Swedish melodic hard rockers, Gathering Of Kings, have released the official lyric video for the Christmas song, "December (Christmas)". A lyric video for the song can be found below.
"December (Christmas)" is a new version of "December", which was included on their album Discovery, released in May via RN Records. "December (Christmas)" is also available as a 7" white vinyl and as a CD single, both limited to just 500 copies.
The song is written by Victor Olsson and the new lyrics are written by Victor and Alexander Frisborg.
Musicians:
Jonny Lindkvist (Lead Vocals)
Victor Olsson (Guitar, Bass, Keyboards and Backing Vocals)
Efraim Larsson (Drums)
Norwegian progressive metal stalwarts, Green Carnation, will release their new single, "The World Without A View", on Friday (December 18). The song was recorded and mixed in Dub Studio, Kristiansand, mastered by Maor Appelbaum Mastering, and supported by Kristiansand kommune.
The single will be available via all streaming services, here.
A video for the song, created by Costin Chioreanu, can be seen below:
Japan's WOWOW network began reviving live performances from the band X Japan as of September 2020 and will continue to make them available until February 2021. There are currently 10 archived performances shot by the network currently available. They are as follows:
- World Tour Live In Yokohama 2010
- World Tour 2014 at Yokohama Arena
- The Last Live - 1997.12.31
- Attack Resumed 2008 I.V. - Towards Ruin / Night Of Destruction
- Attack Resumed 2008 I.V. - Towards Ruin / Reckless Night
- Live In Hong Kong 2009
- Live At Wembley Arena 2017
- World Tour 2017 - Acoustic Special Miracle Night
- Live 2018 - Premium Gigs / Yoshiki Revival Night
Go to the WOWOW network page here for broadcast / streaming details.
On October 29th, X Japan drummer / leader Yoshiki uploaded pro-shot video of the band performing their classic single "Week End" live without an audience. This was part of a live broadcast. Check it out below, watch for more footage in the near future.
US progressive thrash titans Vektor are teaming up with Dutch rising stars Cryptosis (Century Media Records) for a limited split EP release entitled Transmissions Of Chaos, to be released on February 25, 2021 through District 19. Preorder here.
In support of this release, the band is revealing the first new track since 2016's highly acclaimed Terminal Redux album.
Vektor comments: “We are proud to release ‘Activate’, which is the first of our two songs on our upcoming Split EP with our buddies in Cryptosis! This song features our new drummer Mike Ohlson, our new bass player Stephen Coon, and my old friend Erik Nelson. This song is about the reactivation of Vektor. We hope it spreads a little positivity in these trying times. After touring with Cryptosis (then named Distillator) in 2015, we are extremely excited to be working with them again. Keep an eye out as updates become available for our upcoming Split EP, Transmissions of Chaos.”
Tracklisting:
“Activate” – Vektor
“Dead By Dawn” – Vektor
“Decypher” – Cryptosis
“Prospect Of Immortality” – Cryptosis
German blackened death metal band, Thron, have released the official video for "The Prophet", taken from the band's upcoming album, Pilgrim.
Vocalist Samca comments: "'The Prophet' is the opening track of Pilgrim, and although it feels like a furious blast in your face song at first, it's one of the most diverse songs we've ever written. Classic heavy metal, progressive rock, savage drums, epic melodies... it's all in there. The video has some weird psychedelic elements in it."
"The Prophet" is available on all digital & streaming platforms here. The video can be seen below:
Thron's Pilgrim'was recorded and produced by C.Brandes, A.Kovats and P.Hagmann, mixed and mastered by C.Brandes at Iguana Studios in March-Buchheim in May 2020 with additional Sound Design by Stan Berzon. Artwork created by Khaos Diktator Design.
The album will be available in Europe and digitally on February 19, with the North American release set for March 5.
Canadian technical death metal force, Beneath The Massacre, have released a video for “Autonomous Mind”, lifted from the band's Fearmonger album.
