40 BELOW SUMMER: Coming from New Jersey, 40 Below Summer delivers a sole and surpassed aggressiveness on their edgy and heavy rock tunes, at the same time supporting it with an indubitable sense of melody. Adjoining puissant metal style inflections and other fiery references, Summer follows the path of other new metal squads. Constituting in late 1998 in New Jersey, Summer first formed by the common initiative of drummer Carlos Aguilar, a Peruvian natural, and of vocalist Max Illidge, after the two first met while playing in a band called Alien. Illidge had a curious show business background, since he made his first TV appearance at the age of 12 as the little boy in the Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" video clip. Later joining the crew were guitarists Joe D'Amico and Jordan Plingos, along with bassist Hector Graziani. Following the completion of the lineup, Summer began playing regularly, not only in New Jersey, but also in New York. It was also at that time that the crew decided on recording its first demo tape, "Sideshow Freaks." The recording eventually reached No Name Management, a business with heading bands like Slipknot or Fear Factory that, without delay, invited the New Jersey team to sign in. After appearances at several showcases, the band finally settled on signing a deal with the London/Sire Records label. They went on to release their second album with Razor And Tie Records in 2003, selling over 100,000 albums over the two releases. Now finding a new home with Crash Music, the band will release 9 new tracks plus a bonus DVD!  Pick it up in stores on October 31, 2006!

Metalium is a power metal band from Hamburg, Germany. Their style of music is that of the traditional power metal sound which was pioneered in Hamburg by bands such as Helloween and Blind Guardian. Metalium released their first album, Millennium Metal: Chapter One in 1999 on Pavement Music. The original lineup included Chris Caffery of Savatage and Victor Smolski of Yngwie Malmsteen. State of Triumph: Chapter Two followed in 2000, also on Pavement Music. Then came Hero Nation: Chapter Three in 2002, on Century Media Records, As One: Chapter Four in 2004, and Demons of Insanity: Chapter Five in 2005 on Crash Music. The title of the NEW Metalium album is “Nothing To Undo – Chapter VI” It’s an unusual “realistic” and “direct" title for a METALIUM album, but it fits the best to express the meaning of the lyrics. The lyrical themes are about the deepest innerside of a human being…. Lies, betrayal, false friends… but also about honour, loyalty and blind understanding. In general the most direct and dramatic lyrics of Metalium so far and more related to reality than the other chapters.  In stores 2/20/07!

LUPARA

LUPARA was formed in the summer of 2003 by guitarist Jeremy Wagner. Wagner, best known as founder and rhythm guitarist for the international death-metal band, Broken Hope, decided to put all of his energy into a new project. By the summer of 2003, LUPARA was up and running. The first LUPARA promo-CD was released in 2004.

In 2005, Wagner joined forces with Noa Brady (vocals), Scott Creekmore (drums), and Tom Brandner (lead-guitars) to polish and solidify LUPARA as a killing machine. 2005 was also the year LUPARA released a 3-song EP/CD that was even more ferocious than the first LUPARA sampler. That same year, LUPARA shared the stage with Napalm Death, Otep, American Headcharge, Testament, God Forbid, Nuclear Assault, Agnostic Front, Obituary, and others. LUPARA also performed at the 2005 Monterrey Metalfest in Mexico with Motorhead, WASP, Hammerfall, Danzig, and Jag Panzer.

In 2006 LUPARA signed a worldwide contract with Crash Music, Inc. and soon after, wrote an entire set of brand new songs that became their debut album. During the recording of the debut, LUPARA took a break from the studio and did a 2-week US tour supporting Ringworm and Deicide in order to tell the everyone possible that LUPARA had arrived as the new force and name in extreme metal.

On October 31, 2006 (Halloween), LUPARA’s self-titled, debut album was released worldwide via Crash Music, Inc., and it quickly gained attention with the metal masses.

On Saturday, November 18th LUPARA began filming their first video for the track, “No Pity On the Ants” which was taken from their self-titled debut album. "No Pity On the Ants" was directed and produced by Frankie Nasso of Raging Nation Films (MUDVAYNE, HATEBREED, ALL THAT REMAINS, WALLS OF JERICHO). The video was extra special for LUPARA as their friend, Mick Thomson of SLIPKNOT, appeared in the video as the main actor. The storyline for the clip revolves around a sadistic killer who enslaves half-a-dozen prisoners for his own twisted enjoyment. The video features Thomson as the killer.

The debut album has received critical acclaim in numerous magazines including Guitar One, Chronicles of Chaos, and Revolver Magazine who gave LUPARA a 4-star review.

The proof of LUPARA’s impact is evident from the testimony of their fans and their peers. LUPARA has garnered recognition and praise from such heavyweights as the platinum-selling/Grammy Award winning band Slipknot, up and coming monsters Hatebreed and Lamb of God, and old-school gods, Obituary and Deicide.

Metal Hammer UK had predicted that LUPARA’s 2005 EP “sets down a marker for future glories.” Future glories definitely await as LUPARA’s self-titled debut has been winning over new fans at a steady rate.

**People always wonder what LUPARA means. A “lupara” is a sawed-off, Sicilian shotgun that mafia soldiers carry as one of their primary weapons. A lupara is rumored to be so powerful, it can blow a man in half.