Veteran Dutch extreme metallers PESTILENCE have inked a deal with Hammerheart Records. The band will enter the studio in June to begin recording its new album, "Hadeon", for a late 2017 release. Hammerheart has also come to an agreement on the PESTILENCE back catalog, but plans are still in the works to get all details finalized concerning these essential recordings ("Malleus Maleficarum", "Consuming Impulse", "Testimony Of The Ancients" and "Spheres"). It is hoped that those records will be reissued as deluxe 2-CDs and LPs later this year 2017. Joining vocalist/guitarist Patrick Mameli in the band's current lineup are Santiago Dobles (AGHORA) on lead guitar and Septimiu Hărşan (DISAVOWED) on drums. Although Alan Goldstein was previously announced as PESTILENCE's new bassist, Mameli explained on April 9 that Alan will no longer be involved with the group "due to differences within the business realm." Asked by a fan on Facebook why bassist Tony Choy — whose return to PESTILENCE was announced last October — is not involved with the band anymore, Mameli responded: "Choy's out. I only work with professional people." In July 2014, Mameli announced that PESTILENCE was "on a permanent hold" while he concentrated fully on his new NEUROMORPH project, which he said would be "more brutal, more crazy, more tech, more futuristic and more death" than his longtime outfit. PESTILENCE's seventh album, "Obsideo", was released in November 2013 via Candlelight Records. The CD was produced by Mameli and featured ten new songs. According to Mameli, the album's overall lyrical theme was "the journey of the human soul." In a 2013 interview with Live Reviewer, Mameli said that it was his "passion" that motivated him to keep PESTILENCE alive after all these years. He explained at the time: "I think we can still contribute to the death metal community. PESTILENCE has always been my passion since I formed the band. It feels like a child that's grown up now. If I would run out of ideas, that would be the end." Mameli also dismissed constant calls for a reunion with early PESTILENCE bassist/vocalist Martin Van Drunen, who sang on the band's classic albums "Malleus Maleficarum" (1988) and "Consuming Impulse" (1989). He said: "It's been 25 years. We try to become better musicians all the time. I think we deserve some credit for always looking ahead and trying to be innovative."
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