Metal News

· A reminder that on Sat 17 May you'll have your last chance to see locals The Jonestown Syndicate perform. The group, who recently announced their decision to split up after five years, will be doing an all-ages show at Fowler's Live on the above date, with New Zealand's This City Sunrise, Sydney's As Venice Sinks and fellow locals Double Dragon, Abandon All Hope, Craterface and Robotosaurus also appearing on the bill. Doors open at 6 PM.

· To commemorate the upcoming first birthday of regular metal event 'Metal At Magill', a licensed, all-ages show will be held at the Magill Club on Sat 24 May featuring Splyne, Obdurate Seduction, Forget All This and Hybrid Illusion. Doors open at 7 PM.

· Also on the 24th, local band Almost Human, who recently put on their first show in over fourteen years, will be appearing at the Enigma Bar, with support from a group called N.F.I.; also providing entertainment at the adults-only event will be Mr. Tetanus, "The Human Pincushion". Doors open at 8:30 PM.

· Fans of Mortal Sin would be well-advised to be at the Enigma Bar on Fri 30 May, when that band will be doing a show with locals Truth Corroded, Skintilla and Se Bon Ki Ra. It might be your last chance to see the Sydney thrash metal veterans for quite some time, as they plan to spend the next few years concentrating on playing in Europe.

· Another event not to be missed is the last-ever show of local metal oddballs Hekyl, who'll be saying goodbye at the Crown & Anchor Hotel on Sat 31 May. Also playing will be Shot In Paris, Bliss and Ignorance. Doors open at 8 PM.

· Moving onto news from overseas, Swedish Christian metal band Narnia have just bid farewell to singer and founding member Christian Liljegren, who decided he needed a long break after fronting the power metal outfit for twelve years. Promises Liljegren, "I will continue to do music and run my record label CM Sweden/ Rivel Records. I am also working on a new solo album in Swedish where I will do some Narnia songs with Swedish lyrics." The rest of the band have begun recording a new album, the follow-up to 2006's 'Enter The Gate'.

· Also on the subject of band departures, Fear Factory's Dino Cazares' new band, Divine Heresy, have just fired their vocalist, Tommy Cummings (aka Tommy Vext). Cummings' sacking came after a show the group did in New York State at the end of April; apparently, the singer wanted to end the band's performance prematurely and "flew into a rage" when his bandmates denied him his wish. Reported Cazares, "he gave us ten different reasons why we should stop - 'my microphone doesn't work, I got diarrhoea, the monitors are fucked up' - whatever he could think of. And we decided that's not fair to the fans. We wanted to give them a full show." Cummings retaliated by claiming that his departure was ultimately motivated by Cazares' "massive ego" and "abusive mentality", a claim challenged by other band members, Tim Yeung and Joe Payne.

James Brazel (jbr09171@bigpond.net.au)