TRANSATLANTIC — the multinational progressive rock supergroup featuring vocalist/keyboardist Neal Morse (SPOCK'S BEARD, THE NEAL MORSE BAND), drummer Mike Portnoy (SONS OF APOLLO, DREAM THEATER), bassist Pete Trewavas (MARILLION) and guitarist Roine Stolt (THE FLOWER KINGS) — will release its fifth studio album, "The Absolute Universe", on February 5 via InsideOut Music. Representing the band's first new music since 2014's "Kaleidoscope", with "The Absolute Universe" the band has done something unique and created two versions of the record: "The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)" and "The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)".
TRANSATLANTIC has launched the video for "Looking For The Light", a track which features on both versions of "The Absolute Universe". Watch it below.
Portnoy comments: "'Looking For The Light' is one of the heavier tracks on 'The Absolute Universe'. In the tradition of TRANSATLANTIC sharing all lead vocals, this track gave me my showcase to deliver the lead vocals as it called for a bit more of an aggressive approach. This is one of the few tracks that remains primarily the same and appears on both versions of the album. However, not content to keep it simple, the version included on the music video is actually a unique version which combines both 'Looking For The Light' and its 'Reprise' from later in the album into one combined version available only here in this video."
Each album will be available on CD, LP and digitally. But there will also be what has been called "The Absolute Universe: The Ultimate Edition", which collects both versions together in one lavish package that includes 5LPs, 3CDs and a Blu-ray that contains a 5.1 Surround Sound mix with visuals and a behind-the-scenes documentary. All editions have unique artwork created by Thomas Ewerhard.
As Portnoy explains: "We've got two versions of this album. There is a two-CD presentation, which is 90 minutes long, and a single one — that's 60 minutes. However, the single CD is NOT merely an edited version of the double CD. They each contain alternate versions and even in some cases, new recordings. We wrote fresh lyrics and have different people singing on the single CD version tracks as compared to those on the double CD. Some of the songtitles have also been changed, while others might remain the same, but compositionally, what you'll hear has been altered.
"You must appreciate that what we have done is unique. We revamped the songs to make the two versions different."
Trewavas adds: "We did write some new music for the single CD. What's more, there are also differences in the instruments used on some of the tracks across the two records."
Initial tracking began in September 2019 when the band met up in Sweden to write and arrange the new material. As Portnoy explains: "Over a period of 10-14 days, we mapped out the songs. Then we all went back to our home studios and did the recording. That's the way we always do it. At one point, though, it was suggested that instead of doing what was by that time going to be a double album, we should just be content to do a single CD."
"What happened was that everything kept expanding and expanding," recalls Stolt. "Therefore we decided it made sense to make it a double album. It was Pete and Neal who then came out and said they felt this would be too long, and we should reduce it to one…But we were already recording, and it didn't seem feasible to cut it back. There were so many pieces that each of us loved in what we were planning and didn't want to lose. That's when we ended up in discussions over the best way forward."
This album also marks a return to the concept album for TRANSATLANTIC.
"Well, the idea of TRANSATLANTIC deciding to do a concept record this time around won't shock anyone, right?" laughs Portnoy. "What we have is essentially one giant composition, split into chapters. The storyline is about the struggles facing everyone in society today."
"We didn't start out with the idea of this being conceptual," admits Stolt. "The way things work with us is that we have a load of ideas, and these are developed spontaneously when we meet up. Everything happens in the moment."
So, how does this new groundbreaking album compare to TRANSATLANTIC's previous four albums?
"I always try not to compare albums as much as possible," insists Morse. "It's very difficult when you're trying to be creative, because your natural instinct is to constantly compare. But in order to create you have to kind of step away from that. Having said that, I would say this would have more in common with 'The Whirlwind' album [the band's third, from 2009] than others that we've created."
For Trewavas, "The Absolute Universe" is a momentous project. "I think it is right up there with the very finest albums we've done," he says. "As the others have said, it compares very well to 'The Whirlwind', which I believe represents TRANSATLANTIC at our best. As on that album, we took our time to write and arrange everything, and that shines through. I am very excited for people to hear it."
TRANSATLANTIC formed in 1999 and released its debut album, "SMPT:e", the following year. Sophomore effort "Bridge Across Forever" followed in 2001, but the group went on an extended hiatus after Morse left SPOCK'S BEARD in 2002 to focus on his newly launched career in the Christian music industry.
