Gore House Productions proudly announces the release of Necrambulant's second full-length, Upheaval Of Malignant Necrambulance, to follow 2022's A Feast Of Festering Flesh (EP) and 2013 debut album, Infernal Infectious Necro-ambulatory Pandemic.





The sophomore album, due out on March 7, is a relentless record presented as an anthology of all that Necrambulant represents, horror, gore, and slamming brutal death metal. Musically, the band incorporated a full arsenal of death metal and slam to further define their self-described sound of "Inhuman Slam Grind". Lyrically, the album has something to offer on many levels of thematic brutality; zombies, serial killers, cannibals, sci-fi, and Warhammer.




"We think our new full-length will be well received by fans of our earlier work. We put out our somewhat experimental EP back in 2022 to a very mixed bag of reviews. We had kind of expected that particular release to receive some heat, as it was a bit of a departure from our previous sound. For the EP, we wanted short, to-the-point, less modern-sounding slam/death metal. We wanted it to have the sound of something like a reanimated corpse that had been lying out in the desert, dried out, dusty, and decayed; that was my approach to the vocal sound and some people dug it while others hated it. But with the new album being more of a return to form, we hope that it will be more well-received among fans who have been with us since the beginning as well as something fresh for our newer listeners to enjoy as well. The new album is just a relentless barrage of slamming brutal death metal. We strived for a no bullshit / no filler track list that will just pummel the listener with heaviness," says the band.


To infest the auditory canals of extreme metal fans around the globe, Necrambulant is unshackling their first single, "Chunked Pus Chowder", accompanied by a gruesome claymation video.


The band explains further on the track: "This is one that was written with more humor in mind than anything else. Just a song that's gross for the sake of being gr

TNT singer Tony Harnell has revealed that he recently underwent laparoscopic surgery, a surgical treatment used to treat localized prostate cancer.

The 62-year-old musician, who was born in San Diego, grew up in California and moved to New York when he was 16, took to his Instagram on Wednesday (November 27) to write: "Extra gratitude on this Thanksgiving. On August 1st I had successful laparoscopic surgery for aggressive prostate cancer. 5 days later I was rushed to the ER with sepsis and spent another 3 days in the hospital till they stabilized me.

"What a ride! Not sure how close I got to the exit door, but I'm deeply grateful to all of those who took fast action that day to save my life. I'm feeling better each day. Long recovery from this one.

"I couldn't have gotten through it without close friends, amazing doctors and my sweet Kristi. This is why I had to cancel some shows in August and decided to take the rest of 2024 to heal my body, mind and spirit. It took a lot out of me and still building myself back up.

"Thanks so much to all of you who've reached out and checked on me. This Thanksgiving is truly about giving thanks!

"Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving filled with love, peace and light. See you on the road in '25!

"P.S. GUYS, stay on top of your PSA tests every year!"

Harnell beat thyroid cancer in 2009 and later appeared in advertisements for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in order to share his story and help educate others about the warning signs of thyroid cancer.

TNT played its first concert with returning singer Harnell on June 2, 2023 at Jærnåttå in Bryne, Norway.

Harnell announced his return to TNT in November 2022, saying that he would reteam with guitarist Ronni LeTekrø and drummer Morten "Diesel" Dahl on stage in 2023 and beyond for select live appearances. The trio is joined in the current TNT lineup by returning bassist Sid Ringsby, who played with TNT for the first time on the "All The Way To The Sun" album in 2005 and has appeared with TNT at various concerts over the years.

In April 2021, Harnell, who has been in and out of TNT several times throughout its four-decade existence, told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that he didn't rule out returning to the band. "Ronni and I, contrary to popular belief, we talk often," he said. "Most of the things that pushed us apart — again, contrary to popular belief — are business related. I'll just leave it at that. 'Never say never' is a good way to put it [regarding a possible new TNT album]. And there might be a time and a place."

Harnell's most recent split with TNT took place in October 2017, less than a year and a half after he rejoined the group. He later described his relationship with TNT in an "Unphiltered" interview as "a very long marriage. I'm here [in New York], they're there [in Norway] — they're across the pond really far away. It's a very difficult situation to be in without having a very unified business organization, and no matter what I did, I could not get the thing unified. We were just on two totally separate not only continents physically, but mentally, psychologically, we were on two different continents as well."

