Deflorate starts off strong, however, as “Black Valor” combines a heavy dose of melodic fused riffs balanced with tasty blasts and double bass, and the production is nice, clean, and powerful, very similar to the sound of newer KATAKLYSM albums. THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER thrive on the one foot blast perfected by AT THE GATES, and Deflorate contains plenty of it, which sometimes waters down some of the well written melodies hidden beneath the surface. Songs are short, fluid, and cohesive, as the band blasts through hook laden tracks such as “Necropolis” and “A Selection Unnatural“. The high pitched, effect driven vocals on “Denounced, Disgraced” start to drag the album down, but “Death Panorama” is loaded with high intensity as the double bass pounds throughout, and the blasts compliment the AT THE GATES-ish solos graciously. While trudging through a few generic tracks, Deflorate ends with a slower, but very catchy track that closes out the album perfectly. “I Will Return” touches on the topic of cryogenic freezing, and the band utilizes all the influences they’ve picked up and learned from DISSECTION, IN FLAMES, and IRON MAIDEN as they pull out all the stops.

Underground metal warriors snub this band because of how they look and dress, but musically, the band is one of the best Gothenburg-influenced bands out there today. Deflorate is not for old school death metal fans who grew up on DEICIDE, SUFFOCATION, and IMMOLATION, but for fans of the newer crop of bands, such as ABIGAIL WILLIAMS and VEHEMENCE. Deflorate should please all BLACK DAHLIA MURDER fans, and might be a starting point for new listeners to the genre to move on to heavier bands in the future. (Metal Blade Records)

Watch the “Garden of Stones” video below…

Watch more AOL Music videos on AOL Video

“So we finally got around to making a live DVD. People have been asking us to make one for ages it seems, so we guess it was about time. It was quite a different experience to have all those cameras around for those shows but in the end, we feel it really came out great in a ‘not so flashy but more toward the gritty’ type of way. More true to what we are about. Capturing what a MESHUGGAH show is like. For real… without the trimmings, so to speak… just the way both us and Ian [McFarland, producer] wanted it. Enjoy!”

Contents of the Alive concert film include:

DVD:
01. Begin
02. Perpetual Black Second (Tokyo)
03. Twenty Two Hours
04. Pravus (Tokyo)
05. Dissemination
06. Bleed (NYC)
07. Ritual
08. New Millenium Cyanide Christ (Montreal)
09. Cleanse
10. Stengah (Montreal)
11. The Mouth Licking What You’ve Bled (Montreal)
12. Machine
13. Electric Red (Tokyo)
14. Solidarius
15. Rational Gaze (Tokyo)
16. Moment
17. Lethargica (Toronto)
18. Communicate
19. Combustion (Toronto)
21. Straws Pulled At Random (Toronto)
20. Humiliative (Montreal)
22. Straws Pulled At Random (Toronto)
23. End

BONUS MATERIAL
01. “Bleed” Music Video
02. “The Making Of ‘Bleed’”
03. Micha’s Guitar Tour
04. Tomas Haake’s Drum Tour

LIVE AUDIO CD:
01. Perpetual Black Second
02. Electric Red
03. Rational Gaze
04. Pravus
05. Lethargica
06. Combustion
07. Straws Pulled At Random
08. New Millenium Cyanide Christ
09. Stengah
10. The Mouth Licking What You’ve Bled
11. Humiliative
12. Bleed

Watch the trailer below:

To add to this musicial orgasm is another underground metal pioneer, Anneke Van Giersbergen (AGUA DE ANNIQUE/ex-THE GATHERING), who shares vocals duties on Addicted. To have her sing on Devin’s songs is not only extremely interesting but it fits so perfectly. Both vocalists write catchy vocal lines and also hold out those long notes with ease. It’s a joy to hear two vocalists who can really sing their asses off throughout an entire album.

Songwise, you’ve got the songs with the gigantic cascades of lush synthesizers, driving tempos, and “big” vocals. One pleasant surprise is “Ih-Ah!” which is an acoustic guitar/piano driven song that is easily one of Devin’s most accessible to date and least “abrasive.” Album closer, “Awake!!,” is the most bombastic track and features some fantastic vocals from Anneke and Devin.

