Vocalist Maurizio Iacono (KATAKLYSM, EX DEO) has checked in with the following message to the metal community:

"It's in times like these when metal is not trendy anymore and when the industry is on its knees that we see the real bands and real fans that remain for the fight and the cause ....the ones that are true and love this. I've seen many cycles come and go in full circle in this scene in the last 20 years, I've seen it be raped by many asshole 'managers', 'labels', 'agents' who come in grab all the wealth and leave, 'bands' in it for the wrong reasons who quit when it's rough and come back when its trendy again. Let me tell you one thing: once this comes full circle again and people like us kept it alive through blood and sweat and you try to come back to rape it again, I'll be waiting for you with a baseball bat. This time you leave crippled and broken, you weekend metalhead posers.

And for those who at the very least don't buy either a CD/ shirt / concert ticket / poster/ pay to download a song etc. to support this scene and the bands you love, you ain't better either and your thief in my book

My respect goes out to all the promoters out there taking all the risks on tours to feed bands these days. Some have families and gamble a lot for the love of this. It goes out to all those struggling bands in vans right now sleeping in Walmart parking lots because they believe in their music. I did it for 10 years and I'll do it again if I have to, goes out to all labels who still after not recouping costs for the love of the band invest tour support so the band they believe in can develop more. It goes to the bands who can bring their egos down and match up with other bands of equal sizes to get good packages going and make the packages worth the buck for the struggling fans who can't see the thousands of shows.

It's off my chest. Thank you."

Kataklysm hit the German charts with their new DVD/CD package Iron Will: Twenty Years Determined, which has landed at #98. Frontman Maurizio Iacono comments:

"We did this DVD with no expectations. Our little story immortalized with the luck of a label that would support it, I guess our great fans in our second home Germany have showed their love and brought a DVD release into the Top 100 album charts of the country. This is very unusual and we are very humbled by it, thank you!"

Iron Will: 20 Years Determined depicts the ups and downs of the band's long, turbulent career, as well as footage of Kataklysm's performance at last year's Summer Breeze festival, which took place August 18th - 20th, 2011 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany. It is available via the widget at the bottom of the page.

Check out a teaser for the release:

Ex Deo, the ancient Roman-themed arsenal also led by Iacono, recently released their new video, for the track 'I, Caligvla', featured on their new Caligvla album. The clip can be seen below:

The booklet for the new album features commentaries and descriptions from frontman Maurizio Iacono with his views on each song. The limited first pressing was released as a six-panel digipack featuring the bonus track 'Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light', a song dealing with Caligvla's madman rival emperor Nero.

An album trailer can be seen below:

Caligvla includes the following tracklisting:

'I, Caligvla'

'The Tiberius Cliff (Exile To Capri)'

'Per Oculos Aquila'

'Pollice Verso (Damnatio ad Bestia)'

'Divide et Impera'

'Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light'

'Teutuborg (Ambush of Varus)'

'Along The Appian Way'

'Once Were Romans'

'Evocatio : The Temple Of Castor & Pollux'