Bringing progressive metal into new dimensions especially for those who really enjoy full explosive adventure, Vancouver virtuosos OmnisighT recently gave the world their latest effort Power Of One. The EP showcases their highly regarded musicianship and finely wrought song-craft.  As a whole Power Of One is a musical journey with a story concept to question the status quo and stand up against the oppression plus deceptions of the ruling class.

OmnisighT have shared with fans their latest video “Seven Sisters” in support of the EP.

Vocalist / guitarist Raj Krishna explains:

"I wrote the ‘Seven Sisters’ riff just goofing around at home. I really didn't even like it that much! I still wanted to try it out live in the room though, and Chris our drummer put this super funky groove on it and I got a vocal off it right away. It's loosely based on the Seven Sisters oil cartel BP, Shell, Exxon, Texaco Standard Oil and the like. Basically it's about befriending people just to get at their resources. It's also in a 7/8 time signature through a lot of the song, so that's me just trying to be clever!"

Power Of One is now streaming along with CD and digital download at BandCamp.

Drummer Chris Warunki comments on the release:

"The Power Of One is the sound of a band firing on all cylinders. Guitarists, bassists, drummers and vocalists will all have something in-store for them here with this EP. We are excited to get this out to the prog/rock/metal masses both musically and lyrically. Speaking of lyrically, the album will come with a PDF booklet exclusive to our Bandcamp supporters. We took a "more is more" approach with this one and it will be a real challenge, but a welcome challenge; to take it to the stage. We want to keep the musicianship in the music that has been our agenda since day one!"

In late 2016, Ånge, Sweden-based aggressive rock act, Corroded, signed with Despotz Records for the release of their new album, Defcon Zero, which will see the light of day in April of this year, preceded by the single, "Fall Of A Nation" on February 17th.

The band says, "Friends and foes, ladies and germs, the wait is finally over. Our latest single “Fall Of A Nation”, from the upcoming album Defcon Zero, will strike down upon you like a sledgehammer. When you have listened to its might and fall down to the floor in awe, the only thing that we can say to you is in the words of Shakespeare, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

In addition, Despotz will digitally release the band's back catalogue (previously only available via Ninetone / Universal), Eleven Shades Of Black (2009), Exit To Transfer (2010), and State Of Disgrace (2012). The three albums will also be made available on vinyl later in the year.

Their debut album, Eleven Shades Of Black. marks the first strike: the single “Time And Again“ was chosen as the title and theme song for the Swedish version of the reality show Survivor (called Expedition Robinson in Sweden) and put the band on the map overnight. Consequently the album cracked the Swedish Top 3 by entering at #2 on the charts.

Exit To Transfer, their sophomore effort, peaked at #6 on the charts, supported by a sold out Scandinavian tour with US melodic metal monsters Avenged Sevenfold in the fall of 2010 alongside two showcases at the established Berlin, Germany music fair Popkomm. At this point, Corroded had finally made an impact beyond Swedish borders. But even more important was their contribution to the renowned computer game Battlefield, with “Age Of Rage“ being picked up as the game’s theme song.

A lineup change didn't stop the band's third release, State Of Disgrace, from slamming into the Swedish charts once again at #2.

Below is the official video clip for the song "Shadow In My Eyes" taken from Avantasia guitarist Oliver Hartmann's new Hartmann album, Shadows & Silhouettes. The song features the classical string duo Tereza Valyiová and Irena Morisáková (Inflagranti, Rock Meets Classic) from Prague. 

After numerous tours as part of Avantasia, Rock Meets Classic and as mastermind of the successful Pink Floyd Tribute Echoes, singer and guitarist Oliver Hartmann now presents his fifth studio album, Shadows & Silhouettes, with Hartmann after nearly four years break since the latest release, Balance. The new album was released on September 30th, 2016 on the artist owned label Sonic11 in cooperation with Pride & Joy Music.

Hartmann previously released a video for the new song "When Your Mama Was A Hippie" along with a Making Of clip. Check them out below.

Supported by guest musicians including session keyboardist Jimmy Kresic (Rock Meets Classic, The Roots, Soundtopia), Miro Rodenberg (Avantasia) and also the Prague cellist Irena Morisáková and violinist Adéla Pecková, the album contains 12 songs combining modern melodic rock with many acoustic and partly very intimate moments pointing up the broadness and complexity of Hartmann.

Shadows & Silhouettes was co-produced again by Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Edguy, Kamelot, Beyond The Black, etc.) and mixed/mastered at Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany. The iTunes version will include the bonus track “Soul Asylum”.

Shadows & Silhouettes tracklisting:

“Irresistible”
“High On You”
“Glow”
“When Your Mama Was A Hippie”
“Jaded Heart”
“Amazing”
“Still The Same”
“I Would Murder For You”
“The Letting Go”
“Too Good To Be True”
“Shadow In My Eyes”
“Last Goodbye”
“Soul Asylum” (iTunes Bonus Track)

Swedish traditional heavy metal band, Mean Streak, have signed a three album deal with Japanese label Marquee/Avalon. Mean Streak's first release through Marquee/Avalon is due to be released on May 31st. The new album, Blind Faith, will have at least 12 songs and it will include one Japan only bonus track.

Bassist Peter Andersson states: “This is exciting for us, as Japan is one of the most important markets. We are really looking forward to do our fourth album with Marquee/Avalon, the premier rock & metal label in Japan.”

The album is produced by Peter Andersson and Max Norman, mixed by Max Norman (Ozzy Osbourne, Lynch Mob, Armored Saint, Lizzy Borden, Megadeth, Y&T) and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson (Soilwork, Onslaught, Armageddon, Degradead, Dynazty) at The Panic Room Mastering.

Max Norman, stated: “Just finished mixing Mean Streak new album - it really rocks! Thankfully all mixing completed and congratulations to the guys on a killer album!”

Mean Streak is:

Peter Andersson - Bass and background Vocals
Andy LaGuerin - Lead Vocals and Guitars
Thomas Johansson - Guitars
Jonas Källsbäck - Drums and Background vocals

(Photo - Joanna-photo)

The Arte network in Germany has posted the long form live stream of Danko Jones' show in Berlin last fall on the band's Fire Music tour. Check it out below.

