Metal News

· Ex-Soilwork guitarist Daniel Antonsson, who was recently forced to leave that band in order to make way for the return of original member Peter Wichers, has found a new home in Dark Tranquillity, with whom he'll play bass. Said the second group in a press statement, "we're proud to announce that Dark Tranquillity again is a six-piece (or six-pack, if you will). Daniel Antonsson is now officially our new bass player, and we look forwAard to starting to work on the next album with such a talented musician in the ranks."

· Events at a recent karaoke night in the US town of River Falls, Wisconsin, took an unexpected and dramatic turn when an intoxicated patron with the (somewhat ironic) name of Kyle D. Drinkwine assaulted a singer whose "lacklustre" rendition of the classic Dio song Holy Diver apparently drove his assailant into a homicidal rage. Drinkwine attempted to throttle the unfortunate performer of the song, a certain James Mischler, as well as the latter individual's friend, Cyrus Kozub, and was arrested by police after a "short foot chase". He faces three years in prison.

· Yossi Sassi-Sa'aron, a musician who plays guitars and a variety of traditional Middle Eastern instruments for Israeli folk metal band Orphaned Land, faces an enforced break from his musical duties after fracturing his left clavicle (collarbone) while attempting to walk on his hands during a "game" in a park on a "relaxful [sic] Sabbath". Sassi-Sa'aron apparently tripped and landed badly on his left shoulder, the resultant breaking of the bone requiring his left arm to be immobilised; his injury is expected to take at least six weeks to heal. According to a statement from his bandmates, "friends reported he's suffering from severe pain, yet he's constantly smiling as usual, and he is laughing with his doctors."

· Brazilian fans of Scandinavian symphonic metal band Nightwish would not have been impressed with a recent performance in Belo Horizonte, which ended prematurely after lead singer Anette Olzon began crying towards the end of a song called The Poet And The Pendulum, and walked off stage, leaving the rest of the group to struggle on without her. After performing a couple of cover songs, they brought the show to an end, claiming that Olzon was going through a difficult phase in her life right then, and was "really sad". Olzon, however, blamed "excessive smoke" inside the show venue for her abrupt departure from the stage; according to a statement she later released to the Brazilian media, this smoke irritated her vocal cords to such an extent she was unable to continue singing. Band keyboard player Tuomas Holopainen, meanwhile, claimed that Olzon had left the stage after being unable to deal with the reportedly hostile behaviour of the audience, which kept chanting the name of the former singer (Tarja Turunen), and making obscene gestures. It was not the first time Olzon had created hassles for the rest of the band: the final four shows of a recent North American tour they were doing had to be cancelled on account of a "sudden severe illness" she suffered.

· For this fortnight's obscure band plug, we take another look at the nascent African metal scene, starting with an extreme metal group called Wrust. Hailing from Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, they formed in 2000 though only released their debut album 'Soulless Machine' last year. Check them out at www.myspace.com/wrust. Also from southern Africa (at least originally) are a thrash metal outfit called War-Tog who, depending on the source you consult, originated in either Botswana or Zimbabwe; in any case, they've since relocated to Portsmouth in England. Their current status is also uncertain; while one source claims they've disbanded, they put out a demo (their second) only this year. A fanpage for them has been set up at www.myspace.com/wartogtheband.

James Brazel (jbr09171@bigpond.net.au)