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PANTERA ‘Cowboys From Hell: The Demos’ To Be Released On Limited-Edition Vinyl

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of PANTERA’s “Cowboys From Hell” album with the special limited-edition collectors’ vinyl release of “Cowboys From Hell: The Demos”. This special piece has a custom cover (see below) and demos of the “Cowboys From Hell” tracks, as well as the previously unreleased demo cut “The Will To Survive”. Limited to 3,000 copies and available only at participating Metal Club stores starting Black Friday (November 26, 2010).

“Cowboys From Hell” 20th-anniversary reissue track listing:

Disc One – Ultimate, Deluxe, and Expanded Editions

01. Cowboys From Hell 02. Primal Concrete Sledge 03. Psycho Holiday 04. Heresy 05. Cemetery Gates 06. Domination 07. Shattered 08. Clash With Reality 09. Medicine Man 10. Message In Blood 11. The Sleep 12. The Art Of Shredding

Disc Two – Ultimate, Deluxe, and Expanded Editions

01. Domination (live) * 02. Psycho Holiday (live) * 03. The Art Of Shredding (live) * 04. Cowboys From Hell (live) * 05. Cemetery Gates (live) * 06. Primal Concrete Sledge (live) * 07. Heresy (live) * 08. Domination (live, “Alive And Hostile” EP) † 09. Primal Concrete Sledge (live, “Alive And Hostile” EP) † 10. Cowboys From Hell (live, “Alive And Hostile” EP) † 11. Heresy (live, “Alive And Hostile” EP) † 12. Psycho Holiday (live, “Alive And Hostile” EP) †

Disc Three – Ultimate and Deluxe Editions Only

01. The Will To Survive * 02. Shattered (demo) * 03. Cowboys From Hell (demo) * 04. Heresy (demo) * 05. Cemetery Gates (demo) * 06. Psycho Holiday (demo) * 07. Medicine Man (demo) * 08. Message In Blood (demo) * 09. Domination (demo) * 10. The Sleep (demo) * 11. The Art Of Shredding (demo) *

* Previously unreleased † Unreleased in the U.S.

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The Devil’s Blood: A Quick Chat with Guitarist Selim Lemouchi

While Selim Lemouchi, the guitarist for satanic rockers The Devil’s Blood, who goes by just SL, opted not to answer a handful of questions pertaining to songs on ‘The Thousandfold Epicentre’, and another couple were abruptly answered with “No,” I did briefly engage him on subjects such as his writing process, F’s voice, Satan, the lack of protesting bible thumpers and Guns N’ Roses as rock n’ roll inspiration. Plus, I got a long ass list of music that he’s into. Sweet!

Ken Kopija: Hello SL. It’s Ken over at METALBUZZ in Chicago. We are the Internet’s number one source for real metal news, reviews, interviews and more. First off, I am a huge fan & supporter of The Devil’s Blood, which has graced the digital pages of METALBUZZ off and on now for several years. SL: Thanks for your time and energy so far.

How are you doing today? Today is a good day, the weather is quite downcast and grey which makes for a good walk in the forest.

I spoke with you about a year and a half ago, right around the US release of ‘The Time Of No Time Evermore’. That is the album that introduced me to and got me hooked on The Devil’s Blood. How do you feel the band has progressed musically from ‘The Time Of No Time Evermore’ to ‘The Thousandfold Epicentre’? I feel that, as a band, we have become better at performing and better at recording, perhaps that might not seem like much, but that is the kind of progress that allows a band to stay evolving. When it comes to the creation process of the material, nothing has changed.

‘The Thousandfold Epicentre’ was released on 11-11-11 in Europe. Is there any signifigance to it being released on that date? 11 is our most significant numerological correspondence and we always try to gather as many of them around as possible, in the artwork, in the music, in the lyrics, in the number of minutes and seconds, volume differences etcetera, etcetera. It signifies Chaos, renewal, freedom and at the same time, it signifies the structure of Satan and Death to us.

And the album dropped in the US via Metal Blade on January 17th. Do you have any special rituals that you followed on release day? To be honest, no, I have let this record “go” already. The release date in Europe was for me the ultimate moment and our Ritual at Groningen’s Vera Club was our perfect way of celebrating our Child’s birth into this “world of gravity gone mad.” For the glory of our first official American release, we shall wait with rituals and rites until we are on American soil again.

