Modern heavy metal revivalist James Durbin recently released his boldest, heaviest album to date with the debut album from Durbin, The Beast Awakens. Check out a one take vocal performance of the song "Riders On The Wind" below, and order the album here.
Tracklisting:
"The Prince Of Metal"
"Kings Before You" (Ft. Chris Jericho & Phil Demmel)
"Into The Flames"
"The Sacred Mountain"
"The Beast Awakens"
"Evil Eye"
"Necromancer"
"Riders On The Wind"
"Calling Out For Midnight"
"Battle Cry"
"By The Horns"
"Rise To Valhalla"
"Riders On The Wind" One Take Vocal Performance:
"Necromancer" One Take Vocal Performance:
"The Beast Awakens":
"Evil Eye" visualizer:
"The Prince Of Metal" video:
"Kings Before You" video:
Lineup:
James Durbin - Vocals. Rhythm Guitars
Jon Yadon Jr., Marc Putnam, Dylan Rose, & Nick Gallant - Guitars
Barry Sparks - Bass
Mike Vanderhule - Drums
As true heathens, folk/black metal act Hexenklad (ft. members of SIG:AR:TYR, Eclipse Eternal, Pagan Ritual) summon interconnected energies in their new music video for the first single and title track off their upcoming album Heathenheart, which is being premiered by BraveWords! Releasing around the summer solstice, the time of year that draws people together to celebrate the longest day of the year, the band brings a message that you are not alone, which is also fitting with the global crisis of the past year.
The band explains the track further:
“Heathenheart is a folk metal anthem. As soon as it started to come together, we knew this had to be the single we released first. It is just so memorable and so poignant and relevant to the times we are all going through. It is a song about being alone, yet all connected. All lone wolves yet all part of a larger pack. About protecting and raising each other up. The song feels like its message. It is uplifting, powerful, memorable, anthemic.” According to the band, they didn’t go into the writing process for this album with any intention to create a specific sonic experience. It is more an amalgamation of all the varied influences of its members and they didn’t want to constrain where the music took them. Each song on the album has a different meaning, a different feel, a different purpose. Each song should elicit a different response from the listener and make them think. The common thread that binds all these songs together is that they are all intense musically, even the slower songs, and feature heathen lyrics, most of which are very uplifting in meaning, even the darkest of them.
As a whole Heathenheart is an intense black metal-influenced folk metal album full of heathen anthems to raise a horn to. The heathen’s heart is full of chaos, creation through destruction, Hagalaz, and this is a journey into it.
Heathenheart is recommended for fans of Amon Amarth, Ensiferum, and Insomnium and will be released on July 23, 2021 via CDN Records. Pre-order the album via CDN Records here.
Tracklisting:
“Heathenheart”
“Cold Beauty Of Winter”
“Huginn And Muninn”
“Rootbound”
“The Raven Returns To The Knoll”
“A Thousand Paths To Wisdom”
“Olde Gods Awaken”
“Beware The Outstretched Hand”
“A Forest Of Dead Trees”
“Upon The Wings Of Valkyries”
“A Moment Of Silence”
“We Raise A Horn”
Progressive metal guitarist and songwriter Jasun Tipton – known for his work in Zero Hour, Cynthesis and Abnormal Thought Patterns– arises with his newest musical entity, A Dying Planet. Hailing from Northern California, the group is about to unleash its second album "When the Skies Are Grey" on Lifeforce Records. Unsurprisingly, there is one thing above all: searching, forward-looking and dramatically compelling prog. The album's songs combine proven joy in playing, with circumspect complexity and overarching grace. A Dying Planet's sophomore effort is both delicate and complex. Thanks to outstanding songwriting, "When the Skies Are Grey" offers as much substance as it does sustainability. The result: one can't get enough of this album.
Having already been featured on the selftitled debut album, Paul Adrian Villarreal (ex-Sun Caged) now has become the official singer for AA Dying Planet. With six tracks surging with nearly fifty-two minutes of driving, dynamic material, „When The Skies Are Grey“ was mixed and mastered by Adair Daufembach.
Prior to forming A Dying Planet, the Tipton brothers (Jasun and Troy) were the driving force behind prog metal powerhouse Zero Hour, releasing five albums and playing gigs alongside bands such as Opeth, Cynic, Symphony X, All That Remains, The Human Abstract, and Liquid Tension Experiment, in addition to multiple successful European tours and appearances at America’s premier progressive festival, ProgPower USA. Jasun and Troy also had success with the technical instrumental band Abnormal Thought Patterns (including two albums for Lifeforce) and progressive metal act Cynthesis. The Tipton brothers have also been guest columnists on the popular guitar enthusiast website Chops From Hell.
When The Skies Are Grey will be released on September 17th. Pre-order the album here.
