Norway's ENSLAVED have parted ways with guitarist R. Kronheim following the band's UK tour in March, according to an official statement from the group. ENSLAVED will reportedly not seek a permanent replacement for Kornheim at this time, and will instead utilize session members Arve (guitars) and Oyvind (keyboards) for all future live performances.
In other news, ENSLAVED have commenced work on the follow-up to last year's Monumension, and will enter Grieghallen studios in September to record the album for an early 2003 release. Among the cuts set to be included on the as-yet-untitled CD are "Queen of Night" and "Horns".

ELECTRIC WIZARD will be taking part in the Metal Maniacs Xmass Ball Tour 2001 along with touring partners ENSLAVED, MACABRE, DIABOLIC and SCAR CULTURE. Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

Dec. 05 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero Theater
Dec. 06 - TBA
Dec. 07 - Brooklyn, NY @ North Six
Dec. 08 - Attleboro, MA @ Jarrod's Place
Dec. 09 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx Niteclub
Dec. 10 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Dec. 11 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Strand Theater
Dec. 12 - St. Louis, MO @ Creepy Crawl
Dec. 13 - Chicago, Il @ Double Door
Dec. 14 - Aurora, IL @ Riley's Rockhouse
Dec. 15 - Detroit, MI @ The Shelter
Dec. 16 - Bowling Green, OH @ Howards Club H
Dec. 18 - Toronto, ON @ Reverb
Dec. 19 - Montreal, QB @ Foufounes Electroniques
Dec. 20 - TBA
Dec. 21 - New London, CT @ The El N Gee Club

ENSLAVED's upcoming album will be released on October 15th through Osmose. The band will be in Grieghallen Studios from July 30th to August 18th. The album will be mixed at Duper Studios from August 27th to September 2nd. Check out the band's website, www.EnslavedUnion.com, for info on the band members. There you'll find the band's entire '92 demo tape, Yggdrasill, available for free download from March 30th. Visitors to the website will also have access to an exclusive track, made during the preparation for the new album. In related news, ENSLAVED's Dirge Rep has joined AURA NOIR as full-time drummer. He has not quit Enslaved, he will do both bands.