ZAO drummer Jeff Gretz has released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET regarding the rumoured departure of guitarist Russ Cogdell and the group’s plans for the future. His statement reads as follows: “Russ’s departure wasn’t officially released as a statement from the band because there is no statement to make. His knee injury was well documented after our early exit from Warped Tour and subsequent outing with UNEARTH and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN that we were forced to do without him. His current status is that he is not in proper health to tour and work on the record. We did not announce it because we felt there was nothing to announce, the music would speak for itself. Of the eight prior studio albums that ZAO has recorded, Russ has played on three (he had left once before and returned only for ‘Funeral of God’). The core of ZAO’s writing has been Dan Weyandt and Scott Mellinger for the past five albums (Dan going back even one more than that). The band is perfectly happy with the current situation (as is Russ) and the door is open for him to return when he is willing/able. For years, Scott was the only touring guitarist for ZAO, Russ’s involvement was more the exception than the rule. Now, you may continue with your Christ-core jokes and suggestions for us when or when not to end our band. MESHUGGAH!!!!” ZAO are currently recording their new album at the Chicago studio of legendary producer/engineer Steve Albini (PIXIES, NIRVANA, NEUROSIS, HIGH ON FIRE). The follow-up to 2004’s “The Funeral of God” is scheduled for release late May via Ferret. In other news, ZAO guitarist Scott Mellinger recently spoke to MTV.com about the recording of the group’s forthcoming full length. “We came here not knowing what to expect but being prepared and knowing what we wanted to do,” Mellinger explained. “We rehearsed for about three months before we got here, so we knew what we wanted to sound like and what these songs were all about. So when we got here, we just started busting it out. The thing about Steve is, he records you – he doesn’t produce you. He makes you what you are. You need to know who you are. He can’t tell you who you are. “A lot of records that come out today don’t have life to them. They don’t have that natural feeling of a band playing,” he added. “This is definitely the most abrasive record we’ve ever done, and being able to do it live has changed a lot [on this album], because you actually get to put the energy of a song back into the song. You can really hear that on this record. It sounds like a band just destroying things, and Dan’s vocal delivery sounds unhinged.” The as-yet-untitled new album will feature 11 tracks, including: -Physician Heal Thyself -Everything You Love Will Soon Fly Away -American Sheets on the Deathbed -Killing Time Until It’s Time To Die -Kingdom Of Thieves -Pudgy Young Blondes With Lobotomy Eyes -A Last Time For Everything.

How about a dose of rip roaring Israeli metal to chase away those April showers?! We’re pleased to confirm that BETZEFER are returning to pulverize the UK from April 4th í¢ä‰åäóì 11th. Also appearing will be Koroded and President Evil. 퉌æ Following on from a mere 3 shows here in October, Betzefer have been hard at work writing for a new album, the follow up to Roadrunner debut ‘Down Low’ í¢ä‰åäóì and will be treating fans to a couple of new songs live this visit! Hear ’em at: APRIL 4 í¢ä‰åäóì CARDIFF Barfly 5 í¢ä‰åäóì BOURNEMOUTH Opera House 6 í¢ä‰åäóì MANCHESTER Satans Hollow 7 í¢ä‰åäóì AYLESBURY Multicultural Centre 8 í¢ä‰åäóì NOTTINGHAM Junktion 7 9 í¢ä‰åäóì ABERDEEN Tunnels 10 í¢ä‰åäóì GLASGOW Soundhaus 11 í¢ä‰åäóì LONDON Kingston Peel

Dex Fafara’s demonic child DevilDriver have posted their new ‘End Of The Line’ video on their official site. The video is taken from the band current album The Fury Of Our Makers Hand CLICK HERE to check it out