Tracklist:
"When the Skies Are Grey"
"Honoring Your Name"
"Hope for Tomorrow"
"Embrace"
"So Far from Home"
"A Father's Love"
After recently signing with Napalm Records and Napalm Events, German based melodic death metal unit, Hiraes, is set to drop its first sonic monster with ultimate strength: Their debut offering, Solitary, will be released on June 25.
Today, to stir the anticipation even more, the powerhouse combining the full force of all four instrumentalists formerly of Dawn Of Disease (Lukas Kerk, Oliver Kirchner, Christian Wösten and Mathias Blässe) with the powerful vocals of Britta Görtz (Critical Mess, Ex-Cripper) sets free its third exciting melodic death emergence with razor-sharp single, "Eyes Over Black". Hiraes' explosive new offering smashes in with catchy hooklines and immediately marks a sonic reminiscence of late In Flames. The song comes along with a powerful music video, shot in a crushing live set-up to demonstrate the inexorable strength of the band even more and gives a glimpse of what fans can expect when HIRAES will finally be able to smash stages worldwide!
Hiraes on "Eyes Over Black":
"Aren't we all starving for live concerts during this pandemic? With our brand new video for 'Eyes Over Black' we want to capture this feeling of being on stage again as well as giving you an insight of the energy and intensity that our future live shows will bring to the audience. We cannot wait to finally get back on stage and present our powerful, catchy and monumental songs from our debut album Solitary. Until the time finally comes again, enjoy 'Eyes Over Black' and hope with us that we will see each other on the road pretty soon!"
Hiraes already established its own remarkable identity built upon a smashing femme vocal attack, intense melodies and charging guitars, led by guitarist Lukas Kerk as main songwriter. An atmospheric, instrumental intro introduces the album opener “Shadows Break'', whilst showcasing the impressive vocal onslaught of seasoned frontwoman Britta Görtz shortly after. “Grain Of Sand” sets the next exclamation mark while delivering an unrelenting attack of smashing riffs along with an inexorable vocal performance, followed by standouts such as brutal “1000 Lights”, razor-sharp “Eyes Over Black'' and fast-twitching title-track “Solitary”, proving that Hiraes don’t decelerate for a second.
This massive melodic death metal assault leaves no scope for weakness and serves an exciting take on the genre with hymnlike melodies, enthralling drums and guitar riffing as well as breathtaking hooklines. Topped with the distinctive and versatile performance of Britta Görtz, this powerful new formation and its debut, Solitary, is a must have for fans of bands like Insomnium, At The Gates, Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth.
Hiraes say about the album: “Our debut album Solitary is the result of the collaboration of five musicians who burn with passion for melodic death metal. With its incredible emotional energy, it will captivate fans of the genre in no time. Hymn-like melodies and catchy riffing meet versatile drumming and the very varied growls of our singer Britta. The result is a unique blend of the best that melodic death metal has to offer. Rounded off by stunning sound, refined at Fascination Street Studios under the direction of Jens Bogren, and strong artwork by Costin Chioreanu, we are really more than satisfied with our first album. We can't wait to finally present Solitary to the metal community on June 25, 2021!”
Solitary will be available in the following formats:
- 1 LP Gatefold Silver
- 1 LP Gatefold Black
- 1 CD Jewel Case
- Digital Album
The O'Keefe Music Foundation has uploaded a new video of around half a dozen kids performing a cover version of SEPULTURA's classic song "Roots Bloody Roots".
Recorded entirely in a garage, the kids' rendition of the track proves that you don't need a fancy studio when the band is composed of seven insanely talented kids from around the country. Hailing from Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio, this "supergroup" put its own spin on the song.
Check out the guitar solo that Seb Braganza improvised on the spot. Or Sebastian James's 55-gallon metal drum solo, also improvised.
Musicians:
* Vocals: K8 (age 8; from Texas)
* 55 Gallon Drum: Sebastian Stephens (age 9; from Tennessee)
* Claves: Willa Hillard (age 10; from Ohio)
* Rhythm Guitar: Ashton Hall (age 12; from Tennessee)
* Shaker: Natalie Vinnage (age 12; from Ohio)
* Lead Guitar: Seb Braganza (age 13; from Pennsylvania)
* Lead Guitar 2: Connor Meintel (age 15)
* Drums: Jason Wehn (age 16; from Pennsylvania)
* Bass: Jonas Miller (age 17; from Ohio)
O'Keefe Music Foundation is a non-profit music organization based in Ohio, with a mission to provide high-quality music education to any child in the world for free. Why? Because art gives voice to our dreams and live music performance is becoming a dying art. Since 2006, OMF has helped over 1000 students make countless music videos, with over 80 million combined YouTube views.
"Roots Bloody Roots" originally appeared on SEPULTURA's 1996 album "Roots", which, along with 1993's "Chaos A.D.", is considered the band's most commercially successful release, having been certified gold in 2005 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for U.S. shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.
