UNITED, one of the forerunners of the Japanese thrash metal scene, release their ninth album, Tear Of Illusions, via Spiritual Beast on April 20th. They recently launched an official Facebook page at this location. In addition, United have posted live footage from their May 3rd release party for Tear Of Illusions. It is available at the bottom of the page.

Tear Of Illuisions is United's first album in almost six years and also features Kuwait-born trilingual singer, Ken-Shin, on lead vocals. The album is co-produced with their long-time producer, Tetsuji "tetsu666" Yamada.

The band states "It's definitely the best album we've made so far. I can't wait for the fans to listen to the album!"

Formed in 1981, United has shared the stage with such genre leading acts as SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, TESTAMENT and many, many others through their long career, besides playing such festivals as Beast Feast, Foundation Forum and Loud Park, and gained respect as one of the best thrash metal bands ever to come out of Japan.

In 2010, the band (minus Ken-Shin) supported former IRON MAIDEN singer PAUL DI'ANNO as his backing band, and impressed him with their highly-acclaimed performance.

They are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, and a lot of interesting releases and a series of gigs are currently being worked on. Stay tuned for further updates. More on the band here.

The complete tracklist for the album is as follows:

'Tear Of Illusions'

'My Inner Revenge'

'Fight Fear Kill'

'Hollow'

'The Awakening'

'Voice Of Sanity'

'Requiem'

'From The Evil That Is You'

'In The Name…'

'Pit Of Fire'

'Devil With Halo'

'Fate'