Metal Hammer have announced their 2005 readers polls, and we are proud to say that we claimed a few gems. Before we reveal our positions we would like thank everyone who voted for us and our bands. 퉌æ Best British Band (won by BFMV) #4 Cradle of Filth #5 Dragonforce 퉌æ Best New Band #1 Trivium #3 Wednesday 13 퉌æ Hottest Band Of The Year #1 Trivium #2 Slipknot #4 Within Temptation 퉌æ Best Music Video (Won by Funeral For A Friend) #4 Slipknot í¢ä‰åäóì Before I Forget 퉌æ Best Album #1 Trivium í¢ä‰åäóì Ascendancy #2 í¢ä‰åäóì Chimaira í¢ä‰åäóì Chimaira #4 í¢ä‰åäóì Roadrunner United퉌æ 퉌æ Best Guitarist #1 Mick Thompson, Slipknot #4 Herman Li, Dragonforce 퉌æ Best Drummer #1 Joey Jordison 퉌æ Best Frontperson (won by Bruce Dickinson) #2 Corey Taylor, Slipknot #4 Sharon Den Adel, Within Temptation 퉌æ Best Bassist (won by Fieldy) #2 Paul Gray, Slipknot 퉌æ Best Album Sleeve #1 Opeth í¢ä‰åäóì Ghost Reveries #5 Soulfly í¢ä‰åäóì Dark Ages 퉌æ Man Of The Year (won by Bruce Dickinson) #5 Matt Heafy, Trivium 퉌æ Woman Of The Year #1 Sharon Den Adel, Within Temptation #5 Marta, Bleeding Through 퉌æ Best Website (won by MySpace) #2 Roadrunner Records #4 slipknot1.com

To celebrate the release Of Bleeding Through – The Truth (Out Now) and the forthcoming tours from Bleeding Throough & Soulfly, Roadrunner, Getlive.co.uk, & Attitude Clothing have all teamed up to bring you a very special prize. In each competition one winner plus a friend will be given the oppotunity to see the band at any of the forthcoming gigs Plus A T-Shirt signed by the band. In addition to this we will be giving away merch to runners up. To enter for either Bleeding Through or Soulfly simply go to tthe FREESHIT section of the site.

Emotional-hardcore legends Still Remains are currently ripping up the country on the Kerrang XXV tour. Bassist Evan Wiley managed to catch up with us earlier today to let us know how the whole shindig is going. In a nutshell “Things are going great” states Evan. “I love the UK, and it’s great to be back, the crowds over here are fanatical”. The band haven’t been in the UK since last years Download Festival where they ripped up the napster stage. 7 months later and the band can’t wait to get stuck in. “We’ve been off the road for 6 weeks, so we’re lovin’ these shows, we are 3 shows in and we’re playing the best ever.”. Evan also remarks how it’s their new drummer “Bone’s” fourth gig with the band ever. However it seems that nerves aren’t on the cards, “The experience has been amazing, a real party atmosphere”. Evan puts the “party atmosphere” down to all the bands knowing each other. “The only guys we haven’t toured with before are Hawthorne Heights so we are all getting on great. REMEMBER: STILL REMAINS ARE ON THE KERRANG XXV TOUR UNTIL THE 28th JAN CLICK HERE for a full list of dates.

Don’t forget, Still Remains are playiing a handful of special headline dates. Details are as follows: Wed 18th Jan: Barfly, Birmingham (퉌£8 adv) Sun 22nd Jan: Barfly, Liverpool (퉌£8 adv) Tickets are available from www.barflyclub.com / 0870 907 0999 Both shows are 14 years +