The group reunited in 2009 and released third album "The Whirlwind", which consisted of a single 77-minute track, that same year. A fourth album, "Kaleidoscope", was recorded in 2013 and released the following year, when it debuted at No. 6 on the German top album charts. The band has also released several live albums and live videos, most recently 2014's "KaLIVEoscope".
Portnoy and Morse are frequent musical collaborators, having recorded more than a dozen albums together outside of TRANSATLANTIC, including three FLYING COLORS releases, three by THE NEAL MORSE BAND and seven Morse solo albums.
When one finds themselves at the proverbial crossroads - face to face with the Devil himself - who wouldn’t choose the left hand path? Honestly, evil is too enticing, too strong, and Hell has the best music anyway. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, heavy metal mongrels Bewitcher made their pact with Lucifer years ago, and have been walking the dark path ever since.
The band has just shared the new song "Satanic Magick Attack" from their upcoming third studio album, Cursed Be Thy Kingdom, which arrives April 16 via Century Media.
Vocalist and guitarist M. von Bewitcher comments, "The devil's rock 'n' roll is alive and well, its flames kept burning bright by its devoted legions. The battle lines are drawn, the declarations have been made. When the shock troops of hell finally charge over the top, there will be no escaping the attack!"
Recorded at The Captain’s Quarters in Ventura, California by Armand John Anthony (Night Demon), and mixed by Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Megadeth), Cursed Be Thy Kingdom is a powerhouse, heavy-metal-rock-’n'-roll record forged in the white hot fires of Hell.
Rock ’n' roll is the Devil’s music, and through Cursed Be Thy Kingdom, Bewitcher invites you to join them at the crossroads, drink from the chalice of rock ’n' roll, then ritualistically sell your soul to the dark lord himself. M. von Bewitcher puts it best, “The Devil is always ready to make the deal…”
Lineup:
M. von Bewitcher - vox & guitars
A. Magus - bass guitar & backing vox
A. Hunter - drums & percussion
Foo Fighters performed their new single, “Waiting On A War”, last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Check out the performance below:
“Waiting On A War” is featured on the band's new album, Medicine At Midnight, out February 5. The album is produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, engineered by Darrell Thorp and mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent, and packs the following nine songs into a tight-ass 37 minutes.
Tracklisting:
“Making A Fire”
“Shame Shame”
“Cloudspotter”
“Waiting On A War”
“Medicine At Midnight”
“No Son Of Mine”
“Holding Poison”
“Chasing Birds”
“Love Dies Young”
British heavy metal legends SAXON will release a covers album, "Inspirations", on March 19 via Silver Lining Music. The 11-track effort contains some of the superb classic rock songs that influenced Biff Byford and the rest of the band. The LP's second single, a cover of "Speed King", DEEP PURPLE's classic tune from the 1970 album "Deep Purple In Rock", can be streamed below.
"Without 'Speed King', there would be no 'Motorcycle Man'," Byford said when explaining the importance of the song on SAXON's early career ascendance. "I love the attitude, energy and driving speed of this song, not to mention those screaming vocals. I'd never sung it before, and I had great fun with it."
"Inspirations" was recorded at Brockfield Hall, near York in the U.K., which was built in 1804 and holds the largest collection of paintings by Yorkshire's impressionist artists — the Staithes Group. For Byford, recording "Inspirations" all together within such a rich historical environment was a major ingredient of the project. "The warmth and feel of 'Inspirations' had so much to do with being together in this magnificent place and doing it 'old-school' style," Byford explained. "This is how many bands back in the day —including some of the ones covered here — made such great albums, so it just felt really good to be able to do this somewhere like Brockfield Hall."
From the super-charged melodic romp of THE BEATLES' "Paperback Writer" to their freeway mad take on Jimi Hendrix's "Stone Free", SAXON show their love and appreciation with a series of faithful, raw and ready tributes. Maintaining a firm eye on the old-school way using Marshall cabs, Marshall amps, real drums and produced by Byford with Jacky Lehmann recording and mixing, SAXON approach the likes of MOTÖRHEAD's "Bomber" (with added whistle!), AC/DC's "Problem Child", BLACK SABBATH's "Evil Woman" and a raucous DEEP PURPLE's "Speed King" with refreshingly warm, unfiltered, "vintage"-sounding renditions.
