line-up

Mnemic have updated their website, announcing some changes in their line-up. Read the full announcement here. The band had already parted ways with bassist Tomas ”Obeast” Koefoed in April this year.

"[...] we have also decided that it is best to part ways, with both Brian "Brylle" Rasmussen and Rune Stigart. Like any relationship, there things that are impossible to work out, and we are extremely saddened by this situation, but there is nothing else to do than to take a step into a different direction. We wish our brothers all the best for the future, and we hope to see them soon again in their own musical and artistic endeavors. Their replacement will be found in the two new members Victor-Ray Salomonsen and Brian Larsen from Danish tech-act VIRA."


Read the announcement on www.mnemic.com.

Periphery have announced on their Facebook page that Mark Holcomb has permanently joined the band as a new guitarist. About it Misha "Bulb" Mansoor writes: "[...]He [Mark] has and will continue to write for the 2 albums we are recording next year and will be touring with us full time after the Euro Dream Theater tour! We had already made arrangements with our good buddy Adam Nolly Getgood to fill in for the Euro tour, so that will be the last tour we do with a fill-in guitarist!"

Invocation have posted a new track, titled 'Surface Detail', which is available for streaming and for free download from their SoundCloud page. Listen below. In addition, they have announced new band members, which are: Alex Todd Weller on Drums, Craig Howe on Bass and Matt Duffy on Vocals.

Stream/download the track from SoundCloud.

As reported earlier, Essex (UK) based Paul Ortiz of Chimp Spanner is looking for a live drummer for the shows he plans to play in the UK and Europe next year. To audition drummers, Chimp Spanner has released drumless versions with metronome of the songs 'Bad Click', 'Harvey Wallbanger' and 'The Mirror' onto Dropbox (links below), asking potential drummers to record their drumming to that song on audio and video. Drummers can upload their results to websites like Youtube and share the URL with Chimp Spanner (e.g.

CiLiCe report on their Facebook and Myspace pages that they have a complete lineup again. Vocalist Daniël De Jongh left the band in March this year to join Textures. CiliCe have now recruited Bryan Ramage to replace him. They have also announced that a new version of their song 'Left / Right Hemisphere' featuring Bryan will be available on Myspace and Facebook next Tuesday. An accompanying video will follow on Thursday. A picture of the new lineup can be viewed below.

Read the announcement on Facebook.
Read the announcement on Myspace.

The New Los Angeles band Covenants have released two new songs entitled 'Prevail' and 'Delusion'. They can be heard on their Myspace, Facebook or Bandcamp page. Covenants are currently finishing an EP that they will release in early 2011. Covenants are still looking for a a guitar and bass player to complete the line-up, which would allow them to start playing some shows.

The U.S. band Stealing Axion are looking for a new drummer. The band is based in Tacoma, Washington and have released their first EP 'Stealing Axion' this year, which can be streamed/downloaded from their official Bandcamp page. They are looking to tour as soon as possible and in that light they would like to extend their ranks to include a drummer.

Liquorworks, formerly a solo project by Kosti Aho, is now a duo with the addition of keyboardist Panu Rauhala (Grand Discovery, session musician for Abysmalia and Ground Frame) to the lineup. The project's latest full-length album 'Nonsense' was released in April this year, and is available for free download.

Download 'Nonsense' from liquorworks.wippiespace.com.

It has just been announced that Monuments will be headlining the sixth edition of Euroblast festival, which is set to take place in Cologne, Germany on October 23rd this year. Tickets are now available from ticketmaster.de. The language can be changed to English in the top right corner of the page. The full running order is as follows, from last to first:

Monuments
Chimp Spanner
Vildhjarta
NightShade
Aliases
Eryn Non Dae.
Uneven Structure
Divine Temptation
Syranic
FormFresser

Order tickets from ticketmaster.de.

UPDATE: the organisers have posted a press release on the festival website, with some more information about the lineup and the venue.

Read the press release at www.euroblast.net.

Recently recruited The Contortionist vocalist Jonathan Carpenter has posted a statement on the band's Myspace and Facebook pages, clearing up some rumours about the band's change of vocalists. Their 2009 debut EP 'Apparition' featured Dave Hoffman on vocals, whereas the band's upcoming debut album 'Exoplanet' will feature Jonathan Carpenter. Read his full statement below.

"As we've released a few tracks, we're stoked to hear that people are digging them and are excited for the album! We would also like to address the fans that are curious about the lineup change and clear up any misconceptions.

Dave, a good friend of mine for about 4 years now and one of the sickest vocalists I know- had some personal issues come up that have unfortunately not allowed him to continue in TC. I had a month to rewrite an entire album, and then 2 and a half days to record it. The only way that I as a musician could approach a full-time music endeavor, was to write the material to fit my sound and style. So for those of you who prefer Dave, we're not trying to change your minds and I am certainly not trying to emulate or replace what he brought to the band. But I do implore you to at least give the album a few solid listens before making judgments on whether or not you are unhappy with the change.

As complicated and crazy as this past summer has been, I'm grateful for this opportunity and am looking forward to showing TC fans a progressive sound and more importantly- to show you our passion out on tour!

-Jonathan"

Read the bulletin on Myspace.
Read the bulletin on Facebook.