Roadrunner Records is proud to announce the signing of classic metal quartet SANCTITY. Hailing from Asheville, NC, USA, the group formed in 2000 and is comprised of Jared MacEachern퉌æ(vocals/rhythm guitar), Zeff Childress (lead guitar), Billy Moody (bass) and Jeremy London퉌æ(drums). 퉌æ SANCTITY was signed by longtime퉌æRoadrunner A&R man Monte Conner.퉌æ Says Conner: “Sanctity is straight-up, guitar-based, melodic heavy metal.퉌æI received a video of the band’s song ‘Zeppo,’ and besides퉌æshowcasing the blazing fretwork of lead shredder, Zeff, the main thing I got from the video was퉌æa sense of how of much a star the vocalist (Jared) really is.퉌æHe knows how to command a stage and has an overwhelming presence. The minute I saw퉌æJared in퉌æaction, I knew I had to sign the band.퉌æOf equal importance,퉌æhe’s got an amazing퉌ævocal퉌ærange and퉌æa퉌æfresh퉌æstyle compared to what’s out there today.”퉌æ퉌æ 퉌æ Following an US support slot opening for Fear Factory and Trivium, Sanctity took up Trivium vocalist Matt Heafy’s suggestion of working with producer Jason Suecof at Audiohammer Studios in Florida (Trivium, God Forbid). Conner’s interest was piqued after hearing the two sets of demos the band recorded. But the band took the bull by the horns and퉌æsealed the deal퉌æby delivering퉌æa퉌æself-financed,퉌æhomemade video for their퉌æfans’ favorite track ‘Zeppo’.퉌æ퉌æ퉌æ 퉌æ Regarding the video, Jared says “Our director Ramon Boutviseth knew of this abandoned prison that was built in the 1930’s. It was really dusty in there, not to mention the fact that everything had been originally painted with lead paint, which was now hanging off the ceilings and walls like dead skin after sunburn. One of the best퉌æthings about the shoot was the fact that it was an experiment for us and Ramon – none of us having ever shot a video before.퉌æWe all think it turned out great, but what wasn’t so great was the fact that we were all sick for a couple weeks afterwardí¢ä‰åŒ_” í‰Œæ “‘Zeppo’ is a song that we wrote a number of years ago,”퉌æcontinues Jared, “and even after our last session in the studio, we still felt it was one of our strongest songs.퉌æThe퉌ætitle퉌æ’Zeppo’ is a little obscure, but we feel it fits. It comes from a TV show we were퉌æwatching where one of the characters says he feels like a Zeppo, meaning Zeppo Marx, the only Marx퉌æBrother who never did anything. In the show, this character ends up saving the day. In a way, I guess it’s one of those songs about being the underdog.퉌æBoth the song and the video are indicative of what it’s like for us to completely immerse ourselves in SANCTITY and our efforts to be heard.”퉌æ í‰Œæ “We’re all really excited about퉌æjoining퉌æthe Roadrunner family, and look forward to jumping right into the thick of it,”퉌æenthuses퉌æJared.퉌æí¢ä‰åñIt was a long road getting here but we couldn’t ask for better people to work with. We look forward to making a record that will explode some heads out there!”퉌æ퉌æ퉌æ 퉌æ Sanctity are managed by Justin Arcangel and Brian Heafy of Dark Angel Management and will퉌ærecord their Roadrunner debut퉌æthis퉌æsummer with Jason Suecof for an Autumn 2006 release. In the meanwhile, the demo version and video퉌æof ‘Zeppo’ can be found퉌æHERE. Or to hear audio only via Windows Media, you can CLICK HERE.

Opeths latest epic Ghost Reveries has cleaned up in the end of year polls. We have listed a handful of these great accomplishments. METAL HAMMER: Critics Poll í¢ä‰åäóì #1 Best Album of 2005. TERRORIZER: Readers Poll í¢ä‰åäóì #1 Best Band, Best Album, Best Musician (Mikael), Best Vocalist (Mikael), Best Cover Art. #2 Best Live Act, Personality of the Year (Mikael). TERRORIZER: Writers Poll í¢ä‰åäóì #5 Best Album. ROCKSOUND: Readers Poll – #2 Best Album, #5 Best International Band KERRANG!: Critics Poll í¢ä‰åäóì 12th Best Album. TOTAL GUITAR: #36 – 50 Best Guitar Albums of 2005 CLASSIC ROCK: #5 Best 50 Albums Of 2005 If you want to know what the fuss is all about CLICK HERE

Cradle Of Filth, Slipknot and Trivium are all o feature on the soundtrack for the forthcoming film Underworld – Evolution The full tracklisting for the sooundtrack is as follows: 1. The Undertaker (Renholder Mix) * Puscifer 2. Morning After * Chester Bennington vs. Julien-K 3. Where Do I Stab Myself In The Ears (The Legion of Doom Remix) * Hawthorne Heights 4. To The End (RnR Cheryl Mix) * My Chemical Romance 5. Vermillion pt 2 (Bloodstone Mix) * Slipknot 6. Burn (Alleged Remix) * Alkaline Trio 7. The Last Sunrise (Dusk Mix) * Aiden 8. Bite To Break Skin (The Legion of Doom Remix) * Senses Fail 9. Her Portrait In Black * Atreyu 10. Washing Away Me In The Tides * Trivium 11. Eternal Battle * Mendozza 12. Our Truth * Lacuna Coil 13. Cat People (Putting Out The Fire) * Gosling 14. Why Are You Up * Bobby Gold 15. Suicide * Meat Beat Manifesto 16. HW2 * Cradle Of Filth