Harnell said that he "really, really wanted" his last collaboration with TNT to work out. "In my opinion, this was gonna be it — we were gonna stay together until I didn't feel like singing anymore," he said. 'I was gonna do other things and do other projects and so forth, but my goal was that TNT would be my band for at least another five years, maybe 10 years or whatever, until it ran its course. So this was kind of an unexpected thing."

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Harnell. Baol is a Spanish singer whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.

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Former NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala has unveiled details of his new solo album, "Roses From The Deep", due on February 7, 2025 via Nuclear Blast. This marks Hietala's first major project since his critically acclaimed "Pyre Of The Black Heart" captivated fans worldwide in 2020.

"Roses From The Deep" promises to deliver a unique blend of dark, introspective lyricism and soaring, cinematic soundscapes. Drawing inspiration from myth, nature, and the human experience, Hietala has crafted an album that transcends genres, with elements of progressive rock, folk, and symphonic metal seamlessly intertwined.

"Roses From The Deep" represents a journey into the hidden layers of our emotions and the beauty we often overlook in darker times. It's an album about fragility, resilience, and finding light even in the depths of shadow.

The album's latest single, "Impatient Zero", arrives with a visually stunning music video. Featuring a stomping, groovy beat and a grand, anthemic chorus, the track is set to captivate listeners and perfectly set the tone for the rest of "Roses From The Deep".

"Impatient Zero" follows the huge success of the album's first two singles. "Left On Mars", a haunting duet with ex-NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, quickly became a fan favorite, showcasing the vocal chemistry between the two icons. The second single, "Frankenstein's Wife", with its dark storytelling and intricate composition, further heightened anticipation for Hietala's upcoming release.

Hietala comments on "Impatient Zero": "It's about a battle for being under a continuous assault of inner monsters. And the awful truth, that in this reality, people get to see those monsters, too, instead of the real face."

Track listing:

01. Frankenstein's Wife
02. Left On Mars
03. Proud Whore
04. Two Soldiers
05. The Dragon Must Die
06. The Devil You Know
07. Rebel Of The North
08. Impatient Zero
09. Tammikuu
10. Roses From The Deep

To mark the album release, Hietala will embark on a tour across Finland.

Feb. 07 - FI Lahti - Finlandia Klubi
Feb. 08 - FI Kuopio - Sawohouse Underground
Feb. 12 - FI Helsinki - Tavastia
Feb. 13 - FI Savonlinna - House Of Olaf
Feb. 14 - FI Tampere - Olympia-kortteli
Feb. 15 - FI Turku - Logomo

Lineup:

Marko Hietala - Bass, Vocals
Tuomas Wäinölä - Guitar
Vili Ollila / Bob Engstrand - Keyboards
Anssi Nykänen - Drums

Hietala announced his departure from NIGHTWISH in January 2021, explaining in a statement that he hadn't "been able to feel validated by this life for a quite a few years now." He has since been replaced by bassist Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN),who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences.

This past March, Hietala was asked by Brazil's Ibagenscast if he would consider taking part in a reunion of the band's classic lineup, either for a tour or fresh material. He responded: "Hmm, I would consider it. But I think that the organization there would have to be looked very carefully into it and some of it would have to be dismantled. Because the business side and how the people there work, they are one of the big reasons why I left."

He continued: "In all the bands that I've been [in], I found out that I'm probably the most kind of courageous person there is and therefore also I have the inner strength to be the most honest and most fair and the one who upholds the justice between the people and taking care of everyone most. And that is something that I saw, the last years, were lacking. So, these kind of things would have to be taken care of. But I mean, [NIGHTWISH] was a big part of my life and I always, always backed up the music that we did because I love to do music that is versatile and ambitious with a lot of all kinds of atmospheres of all the world, from sensitive and soft into the big and pounding metal and all that. So, musically, I have no regrets at all. I'm happy and proud to have been a part of it. But, yeah, the organizational situation and the attitudes and who talks to whom and about what, those are things that I would totally dismantle and make into a transparent situation."

In an August 2022 interview with Finland's Chaoszine, Hietala revealed that he went through a dark period in his life, which included depression, insomnia, anxiety and an eventual attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. Speaking about how he eventually came to the realization that exiting NIGHTWISH was the right thing to do, Marko said: "It was a long process. Of course, the COVID year that was there, where I had a lot of time for soul searching, it obviously gave me the last incentive that I need something else, that if I just continue with this I'm just gonna get sicker and sicker. But, of course, it's a process.