Danko Jones is gearing up for the March 3rd release of their new album, Wild Cat, through AFM Records. It is available as a special limited box set (1000 units only), which includes:

- digipak
- stamped tinplate (20x30 cm) with cover artwork
- exclusive Danko Jones patch
- Danko Jones bumper sticker
- poster
- certificate of authenticity

Go to this location to pre-order.

Danko Jones have never felt more vibrant or hungry than they are on Wild Cat. The 11-track album is a raw representation of the band’s collective musical history and influences, and without a doubt their most solid album yet.

Tracklisting:

“I Gotta Rock”
“My Little RnR”
“Going Out Tonight”
“You Are My Woman”
“Do This Every Night”
“Let's Start Dancing”
“Wild Cat”
“She Likes It”
“Success In Bed”
“Diamond Lady”
“Revolution (But Then We Make Love)”

“My Little RnR”:

Wild Cat teaser:

Danko Jones have confirmed Norway's Audrey Horne as support on their upcoming European tour. Dates are as follows:

February
10 - Kuopio, Finland - Arena
11 - Joensuu, Finland - Arena

March
15 - London, UK - Garage
16 - Luxemburg - Rockhal Club
17 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
18 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
19 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
21 - Köln, Germany - Live Music Hall
22 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
23 - Warsaw, Poland - Proxima
24 - Krakow, Poland - Kwadrat
25 - Dresden, Germany - Beatpol
26 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
28 - Winterthur, Switzerland - Salzhaus
29 - Solothurn, Switzerland - Kofmehl
30 - Paris, France - La Maroquinerie

April
22 - Sälen, Sweden - Ski & Rock

(Top photo by Dustin Rabin)

Italian death metal band, No More Fear, have released a video for the single "Mare Mortum", taken their new album, Malamente, out now via Memorial Records.

Directed by Daniele Campea the video is an incredible representation of the dramatic situation that is affecting the World: "'Mare Mortum' tells a story about a ghost that has been given back by the ocean to a no man's land waiting for something that never comes. It's a tragedy that happens everyday, under the gaze of everyone, between saved lives and other ones trapped forever in the depths of the ocean.”

Recorded last June at the ACME Recording studio by Davide Rosati, the new album is available digitally and on physical CD via Memorial Records, here.

About the new album the band says: “An attack to the stagecoach behind the wheel of very Italian car (Alfetta). The tarantella continues… MALAMENTE (Badly)!”

Tracklisting:

“Morte e Orazione”
“Mare Mortum”
“The Boss Letter”
“A Sinister Murder Case”
“Lady 'ndrangheta”
“Tre Cavalieri”
“Conferimento della Santa”

Album stream:

St. Louis thrashers, Final Drive, have released their new studio album, Dig Deeper. A full album stream (limited to 24 hours) can be found below.

The album was produced by Charlie Bellmore (Jasta, Kingdom of Sorrow), mixed by Nicky Bellmore (Dexters Lab Studio, Toxic Holocaust), and mastered by Zuess (Hatebreed, Rob Zombie).

Order Dig Deeper at the following digital locations: FinalDriveDigDeeper.com, Bandcamp. CD/vinyl at this location.

Artwork for the album cover was created by Final Drive’s own Jordan Gaw.

Dig Deeper tracklisting:

“This Is How”
“Built To Break”
“The Last Time”
“Six Feet Down”
“Want It All”
“Life Decided”
“Follow The Curse”
“Beneath Us”
“Of A Killer”
“Black Out”

Album stream:

“This Is How” lyric video:

Gore House Productions has announce the signing of Mexican brutal grinding legion, Rottenness.

Since their inception in 1994, the Yucatán-based beast has made their mark onto the fast growing death metal scene. Rottenness has not only become one of Mexico's most active extreme acts, but has also without a doubt influenced many more to come. While the band has gone through various line up changes, Rottenness has been able to stand among various death metal giants and has performed on many stages including Maryland Deathfest, Los Angeles Murderfest, Obscene Extreme Fest, and more.

"This is excellent news! We are so excited to announce that we will be part of one of the amazing metal family community - Rottenness is part now of Gore House Productions!!”, states guitarist and founding member, Jaleel Castillo. "This will be a perfect collaboration from both camps, we are very happy to be part of one of the greatest underground labels. You can expect our new material very soon! It's an honor to start this year under the ranks of Gore House Production and we want to thank them for the patience and support!! Get ready for this 2017 - stay sick and brutal!!"

Rottenness will be releasing their third full-length album in late 2017 via Gore House Productions with details to be revealed in the coming months.

For a preview of what's to come, fans can check out their latest single "A Perpetual State of Destruction", below.

Live dates:

May
19-21 - Alt St. Johann, Switzerland - Rock The Hell Fest

July
1 - Wermelskirchen, Germany - Venue TBA
5-9 - Trutnov, Czech Republic - Obscene Extreme Fest

Mighty Music has announced the signing of Swedish hard rockers, JD Miller. “We absolutely love melodic hard rock, and this signing caters in every way to that part of us!”, says the label

The new JD Miller record, World War X, sounds like the musical child bred by Eclipse and Evergrey. If you like melodic, guitar driven rock fronted by edgy vocals and soaring harmonies all wrapped up in modern production - JD Miller is your thing.

World War X was recorded at Studio Haga and Studio Berghem in Sweden by JD Miller themselves. The album was mixed by former member Christian Svedin as he understands the sound of JD Miller, and it was mastered by one of Swedens true audio greats in Thomas ’Plec’ Johansson at The Panic Room.

Says the band: ”We are super exited to be a part of the Mighty Music family and we feel like they are a perfect fit for us. World War X is a great melodic hard-rock album that we are really proud of and that we have slaved over for the last 2 years. It's the first record featuring our new line-up with Chris, Alex and Elias who joined during the recording process. We hope that the listeners will love the feel and sound of the album as we gear up to get out on the road to meet them."

