BELPHEGOR Split With NAPALM RECORDS, Prepare To Record New Album

Austrian death/black metal act BELPHEGOR have officially severed ties with Napalm Records. "[Napalm] worked into another direction than we wanted, and we don't want others to meddle into our things because we know for ourselves what's the best," the band write on their web site. "Unfortunately, they did too [little] for us in the live sector and we are really not amused to wait all the time. For the already successful European tour, Napalm Records has forsaken us and deleted the whole budget, so we made the final stroke, it's time for the next chapter." BELPHEGOR will enter producer Andy Classen's Stage One studios in Germany in early November to begin recording their sixth album, tentatively due in April 2006 via an as-yet-undetermined label. "From Andy at the controls we expect an absolute brilliant killer production,' the band write. "Nefastus will begin on 12th of November with the drum sessions, the recording process will reach out 'till middle of February 2006 with four sessions, so everything can grow and we can take the best result. Middle of February 2006 everything will be mixed/mastered, so you can count with the opus in middle/end April 2006 if everything runs the way we want to. More info on those soon." Regarding the songwriting process for the new album, the group write, "We have already begun with the compositions for the next yet not titled album and most of the tracks/arrangements are almost finished. This time we will work with different guitars (tunings) and very unconventional moods in the hertz area, to let it sound more monumental. The new material is massive and iron. We have again worked out everything into the littlest detail and are going to spend the next month to rehearse the sound collages as tight as possible." BELPHEGOR's fifth full-length album, "The Goatreich - Fleshcult", was released in Europe in February via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded at Mastersound Studio in Fellbach, Germany and is the follow-up to 2003's "Lucifer Incestus".