Devin Townsend justifies his godly status with Addicted being yet another great work. The album would’ve been superb without Anneke Van Giersbergen. However, her part in Addicted really puts it over the top in the echelon of Devin Townsend albums. Few albums released in 2009 can match the pure listening pleasure and feelings of euphoria that is Addicted. (Inside Out Music)

Guitarist Peter “Pepe” Hansen comments:

“This is indeed a new and exciting chapter for HATESPHERE. After touring Europe for more than 7 years, we finally have the chance to visit The States. It is a huge opportunity for us and we look forward to play for our U.S. fans! A huge thank you to the guys in THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, who were kind enough to invite us! Unfortunately, we have to cancel the European tour with Hypocrisy due to our change of drummer and personal reasons. However, it’s a pleasure to have Mike behind the drums. We’ve known him for several years, and he wanted to play fast for a long time and now it’s finally happening so obviously we’re happy! We promise to return both during the summer at the festivals and in the autumn. Last but not least, we’re happy to announce that Rune Walther from Dream Fire Agency will be taking care of the business as our new manager.”

Drummer Mike Park comments:

“I’ve always been a big fan of HATESPHERE and I’ve known the guys for a long time so it was quite natural to take over from Dennis. The opportunity came as an extension of my break with MERCENARY and I feel great sitting behind the drums in a hard-hitting and professional band as HATESPHERE. I’ve already played my first three concerts with the guys and it was fantastic. The energy, the drive and comradeship is exceptional – just as it should be. Now I look forward to show the HATESPHERE banner in the U.S!”

Confirmed HATESPHERE tour dates/venues:

Feb 24 Atlanta, GA @ Masque
Feb 25 St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Feb 26 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
Feb 27 Orlando, FL @ The Social
Mar 01 Houston, TX @ Meridian
Mar 02 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
Mar 03 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
Mar 05 Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
Mar 06 Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Theater
Mar 07 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
Mar 08 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Mar 09 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Mar 10 Boise, ID @ The Venue
Mar 12 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
Mar 13 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
Mar 14 Des Moines, IA @ House of Bricks
Mar 15 St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
Mar 16 Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
Mar 18 Washington, DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel
Mar 19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
Mar 20 New York, NY @ Santo’s Party House
Mar 21 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East – Downstairs
Mar 22 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
Mar 23 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theater
Mar 24 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick

Fresh off a summer trek as one of the main stage attractions of the second annual Rock Star Energy Mayhem Fest, KSE will take the show on the road for a headline trek across the US, which is their first for this album. The tour will begin on February 4 in their home state of Massachusetts and will cover significant ground across the country for seven weeks. To keep things interesting, KSE have elected to play smaller venues in a handful of cities in order to create a more intimate setting for their fans.

Joining KILLSWITCH as main support will be Dayton, OH’s THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, who released their latest album With Roots Above and Branches Below via Ferret Music back in May 2009 and immediately followed with a hugely successful stint on last summer’s Warped Tour, resulting in a fanbase that has since grown exponentially. Also joining KILLSWITCH on this run will be highly influential metal act DARK TRANQUILLITY, who hail from Gothenburg, Sweden. DARK TRANQUILLITY are set to release their anticipated new album We Are the Void through Century Media in March 2010.

In other KSE news, the song “The End of Heartache,” the title track from their 2004, Gold-certified release, will appear on Guitar Hero: Van Halen alongside tracks from acts like FOO FIGHTERS, WEEZER, JUDAS PRIEST and THE CLASH, among others.

KSE guitarist Adam D. weighed in on the tour saying, “We are stoked to come back to the US and shred with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and DARK TRANQUILLITY. It’s been a while since we’ve headlined the States and we’re excited to play some new tunes for y’all. This tour is going to be wicked sweet!”

The tour will canvas the country beginning in early February and will run through the end of March. The dates are as follows, with additional dates being confirmed and announced shortly.

2/4 House of Blues, Boston, MA
2/5 House of Blues, Atlantic City, NJ
2/6 NorVa Norfolk, VA *KSE and DARK TRANQUILLITY only
2/8 House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL
2/10 Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
2/11 Amos’ Southend, Charlotte, NC
2/12 Sonar, Baltimore, MD
2/13 House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
2/15 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
2/18 First Avenue Loop Station, MN
2/19 Eagles Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
2/20 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
2/21 The Egyptian Room at the Murat Center, Indianapolis, IN
2/23 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
2/24 Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater, Austin, TX *KSE, DARK TRANQUILLITY and special guest
2/25 Warehouse, Live Houston, TX
2/26 Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, TX
2/27 Concrete Street Amphitheatre Corpus Christi, TX *KSE, DARK TRANQUILLITY and special guest
3/01 Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
3/03 House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
3/05 Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
3/06 The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
3/07 The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
3/09 Roseland Theater, Portland, OR
3/10 Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
3/12 The Great Salt Air, Magna, UT
3/13 Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
3/14 The Midland by AMC, Kansas City, MO
3/15 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
3/16 Rocket Town, Nashville, TN *KSE, DARK TRANQUILLITY and special guest
3/18 Irving Plaza, New York, NY
3/19 Irving Plaza, New York, NY
3/21 The Dome, Wallingford, CT