World War X is the follow up to the 2014 Grand Intentions. The new album will be released on April 28th - check out the album teaser below:

W.T.C. Productions has set April 4th as the international release date for Inferno's seventh album, Gnosis Kardias (Of Transcension and Involution). A work of almost impossible magnitude, Inferno's latest long-player sees this long-running Czech cult go from strength to strength, daring to dream beyond black metal whilst finding its innermost core, resulting in an opus which both scales feverish heights and plumbs fathomless depths - simultaneously. Simply, it is a work of both boundless beauty and even-more-boundless darkness.

Since the band's conception in 1995, the musical and lyrical aspects of Inferno have been guided by inner impulses that not many were able to comprehend. Now, after more than 20 years of existence, its members are endowed with such knowledge, experience, and skill that finally allow them to effectively portray the pervading greatness of powers from beyond and within. The heights of the spiritual ecstasy and abyssal depths of the unconscious were the main inspiration from which the musical tones and words came forth.

Inferno's seventh full-length to date, Gnosis Kardias (Of Transcension and Involution) picks up the threads of the crucial previous recording Omniabsence Filled by His Greatness, presenting five new songs and one which concludes and opens the album at the same time. The band made a single step backwards to evaluate and explore the essence responsible for the previous opus in order to create an even stronger and more refined album.

Musically, one can expect a natural fusion of genuine black metal and deeply-felt psychedelia. The new songs further explore the pathways presented by Omniabsence Filled by His Greatness, but there are compositions and ideas which could not have been heard before. The scorching aggression and mesmeric calm, darkness and light, straightforwardness and progressive tendencies - all are merged into a single magical whole. Lyrics and music will open many spiritual paths, some leading towards damnation, and others that lead to the long-desired dissolution in the absolute. But some also offer a glimpse into the core of the eternal tragedy, the breaking on the wheel of existence and rebirth, to which all who refuse to open their hearts are condemned.

The voice of Acherontas mainman Acherontas V. Priest contributed to the fractal vision of the new album, and Tore Stjerna once again supervised the recording. The visual side of the album was entrusted to Peruvian master Jose Gabriel Alegría Sabogal. However, as one can expect from a true work of art, Gnosis Kardias (Of Transcension and Involution) will go beyond a mere sensory experience. How far do YOU dare to go? Find out soon with the first track to be revealed.

Tracklisting:

“The Innermost Disillusion”
“Abysmal Cacophony”
“Upheaval Of Silence”
“Ω > 1 (Oscillation In Timelessness)”
“Gate-eye Of Fractal Spiral”
“Orison For The Baneful Serpent”

Inferno lineup:

Adramelech - vox
Ska-Gul - guitars
Morion - guitars
Crudelis - bass
M - drums

KNAC.COM's Krishta Abruzzini conducted an interview with POWERMAN 5000 frontman Spider One during the band's recent "Set To Stun" North American co-headlining tour with ORGY. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about POWERMAN 5000's plans for the coming months, Spider One said: "We go back home after this [tour] and finish our record. We've got most of it done — about ten or so songs tracked. And so go home and make sure they're all good, and make a few more, and then put a record out this year, and do more of this. I mean, it's not that complicated — you write and record some songs, and then you play 'em live."

Asked which producer POWERMAN 5000 has been using on its recent recordings, Spider One said: "We've been working with different people. On this record, we are working with this guy Greg Johnson, who's actually a good friend of Kevin's, who's our tour manager. He introduced me to Greg, and it's been really cool."

He continued: "Like most bands, the way you make records has changed drastically over the years. You used to go in and hunker down for a month and a half in a two-thousand-dollars-a-day studio, and now it's, like, we've made the majority of this record in my house. You just roll in a Pro Tools rig, and you set up, and you can be in your pajamas, and make your record. I mean, some of the glamor of it may have gone away, but there's something about it that I actually maybe enjoy more — just being able to do it on your own time. So we create our own schedule, and that in turn can control the quality of the music a little bit more. You work on it, you live with it for a while, you work on it. Whereas before, it was, like, 'Here you go, guys. You've got four weeks.' That's it. It's either good or it's not."

POWERMAN 5000's latest album, "Builders Of The Future", sold around 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 63 on The Billboard 200 chart. Issued in May 2014, the CD was the first release through POWERMAN 5000's partnership with T-Boy Records, a co-venture with Universal Music Enterprises founded by veteran rock manager Andy Gould.

"Revolution Of Destruction", the new video from Wisconsin-based newcomers PRODUCT OF HATE, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's debut album, "Buried In Violence", which was released in February 2016 via Napalm Records. The CD was mixed and mastered by James Murphy, known for his work with DEATH, TESTAMENT and OBITUARY.

Commented PRODUCT OF HATE guitarist Geno Rathbone: "We're super excited for this video to be released! It gives audiences a real taste of what we do to make these songs come together. No fancy effects, no laser light show. Just the five of us, in the pocket, doing what we do best — playing off of one another to create something pure for our fans. This video really captures that feel." "This is a bit different than the other videos that we've released," added frontman Adam Gilley. "Playing to each other with our gear surrounding us is very much how we normally practice and write. There's a lot of energy."

"Buried In Violence" track listing:

01. Kill. You. Now.02. Annihilation03. ...As Your Kingdom Falls04. Blood Coated Concrete05. Monster06. Buried In Violence07. Vindicare08. Nemesis09. Revolution Of Destruction10. Unholy Manipulator11. Perry Mason

PRODUCT OF HATE is:

Adam Gilley - VocalsCody Rathbone - GuitarGene Rathbone - Lead GuitarMark Campbell - BassMike McGuire - Drums

Formed in 2007 in Southeastern Wisconsin and hailed as "One Of 12 Bands To Watch In 2016" by Metal Hammer, PRODUCT OF HATE has spent time on the road with the likes of ALLEGAEON, THE AGONIST and HAMMER FIGHT, in addition to a run with MUSHROOMHEAD, SUMO CYCO and MADAME MAYHEM.

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their milestone RIAA-gold-certified album "Images And Words" on a European tour, which kicked off on January 30 in Rome, Italy. Each performance sees the iconic progressive rock band delivering an unparalleled live set of "Images And Words" in its entirety along with fan favorites from their renowned catalogue.

Fan-filmed video footage of DREAM THEATER's February 3 concert at the Samsung Hall in Zurich, Switzerland during the Images, Words & Beyond" tour can be seen below.

