BW&BK; has received the following press release:

SwordLord Productions is proud to announce the 2009 Flight Of The Valkyries Metal Festival – the premier festival in the US for metal bands with female lead vocals.

The third installment of the annual metal festival will be held Saturday, June 27th at Station 4 in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota and will feature bands such as SIRENS OF TITAN, HYDROGYN, TODESBONDEN, LUNA MORTIS, and headliner BENEDICTUM.

"Benedictum received a great crowd reaction at last year’s festival and I immediately knew that we would have to bring them back for a future festival. This year is a perfect year to do that," says Nathan 'SwordLord' Block, Flight Of The Valkyries festival promoter and founder of SwordLord Productions. “I am pleased to welcome back Benedictum as this year’s Flight of the Valkyries headliner!”

Luna Mortis has also been confirmed for the 2009 FotV festival. “The rising star of the American progressive death metal scene,” proclaims Block, “Luna Mortis makes their return to Flight of the Valkyries with a new name and new album. With their label debut The Absence flying off the shelves and receiving incredible reviews, they were an obvious choice for this year’s festival.” Luna Mortis played the first Flight Of The Valkyries festival in 2007 as THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE prior to signing with Century Media.

“Todesbonden blew me away at the first Heathen Crusade,” said Block. “It is high time this band was brought back into light in the US metal scene and FotV is happy to be the festival to do that.” Todesbonden is a diverse gothic folk metal band that combines catchy trance-inducing melodies, epic keys, soaring violins, and crushing guitars, with powerful Balkan, Operatic, Celtic, Rock, and Middle Eastern lead female vocals.

A fiery band that blends influences of hard rock and heavy metal, Hydrogyn has worked with legendary producer Michael Wagener (OZZY OSBOURNE, SKID ROW, ALICE COOPER) and has been recognized by metal publications all over the world. Hydrogyn is a force to be reckoned with in the US metal and rock scenes and now brings that force to the FotV stage.

Also making their return to Flight of the Valkyries will be the Minneapolis metal quartet Sirens of Titan. Their debut self-titled album brings together a range of influences from Black Sabbath and Deep Purple to more recent doom metal/stoner rock styles. Blending in powerful, melodic and soulful female vocals, Siren of Titan creates a unique style that is both soaring and ominous.

Says Block, “Fans are encouraged to visit our forum on UltimateMetal.com to connect with other fans and keep abreast of all the latest FotV festival news.”

Additional bands will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the Flight Of The Valkyries festival are on sale now. Ticket prices are $15 in advance or $20 on the day of show. Doors will open at 3:00 pm. The show is 16+. Advanced tickets for the festival can be purchased here (scroll down).

FotV has been a catalyst for many female-fronted metal bands that have toured extensively abroad to realize the market for their music in the US. The festival has previously featured both well-known and up-and-coming female-fronted metal acts such as DORO, SHADOWSIDE, VA, and DENDURA.

FotV is the first annual music festival of its kind in the US devoted to metal bands with female lead vocalists. The festival, which debuted in 2007, showcases all metal sub-genres with the only unifying factor being that a female vocalist obviously must front the band.

For more information on the Flight of the Valkyries festival, please visit the festivals web site at www.femalemetalfest.com or MySpace at this location. For more information on SwordLord Productions, visit www.MySpace.com/SwordLord.