Southern Wisconsin quintet LUNA MORTIS have posted the following message:

"Just to let you all know, our lead guitarist, Brian Koenig, will be helping out our very good friends in EPICUREAN (Metal Blade Records) by filling in for them on lead guitar for their upcoming January tour with ROTTING CHRIST. We wish Brian well on the tour and we are more than happy to "loan" him out to our friends in Epicurean.

Brian posted a personal blog about it on his MySpace and this is what he had to say:

"Hello everyone,

I've recently been given the opportunity to stand in on lead guitar with our good friends in the Twin Cities band Epicurean. I will be playing with them for the entirety of their January North American tour and therefore will be gone for the whole month. I want to emphasize that I am NOT quitting Luna Mortis, but since our January schedule is lean, I'm taking the opportunity to help out a really cool band that is busting ass to make it happen just like we are. You can find their MySpace in my top friends, so check them out, add them and listen to the tunes. Cory will be subbing for me for some of my Studio B lessons as well. I am still on for playing Madpower on the 27th of this month, and then our good friend and awesome guitarist Shane Keck will be standing in for me during January. After that it will be back to business as usual. Thanks again to everyone...and go pick up the CM sampler that is out on the 16th with our new track 'Never Give In' at Hot Topic.

Brian Koenig, LM"

So, we'll see you all on the road and hope that you can catch Brian with Epicurean... like Brian said, we will be having our friend Shane Keck fill in for him on lead guitar for our show in January, so there aren't any cancellations."

As previously reported, Luna Mortis are about to make a huge impact on the metal scene with their Century Media debut full-length offering, The Absence, which runs the gamut; encompassing everything from captivating melodies, technical precision and engaging hooks.

The album, produced by Jason Suecof (ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM), is set for a February 10th North American release and be sure to visit the band's MySpace page now to stream the new track 'Never Give In'.