Thanatos guitarists Stephan Gebedi and Paul Baayens have joined forces with former Pestilence/Asphyx-singer Martin Van Drunen, Gorefest drummer Ed Warby and former Houwitser bass player Theo van Eekelen in a brand new project. The as-yet-unnamed band will record a three-track promo CD later this year. "We're simply going to crank out some brutal old-school death metal stuff — nothing more, nothing less!" says Gebedi.

In other Thanatos-related news, the band's guitarist Paul Baayens has joined forces with the revamped Asphyx. The lineup is completed by Martin van Drunen on vocals, Bob Bagchus on drums and Wannes Gubbels on bass. The band will appear at several European festivals during the summer (including the Party.San Open Air festival, which will be held August 9-11, 2007 in Bad Berka, Germany).

Thanatos recently suspended the recording sessions for its fifth full-length album, "Justified Genocide", at Excess studios in Rotterdam, Holland after the group's record label, Greece's Black Lotus Records, announced that it was closing its doors. Three songs from earlier sessions are currently being used as a promo CD to generate interest from new labels. One of the new songs, a rough mix of "March of the Infidels", can be heard at www.myspace.com/thanatos666.

Thanatos's new album is scheduled to feature nine or 10 songs, including "They Feed On Fear", "The Devil's Triangle", "March of the Infidels", "Upwards Spritual Evolution" and "The Netherworld". The artwork will be handled by German artist Timo Wuerz.

Thanatos' fourth CD, "Undead. Unholy. Divine" (2004), was produced by Hans Pieters and the band at Excess and was mastered by Attie Bauw (Judas Priest, Sscorpions, Gorefest).