Asked if he had any idea — prior to the "Images And Words" release — of the success the album would eventually become, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci told Metal Insider: "Not at all. The whole situation was very uncertain. We had put out our first album, 'When Day And Dream Unite', and we didn't do any touring or anything for that. We did some press. People seemed to like it but it just ended. We decided to switch lead singers, and we went on this very long singer hunt for like a year and a half. We weren't really crazy about the label, so we were singerless, labelless, and holding jobs down teaching guitar and doing other things. We started to wonder if we would have an opportunity to do this again as a band. When Derek Oliver from Atco expressed interest, the very first thing they did was more of a development deal. We recorded a few songs from 'Images And Words' as a demo. By the time we went to actually do the album and got James [LaBrie] as a singer, we were just ecstatic to be able to do it again. We didn't even think it was going to amount to anything, we were just incredibly grateful to be back in the studio."

Regarding how DREAM THEATER approached "Images And Words" as opposed to "When Day And Dream Unite", Petrucci said: "With 'When Day And Dream Unite', we were really young and we had just got signed, we had a very short period of time to record it. We went as a band to live together in Pennsylvania and then we would go in and record. We really didn't have any experience. 'Images' was a bit later and we had more experience, some more gear, and some more ideas about what we wanted to do. The studio we were in was beautiful. It felt like we had more time to do it. Things like that. It was still a situation where we had a producer (David Prater) who was directing the whole ship, but yeah. The experience was very wide-eyed and exciting, and it was like a whirlwind. 'Images' was more of a conscious experience when we had more time and were a little bit more grounded at that point."

Petrucci also talked about DREAM THEATER's biggest hit to date, "Pull Me Under", which was included on "Images And Words". Asked if he ever thought the song would get played on the radio or that it would have MTV success, Petrucci said: "No, we didn't think that way at all. We were into writing progressive metal. We were all big fans of YES and RUSH, but we also liked METALLICA and other bands. We came out with this stuff that didn't have the normal pop structure, the songs were long. 'Pull Me Under' was at least eight minutes. Originally, 'A Change Of Seasons' was supposed to be on 'Images', but the label voted against that. The whole nature of the album wasn't really geared towards commercial standards. After we went on tour, that song started to gain legs from requests. We had no idea what was happening. We had to quickly film a video on tour at a club because we didn't have a video and it just grew from there. It was unintentional."

DREAM THEATER recently completed the second leg of its extensive North American headline tour which found the group performing its widely acclaimed double concept album "The Astonishing" in immersive and interactive settings for a unique and unmatched live experience.

Occult doom supergroup, Dead Witches, are streaming their new NSFW video for “Drawing Down The Moon”. The track is featured on the band’s debut, Ouija, out on February 10th via Heavy Psych Sounds. Find the new video below.

Drummer Mark Greening (former Electric Wizard, also of Ramesses and With The Dead) and vocalist Virginia Monti (Psychedelic Witchcraft) joined forces to found the heaviest occult psych superbeast to see the light this year: Dead Witches. Coming as a nice surprise for fans of the aforementioned bands and more generally, of crushing psychotropic doom, the formation of this supergroup led to the high anticipation of their debut album, which details were just revealed today.

Ouija will be available on black vinyl, limited purple vinyl, CD and digital.

Tracklisting:

“Intro”
“Dead”
“Drowning Down The Moon”
“Ouija”
“Mind Funeral”
“Sometimes Dead Is Better”

“Drowning Down The Moon” video:

“Mind Funeral” video:

Dead Witches lineup:

Virginia Monti - Vocals
Mark Greening - Drums
Carl Geary - Bass
Greg Elk - Guitar

(Photo - Viki Crandon)

Düdingen, Switzerland-based metal band, Emerald, will release their new album, Reckoning Day, via Pure Steel Records on March 24th. The pre-order phase will start on March 10th. The album will be released as a limited edition, with a bonus track and a patch, and as a normal version.

Since their 2007 release Hymns To Steel, Emerald have been part of the Pure Steel family. Within this productive collaboration two more excellent albums - Re-Forged (2010) and Unleashed (2012)) were released.

The band has been around for more than 20 years now and is finally ready to present its long-awaited seventh studio album, with a whole new lineup. After the departure of singer Thomas L. Winkler it became really quiet around the band since the long-distance collaboration with the new American singer George Call (Aska, ex-Omen) turned out to be very difficult. After two years, Emerald and George parted ways as friends. This collaboration still resulted in two songs that are now included on the new album Reckoning Day (plus one bonus track on the limited-edition version).

A more than worthy replacement on vocals was finally found in the great Swiss singer Mace Mitchell, who refined the remaining songs with his powerful voice and finally finished the record.

Those who know Emerald, know what they will get with Reckoning Day: Pounding drums, heavy riffs and melodic leads, reinforced with vigorous power metal vocals with balls and a transparent but also very powerful production by V.O. Pulver (Gurd, Poltergeist, Destruction).

On the second half of the album, Emerald integrated a concept called The Burgundian Wars, which is based on the historical novel Der Löwe von Burgund by the band’s keyboard player, Thomas Vaucher.

On Reckoning Day, Emerald celebrate more than 60 minutes of heavy metal in its purest form, which will leave no real fan disappointed.

Tracklisting:

“Only The Reaper Wins”
“Black Pyramid”
“Evolution In Reverse”
“Horns Up”
“Beyond Forever”
“Through The Storm”
“Ridden By Fear”
“Mist Of The Past”
“Trees Full Of Tears”
“Lament Of The Fallen”
“Reckoning Day”
“Reign Of Steel”
“Signum Die”
“Fading History”
“End Of The World” (Bonus track)

(Photo - Stéphane Schmutz)

Italian stoner rockers, Rhino, have released a video for “Grey”, a track their new album, The Law Of Purity, out via Argonauta Records on February 13th..

Rhino blend elements of 70’s and 80’s hard rock, filtered by a fascination for 90’s desert stoner rock and the sulphurous influence of Etna volcano. The Law Of Purity is a monolithic fuzzy machine blended with psychedelic atmosphere, for a journey into lunar landscape, black ash bursts and extended mirages.

