CRIMINAL: New Album Title, Release Date Announced

Anglo-Chilean thrash masters CRIMINAL have set "White Hell" as the title of sixth album, due on February 27, 2009 via Massacre Records.

Commented CRIMINAL guitarist/singer Anton Reisenegger: "Some of our older fans might recall that one of our early songs, that never made it onto an album, was called 'White Hell'. The song itself won't be included on this album either, but we liked the sound of the title and the way it is open for interpretation."

He continued, "'White Hell' could be many things, a hell of cocaine abuse, or a hell of racism and intolerance, or driving through Europe in the middle of winter in a van with no heating — which we actually did on the SIX FEET UNDER tour! The concept of the original song was someone waking up in an emergency room, not knowing how or why they got there — which is actually based on a real-life experience — and this is what we are going to try and depict on the album cover in a very nightmarish way. Our longtime cover designer Claudio Bergamin has already gone to work on the cover, and I expect it to be killer as always!"

CRIMINAL recently posted a new demo song entitled "The Infidel" on the band's MySpace page.

The follow-up to 2005's "Sicario" will be released in a limited-edition package including a bonus DVD.

Regarding the direction of the new songs, Reisenegger previously said, "the material for the record is incredibly varied, ranging from really technical stuff with odd time signatures, to crushing groove monsters, to all-out death metal and everything in between, so be prepared for one hell of a rollercoaster ride!"

Formed in the early '90s in Santiago, Chile by ex-PENTAGRAM mastermind Reisenegger and guitar virtuoso Rodrigo Contreras, CRIMINAL were combining elements of thrash, hardcore and death metal long before the term "metalcore" was even thought of. The band enjoyed a meteoric rise to the forefront of the South American metal scene, including five-digit album sales, shows with the likes of KREATOR, SEPULTURA and SLAYER and a nomination for Best Rock Video at the MTV Latino Video Music Awards, but was faced with severe personal and business problems around the turn of the decade. Reisenegger and Contreras then decided to relocate to the UK, regrouping in a half-Chilean, half-British lineup. Since then, the band has played on major European festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Summer Breeze, as well as support shows with bands such as CHIMAIRA, SIX FEET UNDER, BRUJERIA and LAMB OF GOD.

CRIMINAL's latest studio offering, "Sicario", was hailed by the press as one of the finest thrash metal releases of 2005 and was voted into the Top Ten Albums of the Year by the readers of Terrorizer magazine. At the same time, the band's status in their home country remains unbroken, as evidenced by a four-page feature in the Chilean edition of Rolling Stone magazine and a recent show supporting MEGADETH in front of over 14,000 metalheads.

CRIMINAL is:

Anton Reisenegger – vocals, guitar
Rodrigo Contreras – lead guitar
Zac O'Neil – drums
Dan Biggin – bass

CRIMINAL recently uploaded a brand new EPK (Electronic Press Kit) to its YouTube channel. Directed by Roberto Fuentes, the video features live footage from the band's December 2007 performance at Teatro Novedades in Santiago de Chile, as well as an interview with frontman Anton Reisenegger. Watch the EPK below.