As I understand it, in addition to being one of the bands guitarists, you are also the primary songwriter. How much of the songwriting were you involved with on ‘The Thousandfold Epicentre?’ All of it. With the exception of the lyrics of “Fire Burning” and the last guitar part of “Everlasting Saturnalia,” which were done respectively by Tommie Eriksson (Saturnalia Temple) and Rob Oorthuis (NOX/Centurian).

That being said, other than topics like Satan and the occult, what other subjects or entities were your inspiration for the new record? All of it can be caught within the three principalities of Adversity; The Death, The Chaos and The Satan. There is nothing more to me.

Which comes first, the music or your words? Usually at the same moment, sometimes months apart, in which case music usually pre-dates the words. I guess this has to do with the fact that my instinctual understanding of music is still stronger than my understanding of language.

Can you elaborate a little on the whole writing process? There is not much to say, you have an idea, you pick up a guitar and a pen, you don’t stop till you are done.

Your sister, ‘F’, the bands lead singer, sounds a little more produced this time around. Was a different approach taken with the recording of her voice? Funny you should say that as she was most certainly less produced. We simply let her sing the song and apart from that nothing, except some choir parts, were doubled or added. This is as close to absolute purity as we could come this time around.

In my opinion, it sounds like The Devil’s Blood have re-invented themselves on ‘The Thousandfold Epicentre’, while at the same time maintaining that definitive sound that is unique to the band. Would you agree with that statement? We simply have done what we could, no more and certainly no less. We ourselves were quite surprised and of course immensely proud with what manifested itself, but to claim any kind of control of what the outcome came to be would be grossly overstating the importance of the musician in the creative process.

As far as I know, The Devil’s Blood have never done a concept video. Is that true? Yes it is.

Are there any plans to do a video(s) for ‘The Thousandfold Epicentre’? We would love to do that of course, it is mostly a financial thing. These things costs money and we have none.

Along with several European dates in the spring, I see that the band is scheduled to play ‘Maryland Deathfest X’ May 24th – 27th. Please tell me that those are not your only US dates this year? They are not.

Is a US tour planned? We will be doing a full North American tour which will be officially announced very soon.

The Devil’s Blood has played with the likes of Watain, Pentagram, Root, Venom and Tryptikon. Are there any bands that you’ve never toured with that you would really like too? Not any that jump to mind immediately.

I have never been to one of your live shows, or “rituals” as they are referred to, but I’ve watched videos online of the band performing live. There seems to be a lot of sweat and blood. Can you describe your live show to someone who has never witnessed it before? Explanation is empty, it is better to withhold all information and allow each individual the chance to experience freely and without priorly enforced parameters of expectation.

I know that there are a lot of bible thumpers out there who would probably jump at the chance to protest one of your shows. Do you every get those types hanging around your gigs? To be honest it has not happened yet, which is a shame of course.

The Devil’s Blood is based out of the Netherlands. What is the metal scene like there these days? I don’t really know, apart from a handful of bands and people I am personally in contact with. I am terribly uninformed about these things. I no longer read magazines and I rarely go to concerts and have no real desire to be on top of things any more.

The Metal Blade website has the following listed for band members: SL/TDB/A-O and F/TDB/MOS. Can you please tell me a little about what this means and who all of the members of the band are? No and no.

Well alrighty then. Have you ever put on headphones and listened to any of your music on vinyl? Of course.

Who or what inspired you to start playing music? If I had to name one person who has that dubious honour it would have to be Slash and Axl Rose of Guns ‘n Roses. That band really showed me the power of rock n’ roll and its insidious flair for rebellion and independence. And Slash’s personal style of playing and his careful ear for sounds and harmony combined with Axl’s uncanny talent for writing anthems is something that has definitely found its way into my music at various levels.

What is your favorite guitar to play? At the moment, it is a Haar Stratocaster, a custom built machine that seems to fill my needs wonderfully. But it does change from time to time.