Tracklisting:

“Intro”
“The Law Of Purity”
“Bursting Out”
“Grey”
“Nuclear Space”
“Eat My Dust”
“Nine Months”
“A.&B. Brown”
“Cock Of Dog”
“I See The Monsters”

“Grey” video:

“The Law Of Purity”:

Holland's most notorious rock musicians have gathered to form Dool, a dark rock band featuring bassist Job van de Zande and drummer Micha Haring from celebrated cult rockers The Devil's Blood and the country's most infamous rock singer, Ryanne van Dorst.

The band will release its debut album, Here Now, There Then, on February 17th via Prophecy Productions. The song "Golden Serpents" is available for streaming below.

Rounded out by guitarists Nick Polak (Gold) and Reinier Vermeulen (The New Media), Dool radiates an undeniable raw energy and has created a distinct and dynamic sound right from the start. On the strength of its captivating debut single, "Oweynagat", and a red hot live performance at Roadburn 2016, Dool has quickly become a hotly-tipped buzz band in underground circles.

Here Now, There Then was recorded with longtime The Devil's Blood producer Pieter Kloos and proves all advance praise to be more than justified. The album of supreme songwriting and remarkable musical diversity, Here Now, There Then blends classic hard rock, gothic pop and psychedelic metal in an ever-surprising manner. Carried by infinite, hypnotic guitar lines, Dool hits every pressure point, striking with the deadly precision of a venomous asp.

“Here Now, There Then is about dreaming, ambition and will,” says Ryanne van Dorst. “The album is about breaking boundaries and behavioral patterns while destroying stigmas. It is a mantra for whoever needs it and in any way one chooses to use it. It is the shadow lands between fantasy and reality. A fairy tale in a concrete background."

Tracklisting:

“Vantablack” (She Shreds premiere)
“Golden Serpents” (Invisble Oranges premiere)
“Words on Paper”
“In Her Darkest Hour”
“Oweynagat”
“The Alpha”
“Death of Love”
“She-Goat”

“Golden Serpents”:

“Vantablack”:

“Oweynagat” video:

Pre-order Here Now, There Then at this location.

(Photo - Roy Wolters)

Sweden's self-styled “Alfapokalyptic Rockers”, Alfahanne, have inked a deal with Indie Recordings, who are set to release the band's third full-length album, Det Nya Svarta, on April 7th.

Hailing from Eskilstuna, Alfahanne burst onto the scene in 2010 with the avowed intent to bring back a sense of danger to rock n’ roll. Playing what the band calls “Alfapocalyptic Rock”, which mixes black metal with classic rock and punk, and good old rock n’ roll, Alfahanne have created their own style of music, full of the kind of swagger and attitude that earns them plaudits from critics and fans alike.

Add to this the fact that Alfahanne were, right from the word go, able to attract high calibre guests such as as Taake’s Hoest, Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth, Helheim’s V’gandr, Kvelertak frontman Erlend Hjelvik, Spellgoth from Horna and Turmion Katilot, and Nattfursth from Sorhin, not just on their first two albums, but also live on stage, and have continued this enviable the tradition with Det Nya Svarta, and you know you have something pretty special.

The band's lineup of Pehr Skjoldhammer on vocals and guitar, Fredrik Sööberg on guitars, Niklas Åström on drums and Jimmy Wiberg on bass, have a couple of decades of experience under their belts in bands like Vinterland and early Maze Of Torment. Bringing that experience to the studio Alfahanne released their debut full-length album Alfapokalyps on Dark Essence Records in 2014.

This was followed by Blod Eld Alfa in 2015, and, within a short two-year period , Alfahanne's high energy, exuberance, and easy going, friendly interaction with the fans (both on and off the stage) brought the band to the attention of audiences world-wide, garnering them a legion of fans.

Frontman Skjoldhammer explains that with their third full-length album Alfahanne continues to explore the dark side of mankind: "Alfahanne's lyrics are very personal and have many layers of dirt. Once you dig deeper into them you find many truths as I see them. Alfahanne will never lean to the left or to the right or write about political issues. The only political issue that is close to our hearts is equal rights but the flipside of that same coin is that we think everyone is equally.... Equally useless."

Det Nya Svarta was recorded at the Dödskult studio by Alfahanne's Pehr Skjoldhammer and Mixed and mastered by Stamos Koliousis. Guests on the album include Kampfar’s Dolk, David Lindh from Yvonne & Broder Daniel, Sanrabb from Gehenna, and Nadine Skjoldhammer

Tracklisting:

“Satans verser” (with Dolk from Kampfar)
“Stigmata”
“Avgrundsgravitation” (with David Lindh from Yvonne & Broder Daniel)
“Klubb 27”
“Mitt mörker är mörkare än ditt” (with Nadine Skjoldhammer)
“Dödsmaskin” (with Samrabb from Gehenna)
“Även hund har sin dag”
“Svarta får”
“Det nya svarta”

Commenting on their collaboration with Indie Recordings Alfahanne had this to say: "We think Indie is a natural choice for us and we are very pleased to be collaborating with them. Now we just hope that they are aware that they have thrown a bone to a dog, fed the beast, poured gasoline on the fire and unchained a monster."

Det Nya Svarta is now available to pre-order in CD and Vinyl formats here, and in Digital format here.

Swedish blackened metal band King Of Asgard will release its first new music in three years on March 17. Titled Taudr, the EP sees the group return in force with a revamped lineup, newfound power, firm conviction and a few surprises. Produced by Magnus "Devo" Andersson (SubRosa, Marduk), Taudr is the follow-up to the band's 2014 release, Karg. The five song EP is King Of Asgard's first release for new label Trollmusic.

Formed in 2008 by guitarist / vocalist Karl Beckman and former drummer Karsten Larsson, each ex-members of Viking metal act, Mithotyn, King Of Asgard creates grim, slightly folk-inspired death metal that takes up the legacy of iconic pioneers such as Bathory and Isengard and adds its own twist, spicing well-known Nordic myths with odes to northern winds, snowy landscapes and tales of legend from its homeland. On the new album, Taudr, the quartet enriches its distinct sound with Nordic black metal nuances, adding epic melodies (in the vein of Moonsorrow, Kampfar or Myrkgrav) and pushes its lyrical themes towards death and the afterlife. In addition to four new songs, Taudr contains a new version of the Mithotyn classic "Upon Raging Waves".