The band comments: “We re excited to finally launch the music video for ‘Autonomous Mind’. We managed to work on the project in between lock downs and other COVID related restrictions and are very pleased with the result. The creativity of the director Chris Kells really allowed us to do a lot of the original script that we thought impossible to produce. All around, it is a very aesthetic video that should trigger questions in the viewers mind. Enjoy!”
Fearmonger is an album that flows naturally yet retains, but still very much extreme and tech-death to the max. Beneath The Massacre’s trademark go-for-the-jugular sound. Order the album here.
Fearmonger tracklisting:
"Rise Of The Fearmonger"
"Hidden In Plain Sight"
"Of Gods And Machines"
"Treacherous"
"Autonomous Mind"
"Return To Medusa"
"Bottom Feeders"
"Absurd Hero"
"Flickering Light"
"Bitterest End"
Swedish psychedelic adventure rock quintet, Hällas, have been turning heads and taking names in the scene for years, but 2020 saw their undisputed breakout with the album Conundrum, out now via Napalm Records.
One of the album’s catchiest tracks, "Carry On" - featuring a timeless, stardust-like scattering of infectious guitar lines and booming, yet haunting vocal performances - can now be experienced in a whole new light via a brand new music video. Straight from the studio, this new video showcases the band up close and personal, providing a window into their passion and unique musical insight. Get ready for another cosmic journey through their vintage-inspired sound spectrum.
The release of Conundrum showcased the band as one to watch, and now, their acclaim and success has been cemented even further: Hällas were recently nominated for a P3 Guld Award in the Rock/Metal category! Initiated by Swedish radio stations, P3 Guld is THE Swedish award, highlighting the most standout talent in Swedish popular music every year. You can vote for Hällas here.
Watch the new video for “Carry On” below:
Order Conundrum CD/vinyl here. Download the digital version here.
Tracklisting:
"Ascension"
"Beyond Night And Day"
"Strider"
"Tear Of A Traitor"
"Carry On"
"Labyrinth Of Distant Echoes"
"Blinded By The Emerald Mist"
"Fading Hero"
“Carry On” lyric video:
“Tear Of A Traitor” video:
Hällas lineup:
Tommy Alexanderson: vocals / bass
Marcus Peterson: guitar
Kasper Eriskon: drums / percussion
Nicklas Malmquist: organ / synthesizer
Alexander Moraitis: guitar
Classical guitar virtuoso, Thomas Zwijsen, has released Part 2 of his orchestral acoustic version of Iron Maiden's "Empire Of The Clouds", with Wiki Krawczyk on violin and Thomas on classical guitar, electric guitar, mandolin and bass.
Says Thomas: "'Empire Of The Clouds' is the final song of The Book Of Souls album (2015) and was written by Bruce Dickinson. It tells the story of the R101 Zeppelin disaster. It features Bruce Dickinson playing piano and was never performed live (yet)."
Watch Zwijsen's previous "Empire Of The Clouds" video below:
San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans DEATH ANGEL have released a new animated video for the song "Aggressor", from their critically lauded album "Humanicide". The clip arrives just ahead of the band's seventh annual "Another Death Angel XMas Show", which takes place over two days on December 19 (8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET) and December 20 (12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET).
Commenting on the video, guitarist Rob Cavestany says: "The idea started as a visualizer for the song, but when we saw the footage, we were hooked and knew it had to turn into a complete video.
"Ben did an incredible job of depicting the 'Aggressor' concept and his artistic style is unique for DEATH ANGEL. The timing of this release couldn't be better given the circumstances that surround us! See for yourself…"
"Another Death Angel XMas Show" will be streamed live from The Great Northern in San Francisco. Tickets for the shows and a variety of VIP packages are on sale now.
The band says: "The show must go on! The seventh annual DEATH ANGEL Xmas show will be streamed from the Great Northern in San Francisco on two dates in December. In honor of this yearly tradition, we're preparing to deliver a fully packed, high-energy show that is sure to get you thrashing around on your living room floor. While we'll miss seeing the faces of all the wonderful people that come out each and every year from near and far to help close out the year with us, we're happy to be able to invite the rest of the world to be a part of this annual celebration of life and music."