SATANIC PLANET has released the official Lola Blanc-directed music video for the song "Devil In Me". The track is taken from the band's self-titled album, which came out on May 28 via Three One G Records.
SATANIC PLANET is the creation of Lucien Greaves (The Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson), Luke Henshaw (PLANET B, SONIDO DE LA FRONTERA), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, MISFITS, MR. BUNGLE, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, DEAD CROSS) and Justin Pearson (THE LOCUST, DEAD CROSS, SWING KIDS, DEAF CLUB). With the birth of SATANIC PLANET, hip-hop producer Henshaw and punk provocateur Pearson joined co-founder and spokesperson of The Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves — the most prominent and outspoken contemporary Satanist in the world. Greaves has gained international attention as an advocate for religious liberty and the voice of the Satanic Reformation, delivering lectures nationwide and featured in national media outlets, including MSNBC, NPR, Huffington Post Live, CNN, Harper's Monthly, Newsweek, Fox News, Vice, Salon, Rolling Stone and many more. As the trio were diligently working, and nearly completed with, the music for their debut album, the worldwide pandemic hit, seemingly bringing things to a halt. However, with the onset of this new way of living, the newly formed band was in a unique position to enlist the legendary Lombardo, who found himself not touring for the first time in years, and suddenly having more time to work in his home studio on projects that interested him. With the addition of this iconic drummer, SATANIC PLANET was complete. Along the way, an eclectic range of guest appearances arose, including CATTLE DECAPITATION's Travis Ryan, Nomi Abadi, SILENT's Jung Sing, Shiva Honey, Eric Livingston (also known as his artist moniker First Church Of The Void), and HEXA's Carrie Feller. This collaboration embraces the avant garde to create sci-fi sermons that range from doom and industrial to evil exotica.
"Satanic Planet" was recorded and produced by Henshaw and Lombardo. It was mixed and mastered by Brent Asbury.
Brazilian progressive death metal act Abstracted - whose sound blends the blistering technicality of acts such as Obscura and Edge Of Sanity with moments evoking the melodic side of bands such as Opeth and Fates Warning - have unveiled a visualizer for their new song, “Wither To Dust”.
The track is now available for streaming/download through all digital music outlets, and the clip can be seen below.
“Wither To Dust” is the second preview of the quintet's debut full-length, Atma Conflux, which will be released worldwide later this year.
Says the band, “'Wither To Dust' talks about the moment when you are facing the fears, agony and wounds that you carry in your life's journey. Tibetan Buddhism and Gnosis are references that we approach in this song. The cover art for the single by the artist Fernando Kao brings the representations of this state between death and rebirth. The song is part of a concept story, narrating the path of the protagonist, showing his thoughts and experiences in this spiritual journey. Old-school thrash/death riffs, melodic guitars with a power metal feel, '80s synth prog solos, deathcore riffs and modern breakdowns are the background for this trip inside the protagonist's mind. We hope you all enjoy it, because we are delivering with all our hearts."
Abstracted was formed in the band's hometown of Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2014. The group was initially birthed from the ashes of Nyth, a previous band that Rosano Matiussi (vocals/guitars) and Guilherme Nolasco (guitars) had been involved with. After their first live performance - rounded out by drummer Alexandre Dantas and then-bassist Allen Lordaro - the new group entered the studio to record an album showcasing a sound that was birthed by a love for bands that balanced metallic intensity with a propensity to stretch the progressive boundaries of the genre.
Abstracted took their name from a song by Swedish melodic death metal greats Scar Symmetry. Influences from other European acts such as Necrophagist and Gojira, American bands such as The Faceless and Between The Buried And Me, and genre giants such as Death and Coroner all formed the basis for the sound that the band explored on their thrilling 2015 debut EP, Ophidian. The recording saw new bassist Riverton Vivela enter the picture and featured guest appearances from Allegaeon guitarists Michael Stancel and Greg Burgess. The group continued to build their name in the years that followed while balancing scholastic pursuits with live appearances on festivals throughout their native country.
Abstracted began recording their debut full-length, Atma Conflux, in 2018, and continued writing, crafting, and producing the record throughout 2019 and 2020. The new album sees the group - which recently welcomed keyboardist Carol Claro - integrating synthesizers and orchestral keyboards into their already-expansive sound. With their lineup now fully solidified, a new album ready and live performances imminent soon, Abstracted is poised to unleash their sound to the masses in 2021. The first taste of the scintillating sounds to be found on “Atma Conflux” was revealed earlier this year with the music video for “Decree of Sunlight” (featuring guest vocals by Mike Semesky (Raunchy, Interloper), which can be viewed below:
More information on Abstracted and Atma Conflux will be revealed in the weeks to come.