For a sampling of what the impending King Of Asgard album holds in store, check out a Taudr teaser video below.

Tracklisting:

“The Curse And The Wanderer”
“Death…And A New Sun”
“Taudr”
“…For The Fury Of The Norse”
“Raging Waves” (Mithotyn cover)

Teaser:

Preorders available at this location.

Adelaide, Australia-based progressive death metal purveyors, Sun Of Gaia, have launched a new video single. Entitled "Peril", the new single follows up the EP Corrode, which was released in March last year. The "Peril" video can be seen below.

"The new single, "Peril", differs from our previous EP Corrode in the sense that it embraces more progressive elements through the use of clean, ambient sections, clean vocals and places a much greater emphasis on the role of keyboards and piano elements in our music," the band commented. "It still retains some of the heaviness and melodic death metal style of Corrode, but overall it offers a more refined, mature and musically confident insight into who we are as a band today.

"We intended for the new single to act as a kind of 'bridge' between our sound on the Corrode EP and how our next release will sound. It retains the heavier, metal elements that fans of Corrode will recognize and enjoy, but listeners can expect to hear many more progressive elements on future releases that we think are previewed quite nicely in "Peril"."

Sun of Gaia are already working on new material; they plan to record and release their full-length debut later this year.

They say, "We’re about two thirds of the way through writing a full-length album, so our goal for the near future will be to complete the writing process and start to demo the new songs with the aim of heading into the studio to record them later on this year. In addition to this, we'll be supporting Melbourne death metal band Hadal Maw for their album launch in Adelaide in late February and expect to play a number of shows locally and interstate before the year comes to an end."

Watch the video for "Peril" below, and download the single from Bandcamp for free.

Sun of Gaia is:

Lachlan Odell - vocals & keyboard
Jack Bolingbroke - guitar
Nathan Churches - bass
Rory Amoy - drums & vocals

Unholy Prophecies has set April 24th as the international release date for Morbid Flesh's second album, Rites Of The Mangled. Proudly Catalonian, this Barcelona-based band is fittingly named, for they are authentically and unequivocally morbid, old-school daeth fuckin' Metal. Which is not all that surprising considering Morbid Flesh's membership includes scene veterans who do time in such hordes as: Insulters, Graveyard, Ósserp, Sheidim, Cuerno, and Tort among others. What results is a mammoth, elephantine bulldozer of disgusting, disease-drenched death metal in a most classic Swedish manner.

Morbid Flesh formed in 2007, and delivered the Dying Lapidation demo in 2009. Two years later came their debut album through Memento Mori, Reborn In Death. Aptly titled, Reborn In Death proved that the classic Swedeath well had not run dry, and the album went on to be become a cherished record among death metal diehards. But in 2014, Morbid Flesh delivered their first strike for Unholy Prophecies, Embedded In The Ossuary. A swift-hitting EP draped in appropriately moody cover art, Embedded In The Ossuary showed that the band could take their rottenly unfresh classicisms and dump more darkness and doom upon them. 

And that's precisely where Rites Of The Mangled comes in. Likewise adorned with classic death metal cover art, Morbid Flesh's second album kicks in with no superfluous adornment and proceeds to bury the listener under bones, entrails, and human ash. Its ever-onward crush simply does not relent, and this patient application of tank-tread terror is the key to the record's success: whereas so many death metal bands are impatient to go nowhere quickly, Morbid Flesh simply slog forward in a most unselfconscious manner, letting their metric shit-tons of riff bury the listener in righteous oblivion while often dragging the listener down  into the bowels of unforgiving doom. Of course, this monumental crush of Rites Of The Mangled is largely thanks to Javi Felez, who recorded, mixed, and mastered the album at his Moontower Studios (Graveyard, Avulsed, Nominon). Featuring guest appearances by Blasphemic Vomitor from Insulters, Xavi of Tort, and Xavier from Ósserp and Crani Septic, Rites Of The Mangled is Morbid Flesh's magnum opus!

You can hear "The Circle Cursed" the first track to be revealed from Rites Of The Mangled , via Unholy Prophecies' BandCamp audio player below. Cover and tracklisting follow.

Rites Of The Mangled (CD / 12" LP) by MORBID FLESH

"The Circle Cursed"
"Burn The Entrails"
"Banished To Oblivion"
"Heretics Hammer"
"Feeding Mallows"
"Incantation"
"Evil Behind You"

 

Hells Headbangers announces the signing of South American band Death Yell for the release of their debut album, Descent Into Hell, later this year.

Death Yell had a very short but intense life in the late '80s until they abruptly split up in 1991. For good or bad reasons, their unique demo Vengeance From Darkness became referent and even influential for many brutal death / black metal bands and 'bangers, raising the band - even after all these years - to the level of an emblematic and even cult name from that time.
 
Death Yell reunited 20 years after they broke up to come back with the recording of Back From The Depths - released in 2013 through Hells Headbangers as a split 7” with Atomic Aggressor - showing they had not lost their eerie occult style. Since then, the band have been busy playing live and regaining the position they deserved, having recently joined the Nuclear War Now! Fest V in Berlin.

Says founding guitarist Andrés "Pollo" Lozano about this release, "Descent Into Hell is actually our first full-length after 30 years! We are very pleased to become part of the Hells Headbangers legion, as we wanted to work with a specialized, serious, and well-known underground metal label in order to materialize this project."

He adds, "It took us quite some time to decide about recording this album. We had to make the decision about either burying the band definitively or take the risk of resurrecting Death Yell… Eventually, we just did it and made all in our hands to keep our original brutality intact. We are quite sure that Death Yell fans will not be disappointed."

Marcelo Vasco designed the album cover, who's also designed the latest album covers of Slayer and Kreator. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

"Soulless"
"Descent Into Hell"
"Cries Of The Nazarene"
"Bluffer"
"Betrayed Chastity"
"Purging Demons" (acoustic intro)
"Thy Will Be Done"
"Will Never Enjoy"
"Healing By Blood"
"Macabre Fuckfeast"
 
The CD edition will also include a new version of "Back From The Depths" as a bonus track. The current Death Yell lineup includes four of the five original founding members: vocalist Galleta, bassist Guatiu, and guitarists Pollo and Pulga.

