UK folk metallers SKYCLAD have issued the following update regarding the band's recent activities:

"Seeing as the site has been quiet for a while, we thought we should post a little note here to keep everyone informed as to all things Skyclad as we head towards the end of 2007. It has been, when all is said and done, quite a quiet and 'steady as you go' sort of year with just the usual round of gigs and festivals happening.

One of the reasons for this site being quiet, is that we now also have a Skyclad MySpace site. This site has been a tremendous success - as you can see from all the 'friends' we have - and you can download tracks there (yes, for free), leave comments and messages and so on. Though while the myspace site has had a quieting effect on a lot of the Clad sites, the main one still has the merchandise, message board and so on to keep things interesting.

However, there have been a few high points and a few 'firsts' that are worth mentioning, from playing some songs for the first time - such as 'Helium' and 'Bury Me' (both at the request of the relevant promoters for the Dong Open Air and the Metieval Fest respectively). It was the first time for the Metieval Fest in Beverley, in fact, and we look forward to returning there. There was also the first visit by Skyclad to Moscow, Russia. This happened just a few weeks ago and (once we all got over the colds and got our equipment back - again) it was a great experience, Again, hopefully one we'll repeat. Check out some of the

photos and videos for all this on the message-board.

There's always a downside, of course, such as no new album this year. Honestly, this is something we are working on. We have the basic ideas and we do have some rough recording of about half the songs now but gigs and other commitments just seem to slow things down; so it is coming along. For example, another first, was playing one of the new songs 'Still Small Beer' live at a few of these gigs - and it seemed to go down very nicely (if you'll pardon the pun). Other titles include: 'Words Upon The Street', 'Black Summer Rain', 'Babakoto' and 'Which is Why'. Finally, it appears that we are to finish off the year as we started it with a gig at the Thatched House in Stockport. Anyone who attended the first one will know what an enjoyable night it was and when Ginger

Andy asked us for a return gig, obviously, we couldn't say no and the return gig is on Saturday, December 1st. In fact, it's nice to have done a few gigs in England and it would be nice to see a few more events like the Metieval Fest being established. As they say, 'it's nice to go away, but it's nice to come home again'.

This short note on 2007 sounds like something that could be expanded into a 'blog', so keep an eye out for more information and news."