The clip below features Scott Eames (vocals / Nevalra, Thy Antichrist), Bill Hudson (guitars / Trans-Siberian Orchestra, NorthTale, I Am Morbid), Ryan Vincent (guitars, audio / video editor /Legend, Apollo Audio Alt Studio), Chris Stropoli (drums / Thy Antichrist, Monotheist), Cody Sprock (bass / Nevalra) and Jonah Weingarten (keyboards / Pyramaze, Catalyst Crime) performing the Strapping Young Lad classic "Shitstorm".
The footage is taken from Slay At Home Fest in support of Musicares / The Iggy Fund / NAMI / Cancer Research Institute. Donations are welcome and appreciated here,
"Shitstorm" is taken from Alien, the fourth studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on March 22, 2005, written by frontman Devin Townsend and drummer Gene Hoglan over a six-month period. The album reached #32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #35 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
New York City’s Wildstreet have released their highly anticipated third release III through Golden Robot Records. Recorded in NYC in 2018 and 2019 III, was produced by Kyle Paas, mixed by Jon Kaplan (Paul McCartney, Jonas Brothers) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Andrew Wk, Def Leppard, Korn).
To celebrate the release, Wildstreet have also released a video for 7-minute psychological thriller "Mother". The single uses a horror influenced metaphor to paint a picture of depths in the main characters’ madness, which she insists is her mother’s doing.
III is now available on all digital platforms, CD & Vinyl. Check it out here.
Tracklist:
"Tennessee Cocaine"
"Three Way Ride"
"Set It Off"
"Still Love You"
"Midnight Children"
"Born to Be"
"Raise Hell"
"Mother"
Check out previously released singles "Still Love You" and "Set It Off" below.
Domination Campaign - an offshoot from Tasmanian death metal titans Psycroptic - will release their debut album, Onward To Glory, on July 9 via Prosthetic Records. Pre-order the album here, and watch a video for "The Snipers Gaze" below.
Formed by Psycroptic vocalist Jason Peppiatt, Domination Campaign started out as a solo project, but soon evolved to include bandmate Joe Haley on drums, as well as handling engineering duties.
Eschewing technicality in favour of straight up brutality, Onward To Glory is an eight track bludgeoning of epic proportions. Originally a vehicle to experiment with a different approach to music, Domination Campaign proved to be a creative outlet during enforced downtime during 2020; Onward To Glory was recorded, mixed and mastered in July 2020.
Conjuring up an old school death metal vibe, Domination Campaign take their lyrical cues from renowned battles throughout history, giving them a fictional slant in the re-telling. Describing his approach as ‘bone basic’, Peppiatt has succeeded in putting together an album that scratched his itch to experiment, whilst delivering a headbanger’s delight of an album.
As well as performing all vocals, guitar and bass for the album, Peppiatt also created the cover artwork. Keeping everything ‘in-house’ has resulted in a project that has spawned a self-assured, crushing beast of a debut.
Tracklisting:
"Death Before Dishonour"
"Onward To Glory"
"As Daylight Breaks"
"The Snipers Gaze"
"A Modern Age Of War"
"Against The Odds"
"Terror From Above"
"The Domination Campaign"
Icelandic tech death battalion, Ophidian I, will be releasing their new album, Desolate, on July 16, making it their debut to Season Of Mist. The band have released a music video for the track "Storm Aglow", which was created by Ásgeir Helgi Þrastarson. Watch below, and pre-order Desolate at the Season Of Mist webshop.
Artwork by Eliran Kantor.
Tracklisting:
“Diamonds”
“Spiral To Oblivion”
“Storm Aglow”
“Unfurling The Crescent Moon”
“Sequential Descent”
“Captive Infinity”
“Enslaved In A Desolate Swarm”
“Dominion Eyes”
“Jupiter”
“Wither On The Vine”
Following a spectacular and long overdue return to the live stage at the Download Festival Pilot last weekend, Conjurer are inviting you to check out the video for "Choke", the relentless opening track of their last full-length album Mire (2018). Effortlessly switching from sludge to metallic hardcore, and from progressive post-metal to post-black metal, this song not only demonstrates the musical proficiency of this young band, but also proves that they can't be pigeonholed no matter how hard you try.
Conor Marshall (bass) comments: “'Choke' has become a bit of a fan favorite over the past few years since 'Mire' was released and it’s one of ours too. I think the general consensus within the band is still that 'Choke' is the “best" Conjurer song that’s been released so far and showcases a lot of what we do. The video loosely follows the lyrical theme of the song, which looks at the way things like “fame” and pressure from society, the industry and the gutter press can affect artists and celebrities. The idea is that the shots of the band in a white room, dressed in suits represents someone being dressed up and pushed out to perform despite them clearly not being in the best state, and them then starting to deteriorate, and the dark, more aggressive shots representing the inner turmoil and struggle.”
Conjurer's still-untitled second full-length and follow-up to their 2018 debut album Mire is set to be released in the not too distant future. Stay tuned.