"We wanted to do an album based on our influences, the songs and bands that inspired us to write what we did and still do," continued Byford, "and it was also interesting to see what my voice could do as I haven't sung many of these songs before."
Byford does, indeed, take on some new vocal challenges, which he duly smashes on the likes of THIN LIZZY's "The Rocker". The net result is that whether cranking up a heavyweight take on LED ZEPPELIN's "Immigrant Song" or throwing down AC/DC's "Problem Child", SAXON does a supreme job of entertaining both themselves and their audience throughout Inspirations.
"We didn't want to change any of the songs too much, just play them more like SAXON," concluded Byford, "and we also think it's very important to have — and share with the fans — some fun in these dark times."
You want even more proof of the validity behind that statement? Wrap your ears around their sparkling take on TOTO's "Hold The Line" and consider SAXON's "Inspirations" a mission accomplished.
"Inspirations" will be made available on vinyl, CD, digital formats and limited-edition D2C products.
Lyrically, and musically, the award-winning Dutch artist lays her soul bare with the most evocative record of her career - captivating song-stories told with acoustic guitars, strings, horns, percussion, and Anneke's hypnotic vocal harmonies.
Last year, Anneke van Giersbergen announced the release of her new solo album, The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest, for February 26. Today sees the release of the second single and video of said album, called “Hurricane”.
Anneke comments on the single as follows: “For the new album I wrote a lot of songs filled with messages of love and heartache, but I also went on a more propulsive journey, with darker storytelling. The percussive opening groove of ‘Hurricane’ is maintained until a slightly ominous middle section. The track closes with heavy drums and a glorious trumpet solo.”
You can watch the video below:
The new album's title, The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest, refers to the idea that, when facing personal challenges, we are forced to find answers to life's biggest questions. But, at this point in her near-three-decade-long music career, this solo album - and, crucially, the heartbreak that inspired it - was not something Anneke van Giersbergen ever anticipated writing.
In 2018, Anneke began working on new material for her metal band, VUUR. Although their debut album, In This Moment We Are Free - Cities, was met with a mixed reception, fans were warming up to their heavy, progressive sound. Therefore, a rapid follow-up album would surely establish Anneke's return to fronting a metal band. However, behind the scenes, these were troubled times.
Anneke shares, ”My belief in VUUR saw me spend all my savings on recording VUUR's debut album and taking the band on the road. After completing our first touring cycle, I realized that more VUUR would mean yet more, huge financial risks.”
To make matters worse, in 2018, her long-lasting marriage, which had always been wonderful, unexpectedly saw a storm approaching.
Anneke adds, “I instantly knew I needed to write music about fixing my life. This creative endeavour would be far too personal for a VUUR album. And it would also require solitude.”
With just her acoustic guitar and basic recording gear, Anneke retreated to a small house near the woods, just outside her hometown of Eindhoven. She let go of the pressures of what VUUR's future might be, and fell into the meditative process of writing a solo album. In 2019, work continued on the new songs. In 2020, Anneke asked her friend and producer, Gijs Coolen, to help finish the album.
Throughout the completion of the album, Anneke's fragile, acoustic song-stories were fused together with an alchemy of panoramic strings, horns, and percussion. The resulting 11-track record has all the intimacy of Anneke serenading an audience of one, combined with surprising departures into swampier, foot-stomping grooves.
The Japanese art of kintsugi has inspired Anneke to use a repaired heart as the album's symbol. Kintsugi teaches that bringing together the pieces of a broken object - with the use of a precious metal - adds value and uniqueness to it. And, instead of giving up on their marriage, Anneke and her husband decided to take the time to mend their bond. They now cherish the repaired heartbreak as something profoundly valuable.
Their journey through this personal storm, and the album that Anneke created in the eye of it, proves that the darkest skies truly are the brightest.
The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest is available for pre-order. The album will be available as eco-friendly CD Digipak (plastic-free), as 180g Gatefold LP (incl. the album on CD) & as digital album. Click here to pre-order.
Tracklisting:
"Agape"
"Hurricane"
"My Promise"
"I Saw A Car"
"The Soul Knows"
"The End"
"Keep It Simple"
"Lo And Behold"
"Losing You"
"Survive"
"Love You Like I Love You"
“My Promise” video:
The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest is Anneke's 23rd career album. It proves, once again, that the award-winning Dutch artist defies being pigeonholed by any genre.