"I've been chronic depressive since 2010 [or] 2011, so I've been on a permanent medication ever since," he revealed. "Sometimes you get used to the meds [and] you will need more. We did raise [the dosage] during the years also, but it just didn't work. And now that I started to do… I had psychotherapy for over four years now, and then I also talked to psychiatrists and some doctors and did that also in Spain. Then my psychiatrist here in Finland said that I should do these ADHD neuropsychological tests, which I then did in Spain. And, okay, I got it."

Hietala reiterated that he "had been thinking about" leaving NIGHTWISH "for a while" before making the final decision. "Because I had a lot of weight. And I tend to… With the attention disorder, it tells me that when there are lots of trouble, then the disorder makes it into a real chaos," he explained. "There's a shitload of stuff coming and going and no peace anywhere. And for a year or two, I was already waking up every night at three o'clock to bad dreams and anxiety. So I'd say that the whole process probably started already with my former divorce [in 2016]. That was a very sad time when you think about your kids and your broken homes and all that. And then, when I started to get clear from that, then there were, well, all kinds of things. I don't really wanna go any deeper to what kind of things I'd gone through, but I'd gone through enough."

Acknowledging that making NIGHTWISH's 2020' album "Human. :II: Nature." was a "difficult" experience for him, Marko denied that his mental state at the time resulted in a diminished role for him on the final LP. "I think the original idea was to have that… we'll do a couple of [solo vocal appearances], or one solo for me and Troy [Donockley], and the rest Floor [Jansen], and then the harmonies; that was the idea originally for that," he said. "So I don't know if it affected. I think it was sort of as planned. But at that time I already had serious trouble with concentrating and serious trouble with a constant black cloud over my head."

In July 2022, Hietala told Finland's Iltalehti that he had not kept in touch with NIGHTWISH since his departure or followed the activities of his former band.

In December 2020, Hietala was crowned the winner of the fall 2020 season of "Masked Singer Suomi" — the Finnish edition of the popular masked singing contest. He was disguised as Tohtori — the Doctor.

Photo credit: Mika Toivanen

Robert Mason says that WARRANT has "grown and gained momentum" in the 16 years since he joined the band.

Original WARRANT singer Jani Lane recorded several albums with the band in late 1980s and early 1990s but left the group several times. The band's seventh studio LP, "Born Again", was released in 2006 and featured Jaime St. James as the lead singer. In 2008, Lane returned to WARRANT temporarily and toured with the group. In September that year, WARRANT announced that Jani had left again. The band replaced him with Mason and released its eighth studio album, "Rockaholic", in 2011.

In a new interview with 97 Underground's Michael Spedden, Mason stated about performing the songs originally written and recorded by Lane (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The nostalgia aspect is a huge component of what we do. Yes, we're still up there and we're playing songs, and I've done two records with the band, so there are songs that are newer, but by and large, your garden variety WARRANT fan remembers those first three really big records, if they're of that certain age. That meant something to them… By and large, WARRANT fans are there to have a good time, and if we provide that — they hear the songs, they get the live performance where we don't just stare at our shoes, my intent is to metaphorically get out there and really reach the audience and have them reach back and have everybody kind of bond on that energetic level.

"On one hand, I think [WARRANT guitarist] Joey Allen said at one time, he said, 'If my singer didn't have a really thick skin, he wouldn't be able to do this.'

"I've been in this band over 16 years," he continued. "It was at a time when they really needed somebody to be the hood ornament, the horn in front of the car, the headlights, and they had fans and promoters and shows booked and people willing to come see the band, and they just couldn't manage it with all five guys. Jani, bless him, was not in a good place nor fit to go do that. I met them at a festival show, kind of reconnected with them, and it was just a very organic natural thing. Now my band had opened for WARRANT in arenas in '92. So, we were friends for all that time, albeit casual, distant acquaintances and friends. We got to be friends on that tour, and Jani and I got to be friends, pretty good friends throughout those months on the road in '92. So, we were all in a similar place. We're all of a similar age. It was a very organic fit for me to come in and first fill in some shows. And I know I've said this before as well, but really quickly, if I would have filled in half a dozen shows, a half a year, a year, whatever, and Jani got himself healthy and wanted to come back — 'here you go. It's your band.' That was not the case. And we all had to make peace with that. There was a certain element of — it's still, in some ways, a job and a career and a passion. It's like you mix ego, art and commerce, and they don't always flow together perfectly well forever and for amen. But we had four out of five guys, a booking agent, promoters and fans willing to keep the wheels rolling and keep the band going. So we just did it. And it's honestly grown and gained momentum throughout the years, to the point where now we're still doing, I think it's just short of 60 shows this year, fly dates, and we still love doing it. Everybody gets along, and the testament is that it's still going after 16 and a half some odd years. I've said as long as we keep going and fans still wanna come out and we're still doing good shows and everybody's happy, then we'll keep doing it."