Lineup:
Brady Deeprose - Guitars, Vocals
Dan Nightingale - Guitars, Vocals
Conor Marshall - Bass
Jan Krause - Drums
Coming off their sophomore album, Emerald Seas, Seven Spires are set to return with their third, and by far, most ambitious album to date, Gods Of Debauchery, on September 10. Today, fans can get their first listen to new music with the release of the single and video for the title track. Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Gods Of Debauchery on CD/LP/Digital here.
"The song 'Gods Of Debauchery' became the title track because it was the perfect exposition for the story and our Hero’s mindset: a loathing-laced mockery of who they were in the events of our last two albums Solveig and Emerald Seas. They had gotten everything they wanted, but at the cost of their humanity, and there was no way to go back, no second chances, no possible way to redeem themselves," says the band of the first official single and music video from the album.
Gods Of Debauchery offers an incredible feast of music styles within the broad tent of heavy metal. From symphonic to progressive to black to death metal influences, coupled with emotional ballads, this record is an exquisite sonic and lyrical journey for the discerning metalhead. This band is the present and the future of the genre and continue Frontiers' tradition of identifying and signing the most promising young talents.
"There is a ton of influence from video games, films, and TV soundtracks such as Skyrim, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Lucifer, Pirates of the Caribbean, Marvel films, and many more, plus our love for classic Kamelot, Dimmu Borgir, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Late Romantic Classical Music. The most important part of making art is staying true to yourself, and we unapologetically did exactly that, which meant exploring every corner of what we love about music, and constantly pushing the technical limits of our own musicianship," the band says about the making of Gods Of Debauchery.
After the release of Emerald Seas in February of 2020, the band had multiple amazing support slots lined up to promote the record on the road. They were geared up and in fighting form, ready to bring their music to the masses and show the world what they are all about. Plans were quickly changed weeks after the album' release due to the coronavirus pandemic though and soon it became obvious that touring would be ground to a halt for a while. So, the band took the opportunity to commence work on their follow-up album, which wound up becoming the mammoth 70+ minute masterpiece that is Gods Of Debauchery. This album, epic in scope and reach, shows progression well beyond their years.
Seven Spires, an American metal quartet, specializes in melancholic tales and tenebrous grandeur. Part bittersweet melodic metal anthems, part apocalyptic melodic death and black metal, and part Classical Romanticists, they are storytellers who draw from across the traditional spectrum of metal and beyond to weave tragedies of demons, death, love, and the peculiarities of human condition.
The band met while studying at the world renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, so their musicianship is in keeping with the metal tradition of maintaining a tireless work ethic to be the best at your craft. Following a highly successful crowdfunding campaign and release of their debut album Solveig (2017), Seven Spires performed extensively in the US, Canada, and at festivals such as MetalDays, 70,000 Tons of Metal, and ProgPower USA. That success combined with their stunning musicianship and songs, prompted Frontiers to sign the band to their rapidly expanding metal roster. The band’s sophomore album, Emerald Seas (2020) was a highly emotional, dark, and theatrical release. The band, as with their debut, collaborated with Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Kamelot, Epica, etc), who mixed and mastered the album. Incidentally, Adrienne Cowan was handpicked by Paeth to front his new band, Sascha Paeth’s Masters of Ceremony and she was also chosen as one of the touring vocalists for the hugely popular Avantasia project.
Tracklisting:
"Wanderer’s Prayer"
"Gods Of Debauchery"
"The Cursed Muse"
"Ghost Of Yesterday"
"Lightbringer"
"Echoes Of Eternity"
"Shadow On An Endless Sea"
"Dare To Live"
"In Sickness, In Health"
"This God Is Dead"
"Oceans Of Time"
"The Unforgotten Name"
"Gods Amongst Men"
"Dreamchaser"
"Through Lifetimes"
"Fall With Me"
"Gods Of Debauchery" video:
Lineup:
Adrienne Cowan - Vocals and Orchestration
Chris Dovas - Drums
Jack Kosto - Guitars
Peter de Reyna – Bass
Chris Dovas - Drums
The black metal documentary, Out Of The Black - A Black Metal Documentary, has been re-released in full, and can be seen below.
The Executive Producer of the project, William Shackleford, announced late last week that the film would be re-released in its entirety, barring any last second roadblocks.
The film features: Dr. Thomas Bossius, Simon 'Pilgrim Bestiarius' Rosén, Weston Coppola Cage, George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher, HansFurste of Svarttjern, Dr. Brian Kirkmeyer, Morbid, Grim Vindkall of Domgård and many more.
The film explored the musical origins of black metal with regard to American death metal and American thrash. The film also explors the social and religious impacts of the genre throughout the years.