This past October, DEATH ANGEL released a four-song EP, "Under Pressure". The effort included a cover of QUEEN + David Bowie's "Under Pressure", followed by a new track titled "Faded Remains", plus acoustic versions of "Act III"'s classic "A Room With A View" and "Humanicide"'s "Revelation Song". The EP was mixed by Max Norman (OZZY OSBOURNE, MEGADETH, BAD COMPANY) and mastered by Ted Jensen (LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD, HALESTORM).
Released in May 2019 via Nuclear Blast, "Humanicide" saw DEATH ANGEL returning to producer and friend Jason Suecof (DEICIDE, TRIVIUM) of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen (SLIPKNOT, PANTERA) of Sterling Sound, who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White (LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH) providing the ominous cover artwork.
Right in time for Christmas, Germany's symphonic / melodic shooting stars Beyond The Black are gifting their fans with a really special treat: their new EP, W:O:A Acoustic Clash - The Lockdown Session, available digitally on December 18, 2020 via Napalm Records.
The W:O:A Acoustic Clash began as a bet between Beyond The Black and Thomas Jensen (Wacken Open Air): In the course of 48 hours, the quartet had to arrange and record acoustic cover versions of four different all-time rock and metal favorites, chosen by the Wacken community. Each song is now being presented by the band via both the Wacken and Beyond The Black YouTube channels every Advent Sunday as a world premiere via Full Metal Gaming's Twitch live stream and on Beyond The Black's YouTube channel afterwards. The symphonic combo covered Sabaton's “To Hell And Back", Vobeat's “A Warriors Call” and Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness". Watch the performances below.
Tracklisting:
"To Hell And Back" (Sabaton)
"Down With The Sickness" (Disturbed)
"Warrior’s Call" (Volbeat)
"The Trooper" (Iron Maiden)
THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL, the Florida-based psychedelic rock side project of GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola, released its self-titled album on December 11. The official music video for the disc's latest single, "Waltz Of The Antichrist/Impure", can be seen below.
The nine-track album loosely follows an autobiographical narrative centered around a protagonist on the left-hand path, embracing dark magic rituals that begins on "Waltz Of The Antichrist/Impure", and later changes his ways to ascension concluding with the seven minute-plus track, "A Gecko (Part 2) - The Endless Possibility Of Water (666 Reprise)" that stretches towards a fiery musical catharsis.
Larkin stated: "When you listen to the album, I'd love it if you actually took a trip with us through this dark abyss and came out of it 45 minutes later with a new perspective."
THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL sinks into the sweet spot between devilish Delta blues, hard-hitting rock, and inter-dimensional psychedelia. The eclectic array of genres offers opposites of light and dark through musical expression, with tribal percussion echoes alongside a thick bass line during "The Abomination Of Desolation", and a wild wah pedal and slick rhythm on "The Doorway".
"The Apocalypse Blues Revival" track listing:
01. Waltz Of The Antichrist/Impure
02. The Abomination Of Desolation
03. Can't Shake The Blues
04. No One Will Miss Me
05. The Doorway
06. Written In To The World
07. Optimystic
08. Enjoy The Ride
09. A Gecko (Part 2) – The Endless Possibility Of Water (666 Reprise)
THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL materialized in 2020. For nearly a decade, Larkin and Rombola threw down at biker bars, blues haunts, and dyed-in-the-wool venues around the country in an RV with bassist Brian Carpenter. "Tony and I are in our fifties now, and we got to rough it," he laughs. "We felt like real blues guys!"
Under the name of THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVUE originally, they churned out two albums, "The Apocalypse Blues Revue" (2016) and "The Shape Of Blues To Come" (2018), that generated nearly one million total streams. During late 2019, Shannon welcomed lifelong friend and lead singer, Shane Hall into the fold. A few years ago, Shane held down vocals in a wild funk outfit alongside Shannon and Tony, sparking a flame fanned to its fullest potential in THE APOCALYPSE BLUES REVIVAL.