In an April 2021 interview with Waste Some Time With Jason Green, Mason stated about how Lane's last split from WARRANT came about: "They told Jani he was better off probably staying off the road, because they were having a hard time keeping him sober. They hired a very expensive per-day sober coach that couldn't do it.

"It's a horrible thing," he continued. "He succumbed to all of that… He was in a very, very dark place, and the worst place for him was to be on the road. And my guys were deathly afraid of finding him not making lobby call one day and expired in a hotel on the road, and how that would look and how that would feel for them.

"So, yes, they told, 'No more WARRANT for you. Please go home and make yourself better. And maybe we'll talk about it someday. But make yourself better.'

"[After I joined WARRANT] Jani was alive and did Jani Lane solo shows for a little bit. He put a band together with a lot of the usual suspects, guys he would use, and really great players. But he was just not the same guy and not in the same place."

Lane died in August 2011 at age 47. Paramedics found his body in a Comfort Inn motel room in Woodland Hills, California, which is near Los Angeles. Lane had battled alcohol abuse for years.

Reflecting on how he found out about Jani's death, Robert said: "I think it was us and the SLAUGHTER guys, we were all having dinner at a steak joint somewhere in the middle of the country doing a gig, and everybody's phone just buzzed — it seemed [like it happened] all at once. It was kind of rare for us — all band and crew; everybody — after flying in, we were all sitting around the table, with appetizers, waiting for entrees to show up, and all of sudden, everybody's phones just blew up. And it was that horrible look. I remember somebody looking and going [opens his eyes wide]. And I know they thought to themselves, 'This is what this is,' and they were dead right. We all picked up the phone, and we were, like, 'Did you just hear…?' 'Yeah, I just got a text from so-and-so.' 'I just missed a phone call from six people.'"

According to Mason, Lani's passing didn't come completely unexpectedly to him and the rest of WARRANT. "Clearly, it's not anything that anybody wanted to happen, but it was less of a surprise, I think," he said. "It wasn't as huge a shock. And that's a terrible thing to admit."

WARRANT's latest album, "Louder Harder Faster", was released in 2017 via Frontiers Music Srl. The disc was recorded with producer Jeff Pilson — a veteran bassist who has played with DIO, FOREIGNER and DOKKEN, among others — and was mixed by Pat Regan, except for the song "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", which was mixed by Chris "The Wizard" Collier (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, PRONG, LAST IN LINE).

Opeth's mesmerizing headline performance at Bloodstock Open Air 2024 is available for streaming below.


Captured live on August 9, 2024, this stunning set showcases the Swedish progressive metal legends in all their glory as they deliver a carefully curated, fan-chosen set on the iconic Ronnie James Dio Main Stage. Held at Walton on Trent, Derbyshire, Bloodstock is renowned as the UK's biggest independent metal festival, and Opeth's performance was undoubtedly one of the weekend's highlights.


Blending intricate guitar riffs with haunting melodies and progressive soundscapes, Opeth’s music defies genre boundaries, weaving through elements of folk, jazz, and classical music while maintaining a deeply rooted heaviness. Tracks like "The Grand Conjuration," "Ghost Of Perdition," and "Sorceress" captivated the crowd, while the raw emotion in "In My Time Of Need" and the crushing power of "Deliverance" left fans speechless.




Setlist:


Intro  
"The Grand Conjuration"
"Demon Of The Fall"
"The Drapery Falls"
"In My Time Of Need"
"Heir Apparent"
"Ghost Of Perdition"
"Sorceress"
"Deliverance"





Opeth's 14th studio album, The Last Will And Testament, is now available worldwide via Moderbolaget / Reigning Phoenix Music. In the video below, frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt takes us through the entire album, with some interesting comments about how each track came to be.





