Even though we saw some great shows and amazing albums in 2008, we’ve also seen our share of craziness. I’ve compiled a list of some crazy things that have happened this year that I can think of off the top of my head.

Byzantine breaks up…3 days after they release Oblivion Beckons.
Light This City break up before releasing the last record.
Arsis changes members more than their underwear.
The Black Dahlia Murder lose a guitarist…steals one from Arsis.
Phil Demmel of Machine Head passes out twice on stage.
DJ Sid from Slipknot breaks both of his feet…keeps on trucking.
Joey Jordison breaks an ankle, cancels UK …read more

Back in early January, Prosthetic Records sent me a review copy of Byzantine’s Oblivion Beckons. I loved it! It was an amazing record but shortly after it’s release Byzantine announced that they would no longer be continuing as a band. This disappointed a lot of people and the reason for the break up was never really clarified by the band publicly.

Repost From Prosthetic Records Newsletter:

THE ACACIA STRAIN
No current shows.
ALL THAT REMAINS
(with Chimaira, Divine Heresy)
2/15 Denver, CO – Gothic
2/16 Salt Lake City, UT – The Avalon
2/17 Boise, ID – Big Easy Concert House
2/18 Spokane, WA – Big Easy Concert House
2/19 Vancouver, BC – Croatian Cultural Centre
(with Chimaira, Light This City)
2/21 San Francisco, CA – Slims
2/22 San Diego, CA – SOMA
2/23 Las Vegas, NV – Jillian’s
2/25 Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues
2/26 Phoenix, AZ – Marquee
2/28 Dallas, TX – The Door
2/29 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
3/01 Houston, TX – Meridian
3/03 Orlando, FL – House of Blues
3/04 Atlanta, GA – The …read more

Holy crap, just days after the release of Oblivion Beckons, Byzantine is no more. This is really shitty because I just got into this band and did a review for Oblivion Beckons. Here is a statement they release via Myspace:
“In regards to the current state of Byzantine:
As of today Byzantine is no longer a functioning band. Due to various circumstances the band will not be touring or performing together. We would like to first thank everyone that has supported this band throughout the years.

Reposted from Prosthetic Records Myspace Bulletin:
We are waiting on our stock of the SKELETONWITCH “Beyond The Permafrost” LIMITED EDITION BLUE VINYL! We’re only getting a handful of these, it’s first come first serve and will sell out quickly! So preorder your copy NOW!
SKELETONWITCH VINYL – PREORDER

Byzantine will be releasing Oblivion Beckons on January 22. This is their third studio release sense forming in 2000 in the backwoods of West Virginia. I was blessed with an advance copy of the cd from Prosthetic Records and I must say that Prosthetic has yet to send me a cd to review that I didn’t like. There used to be a day when Roadrunner was the label to sign all the really good Metal bands and they still have a good handful on their roster, but Prosthetic is the name in metal these days if you ask me. Anyway, …read more

West Virginia’s Byzantine will be releasing their 3rd full length album entitled Oblivion Beckons on January 22 on Prosthetic Records. They have been kind enough to send me an advance copy of the CD (Thanks Bob) and I’ve been giving it a good listen for the past two days. Kind of switching between that and All That Remains‘ This Darkened Heart, which I will also review as an OSR in a few days or so. Keep an eye out for both reviews.
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