After thirteen years as the front woman for melancholic metallers, The Gathering, she struck out on her own in 2007. Since then, her creativity has known no bounds. Anneke quickly solidified a successful solo career (initially under the moniker Agua de Annique), and has recorded and performed with Canadian metal genius Devin Townsend multiple times. She has also lent her serene yet powerful voice to the likes of: Anathema, Icelandic folk group Árstíðir, Within Temptation, Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen, Amorphis, and prog legend John Wetton.
2012's Everything Is Changing was something of a milestone in Anneke's solo career. The album, which was the first to be released under her own name, received two Edison Award nominations - Holland's most prestigious music prize - in the categories 'Best Female Artist' and 'Best Album'.
In 2015, Anneke van Giersbergen and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) released their collaborative album The Diary under the name The Gentle Storm. In October 2017, Anneke's progressive metal outfit VUUR released their much-anticipated debut album. In This Moment We Are Free - Cities entered the Dutch Album Top 100 at number 2, Anneke's highest-ever chart position.
Forever the unpredictable artist, in late 2018, Anneke released 'Symphonized', an 11-track live orchestral album. It was recorded at two career-spanning concerts alongside Residentie Orkest The Hague, and features rearrangements of songs from her entire back catalogue.
2019 saw Dutch music copyright organisation Buma Cultuur honor Anneke with the Buma ROCKS! Export Award. This is their award for the Most Successful Dutch Artist Abroad in Heavy Music. In 2021, the release of her new solo album The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest will see Anneke surprise her fans all over again.
Omer Cordell, mastermind of ongoing prog metal project Trailight, has checked in with the following update:
"After releasing each album, I usually feel that I've squeezed every drop of creative ideas into it and I take quite some time off in order to regenerate and bring myself to write new material.
As it turns out, over the past month or so I've been slowly working on new material and it's coming along nicely. I've written two tracks so far (music only) focusing primarily on working around bass riffs that I come up with and building everything around that.
The working title for the project is Orion."
Cordell released the new Trailight album, Sophia, in November 2020. He issued the following message on release day:
"The process of creating this album roughly took 180 days, almost two thousand hours, thousands of mouse clicks, numerous drum sticks, bass and guitar strings, vocal strains, technological hiccups, heart breaks and a few mental and emotional breakdowns yet through it all, I enjoyed every single second of it.
This creative process pushed me to the limits of my creativity musically, lyrically and artistically. Every note, every drum beat and every lyric was produced through this labour of love and I wish that you, the listener, will enjoy this album, perhaps draw some inspiration from it and create something positive to share with the world as well.
The album is now available on Bandcamp. Spotify, iTunes and all other streaming platforms will follow.
My heartfelt gratitude to all who have supported the creation of this body of work.
Being one of many Eons in existence before the physical universe as we know it came into being, Sophia wanted to express and experience herself in a different form other than the pure consciousness that she existed in until that point. She went into a trans-like state and from there, fell into a state of deficiency where she ended up creating the physical universe and with it, the Demiurge.
The Gnostic thought present the Demiurge as antagonistic to the will of the Supreme Creator this sort of Demiurge focus' solely on material reality and on the 'sensuous soul'. In Gnosticism, the Demiurge is an emanation from a higher, purer aeon (Sophia).
With the creation of the material universe and the Demiurge, Sophia made sure that all beings have the divine spark within them. A direct tethered connection to her, to her wisdom, knowing, truth, belief and integrity.
Thank you all for your continued support! Until next time."
Today (January 15th), Norwegian eclectic hard rock band White Void are proud to present "This Apocalypse Is For You", the second single from their upcoming debut album, Anti, which is scheduled to be released on March 12th, 2021.
Frontman Lars Nedland (Borknagar, Solefald) comments on the song:
"The absurd can never be permanently accepted. It requires constant confrontation, unbroken revolt. If you fail revolting, This apocalypse is for you! This is a song about crises. Also, it’s a song to put some boogie in your life. Because everyone needs boogie!
The video was beautifully created by animation wizard Joakim Storsve and editor Daniel Øverland, and draws inspiration from the oil painting "Adrift" by Jeremy Geddes, which incidentally serves as the cover for our debut album.
Enjoy the uproar, the cosmonauts and the boogie."
Pre-save Anti on the streaming plattform of your choice here. Pre-order the album here.
Tracklisting:
“Do. Not. Sleep.”
