Metal News

· On Sat 10 May, there'll be a show at the Enigma Bar featuring Shot In Paris, Isaw, Se Bon Kira and Unrest. Doors open at 9 PM.

· In a sad bit of news, locals The Jonestown Syndicate have announced that after five years' existence, they've decided to "finish off on a high point in their career" and split up. Before they do, though, they'll be putting on one last, all-ages show at Fowler's Live on Sat 17 May. Sharing the stage with them will be New Zealand's This City Sunrise, Sydney's As Venice Sinks, and locals Double Dragon, Abandon All Hope, Craterface and Robotosaurus. Doors open at 6 PM. Says guitarist Maz, "Make sure you do not miss this event as it will be one to remember!"

· Lovers of extreme metal may be interested in a couple of new releases from underground Australian acts. First of all, Melbourne grindcore band The Day Everything Became Nothing (who, as a matter of interest, will be doing a tour of the States in May with fellow Melburnians Fuck... I'm Dead) have a new album, 'Brutal', coming out on Mon 5 May on No Escape Records. Secondly, Sydney's Rookwood (a band that would appear to have taken their name from the suburb in their home city which is just one big cemetery) have just put out their debut album, evocatively titled 'You Worship Shit'. For more info, go to www.obsidianrecords.com.

· Regular readers of this column may remember me giving a little plug some time ago for a Swedish death metal band called Sˇance, who were around in the 90s and seemed to quietly disappear before that decade was out. Well, they've just announced their re-formation, with a lineup that includes three of the original five members. They've also recorded a comeback album, 'Awakening Of The Gods', but still appear to be seeking a label for it.

· In one of those well nigh obligatory bits of wacky news from the US, the producers of the reality TV show 'Rock Of Love' have reportedly been sued by the owner of the California mansion in which the second series of that show was filmed. Produced by (the aptly-named) Mindless Entertainment Inc., the programme revolves around the attempts of Poison frontman Bret Michaels to find his "true love" (evidently the first season wasn't a great success if they needed to make a second). After vacating the house for the two months during which filming took place, the owner, a Ray Sahranavard, returned to discover that "[there were] holes in the walls and ceilings, the doors had been removed, most of [the] grass and outdoor plants had died, and the interior of the home had been almost entirely repainted".

· Also from the US, a news report from the Arizona city of Mesa claims that a certain Pantera Avenue therein holds the dubious distinction of having its street sign stolen more often than any other thoroughfare in the city. The thefts have gotten so bad that one sign for the street (whose name can refer to the famed heavy metal band, an old Italian sports car, or the Italian or Spanish word for "panther") has been hung over five metres above the road: a measure that seems to have worked in keeping it out of the hands of thieves, so far.

· In yet another bit of news from the US, an interesting story recently surfaced concerning actor Nicolas Cage, or, rather, his seventeen year-old son Weston who, it turns out, is something of a metalhead. Cage Jnr fronts a black metal band called Eyes Of Noctum, who were fortunate to open for Dimmu Borgir at a recent show in Anaheim, California (which also included performances by Behemoth and another Norwegian black metal band called Keep Of Kalessin). Eyes Of Noctum hope to have their debut album out on the first day of next year.

· In a bizarre bit of news from Europe, two folk/pagan metal bands from that continent - Moonsorrow and T_r (who hail from Finland and the Faroe Islands respectively) - have felt compelled to issue a joint statement denying that they're "Nazi" bands. The controversy over the bands' alleged extremist political leanings arose when a couple of German anti-fascist organisations attempted (unsuccessfully, it would seem) to have a show in Berlin at which the two groups would be performing cancelled, claiming those groups were Nazi sympathisers. Apparently, the brouhaha arose simply because the aforementioned bands use runic letters in their logos, and also write songs that deal with pagan themes.

· Also in news from that part of the world, a Norwegian "Viking metal" band by the name of Helheim recently chose a novel place to showcase some of their new material: a public kindergarten! The group performed acoustic versions of two songs from their latest album, 'Kaoskult', at a kindergarten called Klosteret Barnehage, and also treated members of the audience to some tales from Norse mythology, which drummer Hrymr claimed "has been of great inspiration for all of us since the band formed way back in 1992". Kindergarten worker Elisabeth Alnes echoed his sentiments, saying that "Norse mythology is a very important part of our cultural heritage".

James Brazel (jbr09171@bigpond.net.au