Death Yell lineup 2017:

Sergio "Galleta" - vocals
Andres "Pollo" - guitar
Andres "Pulga" - guitar
Alejandro "Guatiu" - bass
Marco "Demon" - drums

 

Righteous Vendetta have revealed the first single off their upcoming full-length record, Cursed. The new song, "Weight Of The World" can be heard below and is also the first instant grat track for those who pr-order the album. The preorder for Cursed is available now at Indie Merch, iTunes, and the Amazon widget below. Cursed is set for release March 17th via Century Media Records.

Speaking on the creative journey behind the making of Cursed, the band states:

"After two years of writing and recording we are beyond excited to finally release this album with Century Media. For anyone that follows us, they know this has been a long process. But patience has paid off, because we feel that we have crafted the best album we possibly can."

“We challenged ourselves and pushed our creative limits,” states frontman Ryan Hayes. From the riffy hard rock bludgeon of opening track, “War Is Killing Us All” to the radio-ready hook-fest of “Weight Of The World”, Cursed is the sound of a band moving from strength to strength. “We wrote 30, 40 songs and really figured out who we are in the process.” Add to that a non-stop itinerary of live shows where the energized five-piece ensnare new fans and followers, Righteous Vendetta are burning rubber on their way to contender status.

In addition to their upcoming record, Righteous Vendetta will hit the road next month on a US tour building up the release of Cursed. In anticipation of these dates, members of the band state:

"Along with the release of our new album we are announcing a bunch of tour dates. We are excited to get back on a heavy touring schedule and return to some of our favorite cities!"

Teaser:

   

Italian death metal collective Hideous Divinity, featuring within its ranks current and former members of Hour Of Penance and Aborted, are preparing to unleash their third full-length via Unique Leader this spring.

Titled Adveniens and scheduled for release on April 28th, the follow-up to the band's Cobra Verde long player was recorded, mixed and mastered at Stefano Morabito's 16th Cellar Studio (Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse etc.) during the fall of 2016, includes a rendition of Sinister's "Embodiment Of Chaos”, and finds Hideous Divinity offering up their darkest material yet.

"It may be pretentious to talk about evolution inside our musical genre, this is what Adveniens truly means for us," elaborates guitarist Enrico Schettino. "Just when we believed that with Cobra Verde we reached a point of no return, our songwriting turned even more dark and monumental. Although we'll never consider ourselves close to Lucyfyre, Adversarial, Deathspell Omega, and Akhlys, the influence of this new wave of obscure metal on us these last years has been massive. The result is our most epic death metal effort ever conceived. "

"Stefano Morabito and his 16th Cellar Studios set up a new standard with the production of Adveniens," he continues. "Never before has our sound reached such a level of uncompromising intensity without sounding forced or overproduced. The maniacal efforts made to perfect every single drum beat, vocal line and guitar chord almost caused a nervous breakdown but it truly paid off."

"The entire album is a reflection on history and time, on the succession of futile ages, on the role of the poet as soothsayer and witness of the winds of time erasing each one of these ages from the face of the earth. A reflection on Walter Benjamin predicting the 'adveniens' of David Cronenberg, on Professor O'Blivion predicting an era when 'all of us will have special names.' Adveniens is a violent reflection on art."

Further info on Adveniens, including teaser tracks and pre-orders, to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Adveniens tracklisting:

“Ages Die”
“Sub Specie Aeternitatis”
“Passages”
“Angel Of Revolution”
“Feeding Off The Blind”
“When Flesh Unfolds”
“Messianica”
“Future In Red”
“Embodiment Of Chaos” (Sinister cover)

Forged in 2007, Hideous Divinity quickly established itself as one of the strongest rising European death metal acts thanks to their signature brand of technical yet gloomy classic styled death metal. Often compared to the likes of Nile, Hate Eternal, and Immolation, the band's two Unique Leader releases - 2012's Obeisance Rising and 2014's Cobra Verde - led to a successful European tour with Cannibal Corpse and Krisiun in the Spring 2016 as well as appearances at some of the most esteemed European extreme metal fests during the last few years. The band will be playing several festivals this Summer including Colony Open Air in Italy July 23rd and Stonehenge Festival in the Netherlands on July 29th. Additional performance to be announced in the coming weeks.

In an upside-down world being torn at the seams, Tragedy brings us all together by uniting two warring factions - disco and metal. Their new video for “Stayin’ Alive”, from The Joy Of Sex album, can be seen below.

The video stars comedian/musician/author Dave Hill in a role reminiscent of Tony Manero in the classic film, Saturday Night Fever, except with a little less success on the dance floor. He admires a handsome and talented disco-dancer (Nobuya Nagahama) at the club, but every time our Tony takes to the dance floor, he gets caught up in metal mayhem. Eventually, Tony finds salvation in a disco-metal transformation, inspired by his favourite band, Tragedy.

Saturday Night Fever fans will recognize many nods to the 1977 film, including Tony's famous sidewalk strut, the 2001 Odyssey lighted dancefloor, the iconic disco dance moves, the ever-sobbing Annette and the fall off the Verrazano (in this case, Tragedy's idiot towelboy, Lance, being tossed offstage by the band).

The rise of Tragedy has been swift and incident filled. Their heavy metal meets the Bee Gees meets disco has been welcomed into the hearts and minds of people across the globe and now the band are back with the soon to be global smash album, The Joy Of Sex. The album is set for a European release on February 24th, just as the band hit the UK for another extensive run around the country.

The Joy Of Sex features eleven new Tragedy hits, including “Little Red Corvette” (Prince), “Borderline” (Madonna), “Do You Think I’m Sexy” (Rod Stewart), “Never Gonna Give You Up” (Rick Astley) and their stunning re-make of the disco floor filling classic, “Stayin’ Alive”. Much like their acclaimed re-working of the Grease classic “You’re The One That I Want”, Tragedy have taken the Bee Gees disco classic and given it a 2017 update.

