours and UCD. The show will be licensed and all-ages, with doors opening at 6:30 pm for a 7 pm start.

In my last column, I let you all know about the only metal band currently active in Iraq. Well, this time around, I'm going to plug a band from an equally unlikely part of the world. The band in question is an old-school, death metal outfit called Deathless Anguish, who come from Saudi Arabia! Although it's another place where you wouldn't expect to find any metal bands operating, Saudi Arabia has a small metal underground, centered around Jeddah (a city on the Red Sea coast), as well as Khobar and Dammam (two cities on the Persian Gulf). It is from the last place that Deathless Anguish comes. Currently a one-man project, it's the brainchild of Kamal Khalil, an angry young man who also helped create SA Metal, a Saudi Arabian-based rock and metal society. To check out the material of Deathless Anguish, go to www.myspace.com/deathlessanguish. To find out more about Saudi Arabia's fledgling metal scene, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SA_Metal.

JAMES BRAZEL