Finnish black metal band Catamenia will be releasing a new album called VIII on September 12th. As you might have guessed, this is the eighth studio album from the band which has been around since 1995. It will be released in 2 different versions, though the details of each are unknown so far, on Massacre Records.

Over the years, Catamenia has endured many lineup changes, the most recent of which was a change in May when their old lead singer Olli-Jukka Mustonen left the band just before a small Canadian tour. I’m not sure how this affected the work on VIII, we will just have to wait and see. You can listen to Catamenia on their MySpace page.

Consorting with the Black

Norwegian symphonic black-metal masters Dimmu Borgir are joining American bands Danzig, Winds of Plague and Skeletonwitch along with Portuguese Moonspell on the North American Blackest of the Black Tour in October and November. Dimmu Borgir’s eighth studio album, In Sorte Diaboli, was released last April and managed to be the first black metal album to hit number one in their native Norway and also made it to number 43 in the US Billboard 200.

(Tour dates listed on the next page.)

Vreid in the studio

Another Norwegian black metal band, Vreid, recently announced on myspace that they have been making good progress on a fourth, as yet unnamed, album continuing their focus on the Norwegian resistance during World War II. They expect work on the album to be finished by October for a January release.

Grim Tales from Sweden

One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, a death/thrash metal band from Sweden, is set to release their third album, Grim Tales in October or November 2008. Samples can be heard at myspace.

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