Metal News.

On Fri 16 March, there'll be a show at the Jive Bar featuring Omnium, Obdurate Seduction, Murder Grin and Divide Catalyst, the last act a new one featuring ex-members of Act Of Dog and Abuse Ritual. There'll be door prizes on the night and Obdurate Seduction will be selling new t-shirts. Doors open at 8 pm.

On Sat 24 March, local metal band Dominian will be appearing at the Lizard Lounge with Quiet Child and The Tony Font Show. To find out what Dominian sound like (they're pretty unique), go to www.myspace.com/dominian

A few last-minute details about Norwegian black metal band Arcturus's show here on Tues 27 March. First up, the venue has been changed, the show now taking place at the Enigma Bar instead of HQ. For those of you who already have tickets, never fear; those tickets will still get you in. The change of venue also won't affect the show length or lineup; the support acts will still be locals Stargazer and Virgin Black. On the subject of those latter bands, both have (or will soon have) new releases out; indeed, Virgin Black's will be available at the show. Virgin Black will also soon be embarking upon a three-month tour of Europe, so the Arcturus show will be just as unmissable an opportunity to catch them as it will be to see the headlining act (who, incidentally, will apparently not be playing anywhere else in the world this year!)

The March installment of monthly metal event The War Room will take place at the Enigma Bar on Fri 30 March and also comprise the first show on Truth Corroded and Double Dragon's Double Dose Of Hatred Tour. Also playing on the night will be Locura, Fifth Finger Disintegrator and Closed Casket, the last band featuring former members of Paradise Burning. Doors open at 9 pm.

You may recall me mentioning earlier on in the year that a band called Nervecell, who hail from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, would be coming out here to play at the Metalstock Open Air Festival in Scone, NSW, over the Easter long weekend. Well, for those of you who might have been interested in seeing them, but couldn't make the trip all the way over to New South Wales, the good news is that they'll be doing a short tour of the country beforehand. That tour will bring them here on Sat 31 March, when they'll be appearing at the Lizard Lounge with Western Australia's The Furor, New South Wales's Aeturnus Dominion and our very own Mythyca. Proceedings for the evening will start at 9:30 pm. On the subject of Metalstock, another Adelaide band has been added to the bill for that: Obsidian Aspect will now join Mythyca, Truth Corroded and Double Dragon at the three-day event

In my unceasing efforts to promote lesser-known metal bands from around the world, this time around I'll be plugging two groups from Bolivia. The first of these is a fairly straightforward thrash outfit by the equally straightforward name of Hate; they've been around since 1993 and come from La Paz, one of the country's capitals (Bolivia actually has two capitals, the other a city called Sucre). To check some of their songs out (as well as a couple of pretty cool videos), go to www.myspace.com/hatebolivia. Also from La Paz, but a markedly different beast, is the curiously-titled Alcoholika La Christo, a Gothic/industrial metal band that formed in 1992 whose work has occasionally combined metal with traditional Andean music. To listen to some of their material (and, again, watch some videos), go to www.myspace.com/alcoholikalachristo

James Brazel

jbr09171@bigpond.net.au