ADAGIO

Adagio is a French symphonicprogressive metal band. Stephan Forté, the band's guitarist, is considered the creative force behind Adagio. Adagio's music is characterized by technical precision, dark, dense orchestration, complex lead work, and a driving rhythm section. However, on the group's latest effort, Dominate, they have added death gruntsto their sound. The band has finished the pre-production of their 4th album, Archangels in Black. The album will feature nine songs plus one Japanese bonus. According to the band's website the "compositions are the ultimate between melodic and extreme metal, and can be considered as a more brutal version of Underworld."

THE RED DEATH

The Red Death are a death metal band from Bath, New York. Formed in 2002 after the demise of Another Day Forgotten by singer Paul Hamblin, guitarist Josh Williammee, and drummer Graham Mitchell, the original lineup was rounded out by guitarist Brian Van Gelder and bassist Karl Janovec. In 2003 Bryan left the band and was replaced by Nate Golia, a guitarist from nearby Rochester, NY, formerly of another metal band, Warblade (band). That summer they embarked on their first short tour with Virginia screamo band Shadows and the Silence. Shadows and the Silence's bass player was a Bath native, Dominic Mastronunzio, and he would replace Karl the following summer. While on a three-week tour with New Jersey's With Resistance, the band began speaking with Metal Blade Records and would sign with them the following fall; however, Nate would leave the band to concentrate on school and be replaced by Auburn, NY's Aaron Conti, formerly of If Hope Dies. After signing to Metal Blade, the band embarked on several extended, full-U.S. tours with bands such as From a Second Story Window, The Acacia Strain, Undying, Through the Eyes of the Dead, and Accursed Dawn, in 2006 they were dropped. With new bassist Jordan Rathbun, the band has recorded a new demo for prospective labels. Paul Hamblin has also recently caught the "acting bug" and is jetsetting to Hollywood bi-weekly to star in some low budget and blockbuster releases, like Mr. Goat and Put it All In. Graham Mitchell is now head of a mine expansion project southeast of Erie, PA, and spends most of his free time there designing complicated mining equipment and safety harnesses. Aaron Conti has founded a record label by the name of "Roadside Records" and is looking for new talent everyday. New Guitarist Mark Kelley has recently been seen somewhere near Ft. Lauderdale but sources say he always makes it to weekly rehearsals on time and spry. Jordan is looking to plant his roots and is engaged to be married next year on April 20th, friends of Rathbun indicate that his fiancee is pregnant with their first child and that the location of the wedding is due to be on the tip-top of the television antenna on the Eiffel Tower (Paris, France). Former guitar player Joshua "Dino-Puncher" Williammee is in development with a burl selling pyramid scheme and is reportedly doing awful. Former long-time bassist Jackson Portwood has been seen in the Phoenix area spray painting large murals for corporate art-in-advertising projects and is yet to shower. Matt Faulisi.

BLOODRUNK (CHILDREN OF BODOM)

Blooddrunk is the sixth studio album by Finnish metal band Children of Bodom released on April 9, 2008 through Spinefarm Records. The album contains eight original songs and a re-recorded version of the single"Tie My Rope". Various editions feature one or two cover songsas bonus tracks. The limited edition digipak version of the album includes a bonus DVD with 5.1 surround mixes of all songs and the video and making-of for "Blooddrunk".

GOTHIC METAL

'''Gothic metal''' (or '''goth metal''') is a subgenre of heavy metal music. It combines of the dark melancholy of gothic rock with the aggression of heavy metal. The genre originated during the early 1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of death/doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. Lyrics are generally melodramatic and mournful with inspiration fromgothic fiction as well as personal experiences.

Pioneers of gothic metal include Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema, all from the north of England. Other pioneers from the first half of the 1990s include Type O Negative from the United States, Tiamat from Sweden and The Gathering from the Netherlands. Norwegian band Theatre of Tragedy developed the "beauty and the beast" aesthetic of combining aggressive male vocals with clean female vocals, a contrast that has since been adopted by many gothic metal groups. During the mid 1990s, Moonspell and Cradle of Filth brought the gothic approach to black metal. By the end of the decade, a symphonic metal variant of gothic metal had been developed by Tristania and Within Temptation.

In the 21st century, gothic metal has moved towards the mainstream in Europe, particularly in Finland where groups such as The 69 Eyes, Entwine, HIM, Lullacry, Poisonblack and Sentenced have released hit singles or chart-topping albums. In the US, however, only a few bands such as Lacuna Coil and Evanescence have found commercial success.