Their video for reworked Grease classic “You’re the One That I Want” took the US by storm with 150,000 views in its first week on YouTube.

Tragedy hit the UK for another fun filled tour starting on February 24th, full list of dates below.

How Deep Is Your Mum UK Tour 2017:

February
24 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion
25 - Carlisle, UK - Brickyard
26 - Liverpool, UK - O2 Academy
27 - Edinburgh, UK - Bannermans
28 - Glasgow, UK - Audio

March
1 - Newcastle, UK - Think Tank
2 - Bilston/Wolverhampton, UK - Robin 2
3 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece
4 - London, UK - The Garage
5 - Southampton, UK - 1865
7 - Swansea, UK - Sin City
8 - Milton Keynes, UK - Craufurd Arms
9 - Great Yarmouth, UK - Legends Of Rock Festival
10 - Oxford, UK - Bullingdon
11 - Buxton, UK - Buxton Rocks Festival  

Tragedy is:

Disco Mountain Man - lead vocals, lead back-up vocals, lead keyboards, lead cowbell
Mo'Royce Peterson - lead vocals, lead back-up vocals, lead lead guitar
Andy Gibbous Waning - lead bass, lead vocals, lead back-up vocals
Garry Bibb - lead guitar, lead back-up vocals
The Lord Gibbeth - lead drums, lead vocals
Lance - towel boy, complete idiot

The world needs heroes now more than ever. In the shape of Montreal’s larger-than-life metal warriors Valfreya, it has them! And in their striking vocalist Crook, they have their own Valkyrie!.

In 2009, vocalist Crook wanted to play something akin to folk metal, but even more aggressive and fast paced. Combining Valhalla and the Norse goddess Freya, the band has been creating music and lyrics to revolve around stories inspired by Norse mythology.

Orchestral and death metal with a hint of folk music, the prolific Valfreya have released two EPs (First Chronicles and Acoustic Chronicles), a 2012 debut album entitled Path To Eternity via Maple Metal Records, and have just unleashed their second Promised Land independently on January 13th.

“The album is a journey through a lot of emotions and situations, giving life to a host of varied songs, each with a different sound and personality. The story behind the album is about Eric The Red discovering America and how he defies the Gods, but pays a hefty price for that defiance,” says Valfreya about the release. “It’s a step up in sound quality and has more intricate guitar parts and better-written music that with every listen you can discover parts you hadn’t noticed before. On top of that we have an original sound and songs! We want to give more to people that enjoy good riffs!”

Just as you hear on record, Valfreya promises the fans a unique live experience. What you hear on the album is what you get on stage. All vocals, whether clean or screams, are done by the band members both in studio and live. They dress in a fantasy-like Viking fashion to go with their story-telling, which gives an interesting visual aspect, while delivering the instrument-playing with precision. Valfreya has shared the stage with Arkona, Dark Tranquility, Nekrogoblikon, Necronomicon, Koorpiklaani, Moonsorrow, Tyr and Insomnium.

Promised Land is now streaming in full via the following YouTube clip:

Tracklisting:

"Horizon"
"Odin’s Fury"
"Mortal Supremacy"
"Pandemonium"
"The Icelanding Sagas"
"Shame And Despair"
"Peuple Du Nord"
"Promised Land"
"The Choice"
"Warlords"
"Evolution"
"Undying Tale"

Visit Valfreya's official website for further details.

 

Epic black metal outfit Orm has completed its self-titled debut album, set for release on March 24th via Indisciplinarian.

Orm incorporates epic, melodic black metal, and its Nordic melancholy with a rocking, swinging feel, while thematically conveying a mythical cosmos of ancient times, where magic, gods, and supernatural creatures inhabited the world as naturally as humans, animals, water, and forests.

The album consists of five lengthy tracks of vivid proportions recorded live in the studio by producer Lasse Ballade (Solbrud, Halshug, Slægt) in Copenhagen in their native Denmark with additional choir recordings in the local Stefans Church. The album artwork is an oil painting on canvas created by the masterful Italian artist Paolo Girardi, who is known for his work with bands such as Bell Witch, Inquisition, and Black Breath. Orm now shares the first excerpts from the record along with its unique artwork through an album trailer created by visual artist Morten Grønnegaard.

Tracklisting:

"Blood Of Your Blood"
"Ancient Echoes"
"Temple Of The Deaf"
"Apotheosis"
"A Tree Ablaze / Yggdrasil Brænder"

(Photo by Cecilie Warming)

 

He is undoubtedly one of the boldest rock guitarists of all-time, a pioneering songwriter who fused classic blues with California psychedelia to create some of rock music’s greatest songs including “Love Me Two Times”, “Touch Me”, “Love Her Madly” and more. And, of course, he was a founding member of one of the most critically and commercially adored bands in history, The Doors.

But in the time since his tenure with that iconic outfit, Robby Krieger has not simply rested on his laurels. Instead, he has gone on to release a series of solo albums that found Krieger and his trademark Gibson SG adventuring into the outer reaches of space rock, jazz, classical music and more. Krieger has also collaborated on several studio recordings that reinterpreted classic songs by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Supertramp and others.

Now, a new collection of these studio sessions, including two exclusive, never-before-released mixes and a bonus live recording available on CD for the first time. In Session features an incredible roster of guest appearances including Jackson Browne, Hawkwind’s Nik Turner, Asia’s John Wetton (R.I.P.), Styx’s Tommy Shaw, and even the Star Trek captain himself, William Shatner. Don’t miss this incredible collection available everywhere February 17th from Purple Pyramid Records.

Tracklisting:

“Across The Universe” feat. Jackson Browne
“Hypernova” feat. Nik Turner (Inner Space Mix)
“Empty Spaces” feat. Billy Sherwood
“Where We Belong” (Prism Mix) feat. Tony Kaye
“Don’t Leave Me Now” feat. Tommy Shaw
“Brain Damage” feat. Geoff Downes
“School” feat. Rod Argent
“Deep Down” feat. William Shatner
“Little Drummer Boy”
“All You Need Is Love” feat. John Wetton

Bonus track:
“Back Door Man” (Live)

Buy the CD here. Buy the digital version here.