Creative Norwegian rock outfit LEPROUS will release a new studio album, "Aphelion", on August 27 via InsideOut Music. The follow-up to 2019's "Pitfalls" was recorded throughout the last year at three different studios: Ghost Ward Studios in Sweden, Ocean Sound Recordings in Norway and Cederberg Studios in Norway. The LP was once again mixed by Adam Noble (PLACEBO, BIFFY CLYRO, NOTHING BUT THIEVES), with mastering by Robin Schmidt (THE 1975, PLACEBO, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM). The front cover artwork was designed by Elena Sigida, based on photography by Øystein Aspelund.
The official music video for the first single from "Aphelion", a song called "Running Low", can be seen below. The clip was directed by Troll Toftenes.
LEPROUS vocalist/keyboardist Einar Solberg commented: "The initial idea for 'Running Low' started when I had decided to force myself to write a sketch on my phone on a way up to a mountain top called Himingen in Telemark, Norway. It felt completely pointless while I was doing it, but when I came back, I was able to go further with it and actually structure it into a proper composition. Then we met up in Cederberg Studios together with the band to take it even further. This song is a proof that even the smallest sparks can turn into a big flame. Despite being a band who always wants to explore new territories, I believe 'Running Low' can easily unite both our old and new fan base."
Solberg previously stated about the making of "Aphelion": "We had no plans to start with a new album, then came COVID.
"'Aphelion' is a very different album. It's intuitive and spontaneous. We've experimented with many completely different ways of writing music and explored new ways to work. There has been no room for overthinking, exaggerated perfectionism or carefully planned songs. I believe this is one of the strengths of this album. It feels alive, it feels free and it does not come across as too calculated.
"The album was recorded in three different studios, and a few of the songs were actually recorded in all three studios, Ghost Ward Studios, Ocean Sound Recordings and Cederberg Studios.
"The aphelion is the point in the orbit of an object where it is farthest from the sun, and it has a symbolic value which I will leave to your own interpretation."
LEPROUS will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a string of special European shows in December.
BEARTOOTH has released the official music video for a new song called "Skin". The track is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Below", which is being made available today (Friday, June 25) via Red Bull Records. The visual for "Skin" captures the live energy that is omnipresent at any and all BEARTOOTH shows, and is bathed in the same purple tones as the album artwork.
"'Skin' is the most 'easy listening' kind of song that you’re gonna get on this album," says singer Caleb Shomo. "It's definitely more melody-driven, a little more pop, a little more vibe-y. But lyrically, this one means a lot to me, and musically, I was super happy with the composition, and it just gave a new flavor to the album."
Shomo previously stated about the "Below" LP: "'Below' is by far my favorite album I've made to date. It covers the dark side of dealing with mental strain during the last year. I gave it all I had — musically and lyrically. Is it too dark? Possibly, but it was as honest as I could be about how I felt. I hope everyone is ready to strap in for a wild ride of headbanging and rocking."
"Below" track listing:
01. Below
02. Devastation
03. The Past Is Dead
04. Fed Up
05. Dominate
06. No Return
07. Phantom Pain
08. Skin
09. Hell Of It
10. I Won't Give It Up
11. The Answer
12. The Last Riff
Last July, Shomo told "Mosh Talks With Beez" about the writing and recording sessions for "Below": "I worked on a lot of this album on the road — a whole lot of this record. We honestly could not have been luckier with the way our record cycle laid out.
"The 'Disease' tour in Europe was our last tour of the cycle, and that finished on March 6th, I believe. And then the next week, everything got shut down. So we already planned to kind of take most of this year off. We planned on not taking it all off, like we're probably gonna have to.
"I'd already worked on a ton of the record, just writing out on the road; I brought a studio rig out there. And that was great.
"When it first started, the whole lockdown thing, I just kind of emotionally shut down for a month," he continued. "But then I just kind of caught a second wind, and I've just been ripping through songs. It's pretty cool."
Asked if the BEARTOOTH songwriting "formula" is still present in the band's new material, Caleb said: "I think that something about the BEARTOOTH sound is sort of that formula. BEARTOOTH has a song structure — it's the classic pop structure of intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, out. But with this one, I've just been trying to amp up everything. 'Cause with the last record, I really wanted to go for that super-raw, live-rock-and-roll-in-the-old-school-studio and old-school-console sound, and it was rad, and I loved doing it. And it was proving to myself that I can make a real record without computers — well, [without] heavily relying on computers. But I don't know… I just kind of realized, like, you know what? That's what I learned as a producer. I came up in the era of mixing in the box and recording in the box, which means using plug-ins and emulations and things like that. I've just been kind of using that to try and push it a little further. The formula is still there, but I don't think it's in a bad way. I think it's the formula people want from a BEARTOOTH record.
"This one is just jacked," he explained. "Everything is amped up to 11. I am so, so pumped. Obviously, this is what you wanna think when you're making a record, but damn, this is the best one yet. Not even close. This is the heaviest record. This is my best work — the most proud I've been of these songs. It's wild. It's some heavy-duty shit."