“There Is No Freedom But The End”
“Where You Go, You’ll Bring Nothing”
“The Shovel And The Cross”
“This Apocalypse Is For You”
“All Chains Rust, All Men Die”
“The Fucking Violence Of Love”
“The Air Was Thick With Smoke”
Cradle Of Filth drummer Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka has posted live drum cam video of "Beneath The Howling Stars" shot at an undisclosed show. Check it out below.
The song is taken from the band's sixth album, Nymphetamine, released in 2004.
Originally, vampiric masters of extreme metal, Cradle Of Filth, had been scheduled to perform a live stream concert on the auspicious date of October 30, 2020 - Devil's Night.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis and the uncertainty of travel, with band members residing outside of and throughout the UK, there was a real chance of quarantine or travel issues. As such, the show was rescheduled for February 20, 2021.
Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, with the number of infections steadily rising, as well as the emergence of a new strain. Therefore, Cradle Of Filth has been forced to postpone their mal-nutritious performance showcasing the band’s new keyboardist and backing singer, a second time. The new date is May 12, 2021. All tickets remain valid.
A statement from Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth reads:
"Greetings fellow Filthlings,
Due to this infernal plague and further augmented lockdowns prevalent throughout the UK and Europe, and for the safety of our band, crew and additional production engineers we must, without question, move our livestream back to May 12th.
We all appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult period and we are very much looking forward to giving you the Cradle Of Filth show of a lifetime once restrictions are lifted or at least relaxed. The live stream concert will be spectacular, that we promise…
In the meantime there will be some positive announcements about our forthcoming 13th studio album arriving very shortly.
Bestial wishes,
Dani"
Tickets for Cradle Of Filth's May 12th online performance can be purchased here.
The At The Movies project - launched by Pretty Maids guitarist Chris Laney due to the COVID-19 pandemic - caught fire over the course of 2020, and project has now moved on to movie soundtrack covers from the '90s. Check out "King Of Wishful Thinking" taken from the 1990´s movie Pretty Woman below.
Guitarist / songwriter Parris Mayhew has issued a new dual guitar and bass playthrough for the debut song from his new instrumental hardcore / metal band Aggros, “Chaos Magic”.
The “Chaos Magic” playthrough is heavier on bass than the original track, a decision Mayhew made because the song was primarily written on the bass with a heavy emphasis on his unusual percussive and rhythmic strumming style.
“I felt that the bass perspective would be a way to show more comprehensively where the song originated and how it was built,” the former Cro-Mags songwriter and founder says. “Hearing the bass a little louder demonstrates clearly where the swagger that the song exhibits comes from, underlining the aggressive string bend melodies and percussive riffs that define the drums and outline the chords.”
The result is loud and raw but shows a kind of surgical finesse in the midst of the chaos, which is necessary to hold it all together.
Mayhew unveiled Aggros with a video for the track in October 2020. Fans who are accustomed to a big rock production sound from Mayhew’s guitar sound and production will find that “Chaos Magic” is more streamlined and rawer. The song was recorded live in one afternoon with little or no punches and feels alive and human, without today’s modern digital stiffness, just a balls-out rocker.
“Chaos Magic” is certainly a guitar song too, exhibiting casual chord harmonies that brighten and exaggerate phrase resolutions, off the rails WTF riffs and Mayhew’s signature Cro-Mags picking style which helped define a genre with his songs on the seminal albums Age Of Quarrel and Best Wishes.
“I believe that a song should be a journey, there should be a clear introduction to set up the listener for the ride, and a ceremonious feeling of arrival at a destination to be experienced and a few musical surprises along the way,” Mayhew said. “And of course all great songs should have a feeling that the journey is complete, the catharsis, a lesson I learned from both Motörhead and Rush. Motörhead, particularly, in that within their deceptively simple approach there always comes a thoughtful, surprising and very musical ending, songs should have great endings.”
Aggros will release music in a true DIY hardcore style – no label, self-releasing one song at a time, accompanied by a video for each. The music will sound and feel familiar to anyone who knows Mayhew’s previous three albums, as Aggros is simply a continuation of his musical exploration.
Unleashing their earth-shattering album Seismic this past November, Vancouver's Without Mercy has a new music video for their track "I Break The Chain", which can be seen below.
"With this track, we pose the question of morality and becoming docile to the everyday routine. The chain that connects us and bounds us to a routine monotonous existence. The ignoring of atrocities just to keep the assembly line moving, ‘Don’t rock the boat’ mentality. What does it take to break from that chain and what would it look like?" adds the band.
