As previously reported, US extreme death metal heroes VITAL REMAINS prepare for the release of their new album, Icons Of Evil (artwork pictured), which was produced by Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATE ETERNAL) in Florida and features once again death metal legend Glen Benton (DEICIDE) on vocals. The album will be released in Europe on April 2nd (April 3rd in North America), with the following tracklisting: 'Where Is Your God Now', 'Icons Of Evil', 'Scorned', 'Born To Rape The World', 'Reborn… The Upheaval Of Nihility', 'Hammer Down The Nails', 'Shrapnel Embedded Flesh', ''Till Death', 'In Infamity', 'Disciples Of Hell'.

The cover art has already created a great deal of controversy, but the band’s founder Tony Lazaro (guitars) refuses to censor his vision in any way and further states: “It is great to see that the cover of our new record has already started some controversy. Some of our distributors saw the artwork and suggested we change it. The record's scheduled to come out around Easter, and apparently the subject of Christ being nailed to his cross is a bit extra-sensitive around that time. We were told no one would take the CD unless we either changed it or put a slipcase over it. I absolutely refused to change shit, but I still wanted our fans to be able to find the album in their local stores, so we ultimately decided to go with the slipcase. I’m still pretty bummed about it, but this was out of my hands.

I am extremely excited to announce that we’ve confirmed some amazing European festivals. We are now scheduled to play the Metal Mania Fest (Poland), Fuck The Commerce (Germany) and the mighty Wacken (Germany), which has been a dream of mine for years now. So many great legends have performed at that fest, and it's great be a part of it.

Our MySpace page (www.myspace.com/vitalremains) now has some cool footage of Dave Suzuki recording the drums to the new track ‘Hammer Down The Nails.’ We're going to be doing a video for it as soon as we can 'nail down' a date with Glen (Benton, vocals). Speaking of dates, we're also working on a full North American tour for the summer. Stay tuned for more info.”

Vital Remains will hit the road in Europe from March 24th. Upcoming dates include:

March

24 - Katovice, Poland - Metal Mind Festival

March (with GODPHOBIA, KENOS +)

30 - Cork, England - An Cruiscin Lan
31 - Dublin, Ireland - Voodoo Lounge

April (with Godphobia, Kenos +)

1 - Newport, England - TJ's
2 - Dudley, England - JB's
3 - Glasgow, Scotland at Wiseguys
4 - London, England - The Underworld
5 - radford, England - Rio
6 - Rotterdam, Netherlands at Baroeg
7 - Leeuwarden, Netherlands at Romein
8 - Malmoe, Sweden at Powerhouse
9 - Stockholm, Sweden at TantoGarden
10 - Gaevele, Sweden at Club Monster
11 - Gothenburg, Sweden at Henriksberg
12 - Copenhagen, Denmark at Black Beauty
13 - Arhus, Denmark at Studenthuset
14 - Zwickau, Germany at Battle Zone

April (with Godphobia +)

19 - Zlin, Czech Republic at Club Golem
20 - Innsbruck, Austria at Hafen
21 - Vienna, Austria at Escape
22 - Altofen, Austria at Endorphin
25 - Belgrad, Serbia at SKC
29 - Turin, Italy at Il Noise
30 - Ascoli, Italy at La Tanne Dell Tigri

May (with Godphobia +)

3 - Barcelona, Spain at Mephisto
4 - Irun, Spain at Tunk
5 - Toulouse, France at Les Vents Du Sud
7 - Essen, Germany at Turock

May (with DENIAL FIEND, Godphobia, BLOODY SIGN)

11 - Eindhoven, Netherlands at Dynamo Festival
12 - Giebelstadt, Germany at Bringer Of Death Festival

May (with Denial Fiend)

17 – 19 - Jüterbog, Germany at Fuck The Commerce Festival

July

20 - Urbana, IL at Central Illinois Metal Fest

August

2nd- 4th - Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air Fest