TUESDAY MORNING NEWS ROUND-UP

Today is seemingly “news about albums that are coming out in early 2012” day. To that end:

• Soilwork are writing a new album called The Living Infinite. Generic quote time: Speed Strid says that “people can expect a continuation of the intensity and presence of The Panic Broadcast, only taken to a higher level” and wishes us all a merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Gee, thanks, Speed!
• Gojira have issued their third studio update video, this one showing bassist Jean-Michel Labadie laying down his tracks. Labadie is the member of Gojira I feel like I know the least about; I’d love to get to know that guy! Gojira are presumably all done or close to done recording their album by now… very exciting.
• Lamb of God released a new trailer for their new album Resolution (January 24th, Epic Records), and it features a good chunk of a previously unheard song. Check it out above, and listen to the first single “Ghost Walking” here if you haven’t yet.

• Party-thrash kings Rumpelstiltskin Grinder have finished writing their new album Ghostmaker according to an interview feature with Decibel. Living for Death, Destroying the Rest was one of my favorite records of 2009 so this news has me all sorts of excited. It’ll be RsG’s first album with new label Candlelight.
• Exivious guitarist Michel Nienhuis is in a new experimental black / death metal band called Dodecahedron. They’re planning to release their debut album on January 20th, but they’ve got two new songs streaming on their Facebook page. It’s a doozy, real forward-thinking, un-traditional black metal, kinda like black metal gone Gorguts. I like this, and you folks will too.
• Ex-Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris has formed a new band with ex-Annihilator touring bassist Dave Sheldon on vocals called A Cancerous Affair. The demo they’ve got posted on Soundcloud is pretty mainstream metal-sounding aside from an awesome solo at the end, but it seems like that was the idea. Says Norris in an official press release, “I love all styles of music from pop and jazz to black metal and with this being a project band with no intentions other than to write music we enjoy, I’m not pigeonholed into oh this song needs a fast riff or a crazy solo. It’s a nice relief from the other projects and bands I’m involved in and have been involved in.”
• Prior to their run with Devildriver on the Metal Alliance tour, The Faceless, Dying Fetus and Job For A Cowboy will team up with Volumes and Last Chance to Reason for a short run of tour dates.
• Decibel Magazine asks a bunch of metal band dudes about the worst gifts they ever got for Christmas. Which is worse, a can of Norwegian fish balls or a George of the Jungle VHS?