Without Mercy's latest behemoth features nine assaulting grooving death metal tracks that even include special guests Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy) on opening track "Thunderbird" and Chris Broderick (Act Of Defiance) on "Disinfect The Soul".
Distributed by Bloodblast Distribution (powered by Nuclear Blast), "Seismic" follows the band's 2016 EP "Moucchido". The vast majority of the material for “Seismic” was written and rewritten multiple times over the past four years. Honed and tightened over tours and live performances, Without Mercy were unwilling to place “filler” to enhance anything. They came at this album with the best of everything they had after their inspirations were doing the same. The band shares their thoughts on the full length:
“We are beyond stoked to have our new album “Seismic” see the light of day. This album represents four years of solid work ethic and unwillingness to compromise even in the slightest. We’re trying to give the listeners and fans of the band a chance to hear what tenacity can sound like. Lyrics that are an honest take on issues, riffs that have been refined over time, drum parts, and rhythms that are not standard or washed out. Even the mixing team behind it has a resume as long as your arm. We pushed ourselves in every field of this record and now that it’s here, we can relive those moments with all of you.”
For fans of Cattle Decapitation, Meshuggah, and Decapitated, Seismic is available on all digital platforms here. Physical CDs are available at this location.
Tracklisting:
"Thunderbird" (ft. Jeff Loomis)
"Abysmal"
"Left Alone"
"Wiindigo"
"Disinfect The Soul" (ft. Chris Broderick)
"The Disaster"
"Possessed"
"I Break The Chain"
"Uprooted"
Swedish warriors, Brothers Of Metal, have released a video for "Chain Breaker", a track from their sophomore album, Emblas Saga, out ow via AFM Records. Order the album here, and watch the clip below.
Tracklisting:
"Brood Of The Trickster"
"Powersnake"
"Hel"
"Chain Breaker"
"Kaunaz Dagaz"
"Theft Of The Hammer"
"Weaver Of Fate"
"Njord"
"Emblas Saga"
"Brothers Unite"
"One"
"Ride Of The Valkyries"
"To The Skies And Beyond"
Israeli progressive metal group, Scardust, have released a new music video for "Mist". The track is taken from their new album, Strangers, which was released on October 30 via M-Theory Audio. Watch below.
“'Mist' is the closing song of Strangers and the parallel to 'Break The Ice,’ which opens the album,” explains vocalist Noa Gruman. “Now the protagonist has been through experiences that shaped her to become more confident in a way that is less dependent on others. Every relationship we have has a potential of experiences and memories that may or may not happen if the relationship continues. Even after many years, some sides of those we know best are still unfamiliar to us, so what might happen if we go and part ways?”
Mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Arch Enemy), Strangers was written and composed jointly by singer Noa Gruman and composer Orr Didi, who also collaborated with Gruman on Scardust's full-length debut, Sands Of Time, and their 2015 EP Shadow. The album features guest appearances from German folk musician Patty Gurdy, as well as vocals by the Hellscore choir and England’s prestigious Westbrook Hay Prep School Chamber Choir.
Swedish metal quartet, Orbit Culture, have unveiled a new single, "Mute The Silent", the first new music from the band since the release of new album, Nija, which was released summer 2020 via Seek & Strike. Watch a video for the song below.
"Mute The Silent: will be featured on the Nija expanded digital edition, out tomorrow via all streaming platforms.
Citing Metallica and Gojira as their main heavy influences, Orbit Culture love to experiment with a wide range of sounds and textures to create something that is fresh but also familiar.
Nikas comments: "As much as we love metal, we love other music, too. We love a good hard-hitting song as much as the next guy, but we've always found that blending and mixing genres seems more fun for us at least, rather than deciding on a specific genre to write within the metal scene. It really helps us to be creative and motivated. I'm guessing that is something that we'll always do."
New York metal quintet, Damn Your Eyes, have revealed a video for “Doom On You”, the third of a trio of new tracks featuring the band’s new lineup and heavier approach.
“As songwriters we often turn to our songs to get closure on a personal issue, and sometimes, we take it a little too far with epic results,” guitarist Artie Alexander says. “‘Doom On You’ is one of those songs that took on a life of its own once we started to put it together. The story is based on deception and betrayal that leads to the ultimate retribution. The dismal and harrowing groove laden soundscape helps bring the tale together. The result of the two coming together is beautiful brutality and the dark energy within it.”