Opeth's fourteenth album was written by Mikael Åkerfeldt, with lyrics conferred with Klara Rönnqvist Fors (The Heard, ex-Crucified Barbara). The Last Will And Testament was co-produced by Åkerfeldt and Stefan Boman (Ghost, The Hellacopters), engineered by Boman, Joe Jones (Killing Joke, Robert Plant), and Opeth, with Boman, Åkerfeldt, and the rest of Opeth mixing at Atlantis and Hammerthorpe Studios in Stockholm. The strings on The Last Will And Testament were arranged by Åkerfeldt and returning prog friend Dave Stewart (Egg, Khan) and conducted by Stewart at Angel Studios in London. Not one to miss a beat, visual artist Travis Smith returns to the fold, crafting his 11th cover, a haunting "photograph" reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's infamous "Overlook Hotel" photograph. Miles Showell (ABBA, Queen) also revisits mastering and vinyl lacquer cutting at Abbey Road Studios in London.


Åkerfeldt rolls out the red carpet for storied flautist and Jethro Tull main man Ian Anderson. Not only do Anderson's signature notes fly on "§4" and "§7", he narrates on "§1", "§2", "§4", and "§7". Joining Anderson, Europe's Joey Tempest lends a backing vocal hand on "§2”, while Åkerfeldt's youngest daughter, Mirjam Åkerfeldt, is the disembodied voice in "§1".


The Last Will A Testament is gripping from start to finish, jaw-dropping inside and out, representing some of Opeth's finest material to date. Just as Opeth welcomed many into its distressed arms over the years, the Swedes again deliver on the promise that great music always tells a compelling story—this time with growls.


Order The Last Will And Testament here. Album cover by Travis Smith.





The Last Will And Testament tracklisting:


"§1"
"§2"
"§3"
"§4"
"§5"
"§6"
"§7"
"A Story Never Told"


"§4" lyric video:





"§3":





"§1" (Radio Edit) lyric video:





After conquering North America this past October, Opeth will emba

In a new interview with Loaded Radio, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick was asked if he thinks the upcoming KISS avatar show is going to do well. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I hate to ever count out the capabilities of creative minds with a lot of money and means. If you think about what the makeup characters represent, I've seen it in a comic book form. There were fanzines even that were drawing them. I was even included, not as necessarily a makeup person, but you know what I mean. 'THE BEATLES meet KISS, 'Asylum'-era KISS,' stuff like that. But there's something about technology that they have all these really great people who I know the way… I don't know much about the company that bought them, but I know they were very successful for the group ABBA. So will they be able to recreate that success for KISS? I say don't count them out, but I don't know what the public will think.

"I think there'll always be a certain part of the fans that needs something organic, just like maybe the CD will never go away, vinyl will never go away, cassettes will never go away," he continued. "Like maybe KISS live in person or even a tribute band to KISS live and in person still would feel maybe more than an incredible avatar performance. But that doesn't mean that this couldn't be something wildly successful. I just wouldn't count it out.

"There's lots of criticisms — I see people saying 'not interesting', 'can't wait' — but we know it's years off now. Years," Kulick added. "And I'm glad that they're recognizing that to do this right, it might take a lot of years. And let's see what the future holds for bringing people together in an environment to see KISS put on a show like no other. Who knows? But again, I can't fault them for trying that. 'Cause they clearly didn't wanna go the route of, 'We're gonna find the best tribute band ever and put them out.' The official KISS that isn't KISS, but they're all approved. And I know that there were reputable TV shows and producers that saw that as an opportunity for KISS, and they didn't bite. And I respect that, that they didn't choose it, but I could definitely see how that could have gone that route too. And they chose not to."

The technology being used for the KISS avatars, originally developed for ABBA's "Voyage" show in London, will allow KISS to stay "on the road" in retirement.

The KISS avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind "ABBA Voyage".

Using cutting-edge technology, Pophouse Entertainment Group, which was founded by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus, will create digital versions of KISS. The project was previewed at the final KISS concert in New York in December 2023.

In September, Paul Stanley was asked by Billboard's "Behind The Setlist" podcast about the reports that the KISS avatar show will debut in 2027 in Las Vegas. Paul said: "What I can tell you is that the technology that's being used, which is a furthering of the technology used on the ABBA show, has to be installed and basically a building has to be built around it. So this isn't something where you're in Kansas City today, and tomorrow you fly with your projector to do it. It demands an arena, so to speak that's really solely used for a show like this. But it's not something that can play on Wednesdays and Thursdays or Saturdays and Sundays, and then something else is in there during the week."