Speaking about the musical direction of the new BEARTOOTH songs, Shomo said: "The easiest way I've been trying to explain this record to people without giving too much away is if 'Disease' was AC/DC, this record is BLACK SABBATH. It's a lot more influenced in dark stoner rock, heavy power groove. Obviously, there's still a lot of fast [stuff] and some punk rock and all that, but I've really been exploring with the stoner metal side of guitars and guitar tones and doing different tunings and lots of fuzz and chaos and layering the fuck out of my guitar tracks.
"The whole point, for me, of this mix and the sonics of this record is as big and loud and fucking sonically devastating as I can possibly get it," he said. "So on a breakdown, for example, where on 'Disease' it would just be left guitar, right guitar, bass down the middle, this is literally… That little clip I posted [on Instagram ] is I think eight guitars, three bass tracks. Just experimenting — just doing dumb stoner shit and just trying my fucking best. Yeah, that's the goal — is just sonic devastation, for sure."
BEARTOOTH's third album, "Disease", was released in September 2018 via Red Bull Records.
One of The Big Four turns the Big 4-0 this year and is celebrating with a number of special activities and events to honor the landmark anniversary. Formed by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, NY on July 18, 1981, Anthrax was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth.
Active over the past five decades, Anthrax has released 11 studio albums, been awarded multiple Gold and Platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with The Big 4. The band has built a strong reputation with fans as well as the record industry. With the lineup including Ian, bassist Frank Bello, drummer Charlie Benante, singer Joey Belladonna, and guitarist Jon Donais, the band is being feted on their 40th anniversary by a wide range of friends and music contemporaries.
Each week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and wrapping on the band's official founding anniversary of July 18, Anthrax's social media accounts will offer a series of video testimonials sent in by former band members, fellow musicians, colleagues, and industry veterans sharing behind-the-scenes stories of working with the band and what Anthrax's legacy has meant all these years on. These videos will honor each album in chronological order beginning with the original release, Fistful of Metal. Go here for the full schedule, and watch Episode #18: Only The White Noise below.
The 11-week series will include video contributions from Chuck D, Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Dave Mustaine, Gary Holt, Gene Simmons, Henry Rollins, John Carpenter, Kerry King, Mike Patton, Nergal, Norman Reedus, Michael Poulsen, Rob Zombie, Robert Trujillo, Roger Miret, Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC), Slash, Tom Morello and more. There will also be video clips from former Anthrax band members Dan Lilker, Dan Spitz, John Bush, Neil Turbin, and Rob Caggiano.
The finale will come as a very special Livestream performance from Anthrax on Friday, July 16, featuring a deep cuts set that will pull from the band's entire career-spanning catalog.
The special worldwide Livestream event, presented by Danny Wimmer Presents and originating from Los Angeles, will kick off in North America on Friday, July 16, beginning at 4 PM, PT and 7 PM, ET, and in the UK on Saturday, July 17, starting at Midnight, BST.
Livestream event tickets and special 40th-anniversary ticket bundles - one including a live video chat with the members of Anthrax - are on sale now. Special 40th-anniversary artwork was created by Brian Ewing and Stephen Thompson for limited-edition t-shirts, commemorative tickets, and an anniversary poster. In addition to the Livestream and merchandise bundles, fans will be able to buy a digital ticket to relive the past 40 years with exclusive interviews, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes stories of the band's legendary career. All purchasing details are accessible at AnthraxLive.com.
The Global Livestream event, debuting July 16/17 (depending on your global location), will remain available to fans worldwide to tune in through July 25 at 11:59 PM, ET via video on demand. The band - Joey Belladonna/vocalist, Scott Ian/rhythm guitar, Frank Bello/bass, Charlie Benante/drums, and Jon Donias/guitar, will perform an extensive set of hits and deep cuts that will pull from the band's entire catalog.
"I was a 17-year-old metal-head kid from Queens when I started this band," said Scott Ian. "I am a 57-year-old metal-head kid from Queens about to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this band. That means for 40 years, I've gotten to do exactly what I've wanted to do - and getting to do what I love and being a part of something so much bigger than myself has made the time, the unbelievable weight of 40 seems so light. It's been an amazing story so far, and I see 40 as a milestone that absolutely should be recognized and celebrated. Congratulations to us! I also see 40 as a stepping stone to the next chapter of Anthrax - we still have a lot to say and some killer riffs to unleash. I'm not going to say, "Here's to 40 more" because nobody wants to see that (I'd be 97). How about, "Here's to at least ten more, and we'll go from there! Thank you for enabling me, my friends."
FOO FIGHTERS' "All My Life" has been certified platinum in the U.K. for equivalent sales of 600,000 units. The track appears on the band's 2002 album "One By One", which was certified double platinum in the U.K. in 2013.