“Doom On You” hits radio tomorrow and will be available here.
Formed in 2015 by Artie Alexander and former drummer James Baldassano, Damn Your Eyes immediately hit the ground running. As respected musicians in their local scene with extensive recording experience, the band quickly recorded an EP, released it to local acclaim, and rapidly returned to the studio to record their upcoming international full-length debut, Kill The Outside in 2019. But as the band was building a following, it seemed to its members that there were some missing pieces to the Damn Your Eyes puzzle. Enter former guitarist Gabriel “Gabby” Abularach, drummer Darren Markoff, 24-year veteran of Long Island metal band Korotory, to complete the puzzle.
The band entered the studio with this bone-crushing new lineup in July to record several new tracks. The first, “Heavy Is The Head,” late September, with “Lock And Load” following in November.
Texan hard rockers, The Sword, have unveiled a live performance of "The Warp Riders" as the newest instalment of their Conquest Of Quarantine lockdown sessions, which launched last summer to great excitement from their fans.
"The Warp Riders" premiered today on the band’s YouTube channel and can be viewed below. The song is the title track from the 2010 album Warp Riders, which saw the band transition into a hard rock-influenced sound.
The lockdown sessions marked The Sword's first live performances together since the band went on hiatus in 2018, as they remotely reunited to perform songs like "Winter's Wolves", "Working Man", and put their own inimitable spin on the T-Rex classic, "Children Of The Revolution".
On the concept of recording live sessions in isolation, drummer Jimmy Vela commented, “This was a new approach for us; the “Tribute to Kings” tour postponement led to us finding a different way to connect with our fans. It was fun and something we hadn’t tried yet…”
Watch all the Conquest Of Quarantine performances so far on the band’s YouTube channel here, and stay tuned for more instalments coming soon.
Norwegian melodic rock queen, Issa, is back with her sixth studio album, Queen Of Broken Hearts, on March 12 via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch a video for the first single, "Angels Calling", below. Pre-order/save Queen Of Broken Hearts here.
Explains Issa, "The album's vocals were recorded right here where I live now in beautiful York, England. I really loved using the scenery around us to make the video for 'Angels Calling' too! When recording the album, I found that I enjoyed the more challenging vocal lines where I can use my voice in ways I haven't before, I love playing with vocal sounds and this album had more than enough headroom for that! "Queen Of Broken Hearts" is more symphonic than my previous records and if I can compare it to anything, I think my first album Sign Of Angels would be somewhere near it, except that I have 10 years more knowledge to put into it."
Issa, a truly stunning vocalist, has previously released five albums, all with Frontiers Music Srl and all creatively directed, overseen and nurtured by Serafino Perugino, President and A&R director of Frontiers Records. As with her past releases, the new release is a melodic rock fans dream come true with huge vocals and soaring melodies, but Queen Of Broken Hearts is arguably Issa's most fully realized musical offering yet.
Once again, she was partnered with Alessandro Del Vecchio to work on her new album and - as with the successful Run With the Pack - an all-star team of musicians appears on this new album. Featuring Simone Mularoni (DGM) on guitar, Andrea ToWer Torricini (Vision Divine) on bass, Marco Di Salvia (Hardline) on drums, and Del Vecchio on keys.
Issa’s musical growth over the years has been tremendous to hear and watch and fans will reap the rewards with Queen Of Broken Hearts, quite simply her best album yet. And that’s not just ‘hype’, but the fact of the matter.
Tracklisting:
"Angels Calling"
"The Way Out"
"The Night It Rained Forever"
"I'm Here To Stay"
"Blue"
"Queen Of Broken Hearts"
"Derive"
"Without Love"
"Wait For Love"
"After The Rain"
"Die For A Life With You"
"Angels Calling" video:
Lineup:
Issa Oversveen - Vocals
Simone Mularoni - Guitars
Andrea Torricini, bass
Alessandro Del Vecchio - Keyboards
Marco Di Salvia – Drums
German rockers, Bonfire, have released a new video and single, “Love Don’t Lie”, taken from their upcoming new record Roots, to be released on February 26 via AFM Records.