The quartet casted an unbreakable spell on their new self-titled independent full-length debut. For Shannon, this idea of the new album initially blossomed on a tour bus during a freezing January in Europe. Slowly but surely, the songs came to life in order, sketched out on hotel notepads and written wherever possible. Processing the loss of his sister, he translated this pain into the story.
"It's a completely different band," affirms Shannon. "We've shifted into more of a psychedelic rock sound. My big vision was to simply mix the influences from my two favorite classic rock artists — David Bowie and PINK FLOYD — with my favorite blues artists: Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King. The foundation is always blues. That's how I approach the drums, but we're veering off into more eclectic areas and rock. As the guy who writes the lyrics and melodies, I'm limited to my singer. Shane has taken all of those limitations away. He's such an extension of me that it's no wonder we've been best friends for twenty years."
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has released a lyric video for "Bad Company (The Five Finger Dim Mak Steve Aoki Remix)". The song was included on the second instalment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's greatest-hits collection, "A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2", which came out in October.
"A Decade Of Destruction - Volume 2" contains four previously unreleased tracks: "Broken World", the aforementioned Steve Aoki remix of "Bad Company", a Joe Hahn remix of "Wash It All Away", a Felmax remix of "Trouble" and a new acoustic version of "Wrong Side Of Heaven".
In October, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH confirmed that it officially parted ways with guitarist Jason Hook back in February 2020, during the band's sold-out European arena tour. He has since been replaced by renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who is also featured on "Broken World".
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's latest album, "F8", was released in February. The follow-up to 2018's "And Justice For None" capped a turbulent period for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH in which singer Ivan Moody finally got sober after a near-fatal struggle with addiction, while co-founding drummer Jeremy Spencer bowed out of the band due to physical issues.
Much of "F8"'s lyrical content deals with Moody's battle with addiction, its aftermath and his recovery. The singer celebrated two years of sobriety in March.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's new disc was once again helmed by Kevin Churko, the Canadian record producer/engineer and songwriter who currently lives in Las Vegas, where he works out of his private studio, The Hideout Recording Studio. The drums on the LP were laid down by Charlie "The Engine" Engen, who made his live debut with the group during its fall 2018 tour with BREAKING BENJAMIN.
In an interview with Berlin, Germany's Star FM, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory spoke about the inspiration for the title of "F8". He said: "Originally, we were just gonna call it '8', sort of. We thought it's the eighth record, and if you wanted to be esoteric about it, we figured, well, if you turn the '8' sideways, it's the symbol of infinity. There was some play with the visuals. I do most of the design and the graphics for the merch in the band in general… So, I was playing around with the graphics and I thought it maybe needs a bit more. And we were bouncing around ideas, and we added the letter 'F.' So it was, like, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's eighth record. At the same time, if you want to read it phonetically, it could be 'fate.'"
Bathory told The Pulse Of Radio the band felt a different kind of vibe when it finally got into the studio to make "F8". "After eight records, I don't think we have to say, 'Well, we are here to stay,'" he said. "But there was this image of getting into the studio and 'Let's light this on fire.' This was this different sort of power, this different sort of energy that was driving us."
METALLICA's James Hetfield performed an acoustic version of Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" at Joe Walsh's fourth annual VetsAid charity concert, which took place virtually on Saturday, December 12. Also appearing with the legendary EAGLES guitarist were PEARL JAM's Eddie Vedder, Jon Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Daryl Hall, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, Steven Van Zandt, Brandon Flowers, Gwen Stefani, Jason Isbell, Ben Harper, and many more.
Video of Hetfield's "Turn The Page" rendition can be seen below.
Walsh said in the event's press release: "For the past three years, we've held this glorious traveling circus in cities across the country with a day-long rock and roll festival and jobs fair to support our veterans and their families. Typically, we fill up an arena, play for five hours, and raise a bunch of money — nearly $1.5 million to date — to help our veterans get the care and support they deserve. But because of COVID this year, we're going virtual as so many things are."
