Legendary Italian heavy metal pioneers ASTAROTH have announced the release of their first ever full-length album, entitled 'The End of Silence', through She Wolf Records on December 21. Produced by bassist Saverio "SAGE" Principini (aka Shining) and engineered by Michael Tacci (METALLICA, WHITESNAKE) in Los Angeles, 'The End of Silence' marks the band's first new recorded output since their 1985 cult classic 'The Long Loud Silence' mini-LP, and reunites original members Max Cipicchia (guitar), 'Shining' (bass), and Jan D'Amore (drums), with American born newcomer Ace Alexander handling vocal duties in place of original frontman Bob Cattani. "This is the album we were supposed to make after 'The Long Loud Silence' but didn't get the chance to for a myriad of reasons", states bassist Shining. "All of the songs we've recorded for 'The End of Silence' were originally written in the mid 80's as we prepared for our second record. Luckily, we found a bunch of old murky live tapes which helped reignite our collective memories. Even though it's now a quarter century later and everything's changed so much, we feel that these recordings very much embody the original ASTAROTH spirit. This has been a total labor of love for all of us and we can't wait to share this with our old fans as well as hopefully make a few new ones along the way." 'The Long Loud Silence' track listing reads as follows: 01. My Sleeping Beauty 02. Dilemma 03. Nero's Fire 04. Apocalypse in the Living Room 05. The Siren Song 06. Dreams Die First 07. Stand or Fall Together 08. In Spite of Destiny 09. Mystic As Tarot 10. Chainless Slaves Formed in Rome in the early 1980s, ASTAROTH quickly found themselves as leaders of the fledgling Italian metal scene as the group's NWOBHM influenced brand of heavy metal and Roman centurion look and elaborate ancient Roman themed stage show caught the attention of underground metal heads in their home town and beyond. Appearing on bills with the likes of Metallica, Anthrax, Motorhead and Manowar as the band began to venture North of the Alps, ASTAROTH became one of the first Italian metal bands to score an international record deal, signing with legendary Dutch label Rave On Records, whose roster also included Mercyful Fate and Sortilege, among others. Following an abbreviated European tour with Celtic Frost in support of 'The Long Loud Silence', and the demise of Rave On, the band pulled up stakes and made the move to Los Angeles, California in 1987. Recording a pair of demos and gigging frequently around Southern California, including shows at the Troubadour, the Roxy and the Waters Club, the quartet's decidedly European sound was in stark contrast to the Hollywood glam metal and sleaze rock scene of the day and found no label takers. The band split up a couple of years in their American adventure with various members moving on to other projects, including Principini's long-standing involvement with Italian rock superstar Vasco Rossi.