It's a song that was initially written in 2008 for The Räuber, a cooperation between the Theater Ingolstadt and the band - it is their most successful theater piece coop, with three seasons, 55 sold-out shows and 50 thousand spectators. The new version of the song, beautifully arranged, comes as a really lovely duet with Alexx Stahl and Lydia Panè, wife of guitarist Frank Panè.
Pre-order Roots here, and watch the video for "Love Don't Lie" below.
Tracklisting:
CD1
"Starin' Eyes"
"American Nights"
"Let Me Be Your Water"
"Price Of Lovin' You"
"Comin' Home"
"Ready 4 Reaction"
"Give It A Try"
"Sleeping All Alone"
"Who's Foolin' Who"
"Why Is It Never Enough"
"Fantasy"
CD2
"When An Old Man Cries"
"Love Don't Lie"
"Lonely Nights"
"Under Blue Skies"
"You Make Me Feel"
"No More"
"The Devil Made Me Do It"
"Without You"
"Your Love Is Heaven To Me"
"Piece Of My Heart"
"Youngbloods"
"Our Hearts Don't Feel The Same"
"Wolfmen"
Emerging from the Finnish coastal town of Kotka, melodic death/doom metal strikers Marianas Rest will unleash their third studio album, Fata Morgana, on March 12 via Napalm Records. In anticipation, they have just unveiled the first single from the album, entitled “Glow From The Edge”, along with a moving official video.
The Finns - featuring Jaakko Mäntymaa on vocals and Omnium Gatherum’s Aapo Koivisto on keys - showcase a true virtuosity of heavy riffs, hypnotizing soundscapes and impetuous tempo-changes on their new work of art. Fata Morgana combines intense melodic death metal spiced with significant doom elements and breathes an overall melancholic theme with every note, which the first output, “Glow From The Edge”, is proof of. Atmospheric guitar tones set the stage for this gloomy melodic death and doom metal offering. Spoken words permeate the listener’s brain, soon erupting in harsh and intense growling while the dreamlike backing vocals of guest musician Lindsay Matheson/Schoolcraft are carried along with sophisticated melodies.
Vocalist Jaakko Mäntymaa on the first single, “Glow From The Edge”: "Glow has a dreamy, mystic aura to it. I think it represents the evolution of the band and therefore it was an easy choice to be the first song released."
Watch the official video for “Glow From The Edge” below:
Fata Morgana marks the final chapter of a trilogy that began when Marianas Rest released their first full-length, 2016’s Horror Vacui, followed by the critically acclaimed full-length Ruins (2019). The series encompasses themes of isolation, eventual mental collapse and emergence from that woeful state, respectively - however, the band invites fans to experience the concept from their own perspectives.
The upcoming eight-song epos delivers atmospheric melodies that are as endless and fascinating as the overwhelming beauty of Finnish nature, which tracks like the expressive “The Weight” or authentic “Pointless Tale” are evidence of. Topped by guest appearances of Timo Virkkala, who shares his awesome cello magic, and the bewitching backing vocals of Lindsay Matheson/Schoolcraft (ex-Cradle Of Filth), Marianas Rest take their creative output to the next level and make Fata Morgana a must-have for fans of bands like Insomnium and My Dying Bride.
Marianas Rest on Fata Morgana: "Fata Morgana is a voyage into isolation. A passage to a place where minds get distorted by the cold."
This melodic melancholy is produced by Teemu Aalto (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum) and Marianas Rest, recorded and mixed by Teemu Aalto at Teemu Aalto Music Productions and mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers, who received a Grammy nomination with Candlemass feat. Tony Iommi for Best Metal Performance.
Fata Morgana will be available in the following formats:
- 2LP Gatefold Marbled Black/White (Napalm Mailorder Only)
- 2LP Gatefold Black
- CD Digipack
- Digital Album
"Sacrificial"
"Glow From The Edge"
"Pointless Tale
"The Weight"
"Horrokseen"
"Fata Morgana"
"Advent Of Nihilism"
"South Of Vostok"
As a special bonus, Marianas Rest will release a limited edition reissue of their aforementioned second studio album, Ruins, on vinyl for the first time ever on March 12 via Napalm Records. Unleashed back in April 2019, the Finns’ full-length tells the story of how a mind slowly crumbles, about introversion, putting up mental walls and eventually disappearing inside your own head.
Available as a 2LP Gatefold Marbled Black/White vinyl (limited to 300 copies), this is a must have for fans of this somber manifest of heavy riffs and grieving melodies.
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