This past February, FOO FIGHTERS' latest album, "Medicine At Midnight", entered the U.K. chart at position No. 1. The effort earned 42,500 chart sales, with almost three-quarters of those made up of CD and vinyl copies, outselling its six closest rivals combined, according to Billboard.
"Medicine At Midnight" was FOO FIGHTERS' fifth U.K. No. 1 album following "One By One", "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" (2007), "Wasting Light" (2011) and "Concrete & Gold" (2017).
As previously reported, FOO FIGHTERS' will release "Hail Satin" exclusively for Record Store Day on July 17. The 10-track LP will contain the band's covers of five BEE GEES classics — "You Should Be Dancing", "Night Fever", "Tragedy" and "More Than A Woman" plus Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" — as well as five FOO FIGHTERS' tracks from the "Medicine At Midnight" album recorded live at the band's 606 studio. The limited-edition vinyl will be packaged "era-appropriately in a dazzling rainbow mylar sleeve."
FOO FIGHTERS previously performed "You Should Be Dancing" for the Jo Wiley's BBC show and "Shadow Dancing" for the Rock N' Relief livestream.
"Medicine At Midnight" landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart with first-week sales of 64,000 copies in the U.S.
FOO FIGHTERS previously topped the chart with 2017's "Concrete And Gold" and 2011's "Wasting Light".
23,000 of "Medicine At Midnight"'s first-week sales came from vinyl LP sales, with CDs and digital albums registering 20,000 each.
"Medicine At Midnight" came out on February 5 via Roswell Records/RCA Records. The LP is a nine-song, 37-minute effort which was produced by the FOO FIGHTERS and Greg Kurstin
Official video highlights of Download Pilot, the 10,000-capacity, camping-only festival which took place June 18-20 on the hallowed grounds of Donington Park as part of the U.K. government's scientific Events Research Programme, can be seen below.
While festival goers did not have to be socially distanced or wear face coverings once inside the festival, they were required to follow existing government guidance when travelling to and from Donington Park and adhere to rules set out by the festival organizers. Attendees had to take a lateral flow test on the morning of the event and receive a negative result to enter the festival. As part of the wider scientific research on the trial events, the Download Pilot attendees were also being asked to take a PCR test before and after the event to gather further evidence on the safety of the festival camping experience, reduced social distancing and the removal of non-pharmaceutical interventions like face coverings. They also had to provide contact details for NHS Test and Trace to ensure everyone could be traced in the event of an audience member receiving a positive test after the event.
With tickets priced at just £120 (plus booking fee) for the full three-day festival and initially being offered as a thank you to existing Download festival 2022 ticket holders, this loyal community of rock fans were also being rewarded with the closest to a festival experience possible, with camping and the return of moshing.
Organizer Melvin Benn told BBC News: "Despite the weather, it feels joyous," referring to the fact that Download Pilot kicked off with torrential downpours on Friday. "It's been two years since we stood in this field. We had to cancel Download 2021 [in March]. We didn't think anything could happen. But the government wanted to extend the research program and they wanted a camping festival, so they wanted me to put that together. So here we are, three and a half weeks later, in the rain and happy to be in the rain."
The very first major camping event of its kind, the specially created Download Pilot event formed part of the second phase of the government's scientific Events Research Programme. This groundbreaking study looks to build on the evidence base gathered from the successful first phase and apply findings on a greater scale with greater crowd numbers than before. The attendance at the Download Pilot will provide additional evidence for government, event organizers, and consumers on the logistical and practical considerations of reopening events safely, including multi-day events.
Working closely with the government to adhere to safety guidelines, this Download Pilot, as the first 10,000 capacity camping festival event, will play an important role in paving the way for the return of large-scale music events and festivals as the U.K. emerges from the past year's restrictions. As a government scientific Events Research Programme event, festivalgoers needed to consent to take part and had to be over 16.
The promoter of Download festival, Live Nation's Andy Copping, who was asked to promote a scaled-down edition of the beloved U.K. metal and rock festival, told the Derby Telegraph: "Fans have lapped up every single second of our all British bill and they have realized just how important it is to get this right.
"People here are making history. It's not normal that rock and metal gets talked about in the mainstream and seeing how this event taken on some serious legs and everyone has been talking about it because it is so important for the entertainment industry. It's festivals, theatres and cinemas — everyone is looking at us now.
"If we have got this right — and I believe that we have — we can get back to how we were before the pandemic started. It's an honor to be involved."
Professor Paul Monks, chief science adviser, said he was pleased with the way things had been running.
He said: "It will be some time before we know the results of this event and what impact it has had but we are happy with the way fans have responded and the work that has been put in to make it safe."
ÑØÀ
James Durbin![=]](/img/news-bord-shr.gif){kind=small}
Ãåðìàíèÿ
Áðàçèëèÿ
Êàíàäà
Èñëàíäèÿ
Âåëèêîáðèòàíèÿ
?
Íîðâåãèÿ