In an interview with TMZ, Gene Simmons defended KISS's plans for an avatar concert similar to ABBA's with digital versions of the group.

"A.I. [artificial intelligence] is here to stay," he said. "Technology is here to stay. And you either join in and try to adapt and try to figure out how that works with you or you're just yesterday's news in a very real way.

"Truthfully, KISS has stopped touring," he continued. "We will never tour as KISS again. However, the end is also the beginning. We're gonna do things that will blow your socks off. But we couldn't do this without our new best friends for life Pophouse. They're really remarkable people."

When the interviewer asked if fans will embrace the concept of a concert that is A.I.-driven and consists of nothing but holograms, Gene said: "It's not just, 'Okay, they're gonna show up on stage just like they did before, but it's holograms. No. That's an archaic term. Technology has advanced so far, you won't believe it.

"We spent some time at George Lucas's place and did motion capture stuff secretly," he continued. "We didn't talk to anybody — media or anything — about it, because we wanted this to be like nothing anybody's ever seen. And I will tell you, if you've seen the ABBA show in London, which is phenomenal, this is gonna be beyond anything you've ever seen.

"So the future is here, and with our friends at Pophouse, who are visionaries, we're gonna be doing things that no band and no musical — nobody's ever done before," Gene added. "Our events are going to be multi, I wanna say multidimensional. You just won't believe your eyes. Things are gonna be so much larger than life in front of you. You won't believe it. We've already seen the first fragments of that. It's just jaw-droppingly amazing."

As part of the partnership, Pophouse will create digital versions of KISS that will allow the band and their unique personas to live forever. The project, already underway, was previewed at the final KISS show in Madison Square Garden, New York on December 2, 2023, when, to the audience's surprise, KISS avatars closed the night with a rendition of "God Gave Rock And Roll To You" (resulting in international headlines). Through a magical combination of cutting-edge technology and unrivalled creativity, Pophouse will bring the full, authentic KISS experience to both existing and new fans for years to come. The avatar show is planned to launch in 2027.

Releasing their fourth studio album, Nemesis, this past September, Canadian prog rockers The Wring is inviting fans to enter the "Badlands" with their latest lyric video in support of the record.


Don Dewulf explains the track further: "Bad behaviour of major media outlets has given rise to powerful lower tier/social media that operate without any requirement for truth or decency; conflicting accounts, conspiracy theory, assertions without proof but presented as fact. It’s everywhere, but most obvious in the USA where almost every issue is dramatically polarized. Even the average semi-intelligent person doesn’t really know what to believe anymore. Musically, Badlands starts with a crushing bass riff leading into an angular verse and a very metal pre-chorus. The chorus is open and singable. I love the solo. It’s got some Lydian forms which has a ‘crooked major’ jazzy kind of vibe. Fun to play."







The Wring's fourth album, Nemesis, marks a significant step in the band’s journey, showcasing a more cohesive and refined sound that blends their heavy rock roots with progressive and jazz influences. With eight tracks spanning just over 40 minutes, Nemesis adds a new, technical twist to progressive metal.


Exploring themes of external and internal conflict, each song represents a different facet of our struggles. From the driving intensity of tracks like “Badlands” and “The Sword” to the melodic intricacy of “The Nail” and “Before I Disappear”, the album is a dynamic journey through the band’s musical and lyrical vision. Reggie Hache’s expanded role on vocals, bass, and keyboards brings a new depth to The Wring’s sound, while Dewulf’s guitar work continues to anchor the band’s heavy yet nuanced approach.


Throughout Nemesis, the playing is tight, precise, and yet still free-flowing. Each instrument complements the others and often provides a steady hand while the other players move in different directions. It's a metal album, a prog album, a rock album, or even a pseudo-jazz affair.


Don Dewulf comments: “Thematically, Nemesis speaks to conflict of all sorts. Musically, there is a similar conflict of musical styles. The central idea of every Wring album is to combine many genres in a single song, so while nothing is new, hopefully, the combination can seem fresh or different. For many listeners, even the most dedicated, certain musical stylings are an onerous listen – jazz, prog, even classical. The idea of Nemesis is to give the listener a way to enjoy odd times, peculiar harmony, and aggressive riffs without having to give up their soul to do it. The backbone of every song is firmly rooted in traditional hard rock so there is always something to grab onto.”





Tracklisting:


“Badlands”