Assuming you have one, if I got a hold of your iPod, what would I find on there? Danzig, Morbid Angel, Pentagram, The Doors, Merciless, Death, Judas Priest, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Maiden, Entombed, Slayer, Aphrodite’s Child, Slayer, Autopsy, Nick Cave, The Who, Root, Dr Feelgood, Nazareth, Aerosmith, MC5, Iggy and The Stooges, Mercyful Fate, Uriah Heep, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, Bathory, Type O Negative, Charles Manson, The Beatles, Blue Öyster Cult, Coil, Joy Division, Ministry, Sepultura, Tiamat, Roky Erickson, GG Allin, Carnivore, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Jefferson Airplane, Blood Axis, Hawkwind, Motorhead, Cro-Mags, Mayhem, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Burzum, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Velvet Underground, In Slaughter Natives, Samael, The Pretty Things, The Golden Earring, ZZ Top, Master’s Hammer, Shadows, Thin Lizzy, T. Rex, Guns ‘n Roses, Bobby Beausoleil, King Crimson, Bolt Thrower, Dissection, Wishbone Ash and many, many more.

We have time for one more question, and it’s from a fan… Fred from St. Germain wants to know… “I grew up listening to a lot of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. Would you consider them/him an influence on your music and are you a fan?” I consider Mercyful Fate to be one of the most important heavy metal bands that ever existed, apart from that I am not sure how much they actually inspired me, it is hard to say how these things work.

Once again, SL, thanks for taking time out of your busy day to chat with METALBUZZ. It has been my pleasure talking to you and I look forward to seeing The Devil’s Blood in Chicago soon. Thanks for you attention.

(с) Ken Kopija

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KHORS: Ukrainian Black Metal Legion To Reissue First Two Full-Lengths Via Paragon Records On October 19 2010

Paragon Records is proud to announce the reissue of The Flames Of Eternity’s Decline and Cold from Ukrainian black metal legion [[[KHORS]]]. The now classic first two full-lengths — originally released in 2005 and 2006 respectively — will come as a two-CD set with a new layout, nine bonus tracks and a rare early video from the band. Though [[[KHORS]]] have long progressed musically, these early recordings still brim with the unique atmosphere of Pagan black metal that the band was built upon. The Flames Of Eternity’s Decline/Cold will be released via Paragon Records on October 19, 2010. [[[KHORS]]] was formed by former Astrofaes bassist, Khorus, in August 2004, with an aim to create gloomy, atmospheric black metal. Sometime later, guitarist/vocalist Helg (Runes Of Dianceht) and drummer Khaoth (Tessaract, ex-Astrofaes, ex-Hate Forest) joined the fold. The band was later rounded out by guitarist Warth. In related news, KHORS will unleash a new full-length, Return To Abandoned, to the masses later this year. Details to be revealed in the coming weeks. The Flame Of Eternity’s Decline Track Listing: 01. Wounds Of The Past 02. Eyes Of Eternal Loneliness 03. Throne Of Antiquity 04. Trees are remembers 05. Breath 06. Moan Of The Grief 07. Spirit Of Fury 08. Flame Of Eternity Bonus: 09. Wounds Of The Past (wood mix) 10. Spirit Of Fury (moon mix) 11. Moan Of The Grief (live) 12. Trees Are Remembers (demo) 13. Eyes Of Eternal Loneliness (demo) 14. Throne Of Antiquity (demo) 15. Flame Of Eternity (demo) Cold Track Listing: 01. Cold 02. Ashes 03. Garnet 04. Misery 05. Conscious Burning 06. Whispers 07. In The Depths Of Black Hills 08. The Abyss Bonus: 09. Cold (art-rock version) 10. Ashes (live) 11. Garnet (video)

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Bands

Aeon Alma Negra Animals As Leaders Beak Bear Baiting Black Bombaim Black Cobra Black Magician Cannibal Corpse Chopstick Suicide Common Dead Curse Degradation Diablo Swing Orchestra Dimesland Dog Shredder Fire In The Cave Fleshwrought Frankenbok Fungal Abyss Ghost Goatwhore Gojira Helms Alee High On Fire Iron Witch Iwrestledabearonce King Diamond Kittie Kylesa Landmine Marathon Lesbian Lord Mantis Mares Of Thrace Marilyn Manson Mastodon Melvins Mercyful Fate Mobile Deathcamp Never To Arise Old Man Gloom Origin Ouroboros Palo Verde Philm Pinkish Black Planetsexploder Porcupine Tree Prong Psychostick Queens of the Stone Age Rush Spawn Of Possession Super Happy Story Time Land Surrounded By Monsters The Commander-In-Chief The Commander-In-Chief The Devil's Blood The Revenge Project Thorlock Torche Trap Them Unmothered Whitechapel Witchsorrow Wizard Rifle Zardonic