He continued: "Our veterans community already suffers from increased poverty rates, mental health issues, re-entry difficulties and personal crises in the best of times. During this pandemic, they are especially vulnerable. I'm proud of this nationwide tradition we have built and I can't think of a better way to remember and honor the men and women who have served our country this holiday season than by helping us raise funds to support their essential and basic needs."
All net proceeds from the 2020 festival are going directly to the veterans' services charities selected through a vetting process coordinated in tandem with the Combined Arms Institute.
For the first time in history, Iranian and Scandinavian metalheads have joined forces to pay a tribute to the unique rock and metal legend, Lemmy and with BraveWords at the helm to premiere this tribute to the Motörhead legend. Jupiterium has released “King Of Spades”, a tribute song to Ian Fraser Kilmister, Lemmy; featuring amazing artists as special guests, Marko Hietala (Nightwish, Tarot), Johan Koleberg (ex-Hammerfall, ex-Therion, Wolf), Niclas Etelävuori (ex-Amorphis, Flat Earth) via a lyric video:
The song was mixed and mastered by Jupiterium’s Ehsan Imani and artwork and lyric video was done by Mohsen “Stargazer” Fayazi at Stargazer MultiMedia.
“I think we can call 2020 many names, but one can be the year of division, even in the metal music community, people are getting divided over their political opinions and this virus makes it even worse,” stated Jupiterium’s Mohsen “Stargazer” Fayazi. “I believe in situations like this, Lemmy, an icon over anyone or anything, could bring us all back together and remind us that we, metal brothers and sisters are more alike than different! That’s what we tried to do in this tribute project but still no one is like him! We miss you very much Lemmy! Gone but not forgotten!”
2020 is the 40th anniversary of Motörhead’s iconic song, “Ace Of Spades” which was released on October 27, 1980 and stormed British music charts for weeks. This year is also the fifth anniversary of Lemmy’s death, who died on December 28, 2015.
Immortal Guardian, the progressive/power metal quartet, has unveiled a music video for “Lockdown”, the second single from their forthcoming concept album Psychosomatic. The clip, which showcases the group cleverly adapting to the same stay-at-home conditions that are affecting millions of people around the world at this moment can be viewed below.
The single itself is available for streaming and purchase on digital music platforms such as Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Spotify. CD and limited-edition purple vinyl pre-orders for Psychosomatic, which will be released by M-Theory Audio on February 12, 2021 are available now here.
"Rich or poor, it doesn't matter, every human this year experienced some kind of lockdown/isolation during this insane year,” says guitarist/keyboardist Gabriel Guardian. “We couldn't even just meet up because our borders were on lockdown for international travel. Thank god for the internet, as we were able to still create music and keep each other company online even with thousands of miles between each member. 'Lockdown' talks about all of the same questions we all have been asking ourselves since the start of the pandemic. Where did this all come from? Who's to blame? Is the lockdown saving more lives than it's destroying? We can only keep making music through these crazy times and hope for a better tomorrow."
After winning over new audiences with their acclaimed 2018 debut full-length Age of Revolution and touring relentlessly alongside fellow shredders such as Marty Friedman, Powerglove, and Exmortus, Immortal Guardian gathered in Las Vegas earlier this year to begin recording their second album. As the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic began to ensue, each member of the band retreated to their respective hometowns. With shutdowns around the world being enforced, the band completely scrapped the record that they had been working on and were heavily inspired to write and create a new thematic record about their emotions surrounding current events.
The result is a truly multi-national record, with guitarist/keyboardist Gabriel Guardian remaining in Las Vegas, vocalist Carlos Zema recording his vocals from his home in Brazil, new drummer Justin Piedimonte joining the band from his hometown in Montreal, Canada, and new bassist Josh Lopez remaining in Immortal Guardian's native Texas. The video for “Read Between The Lines” - produced and directed by SBLGA - also saw the members of Immortal Guardian contributing remotely from their respective homes, and shows off the continued refinement of their full-frontal assault of anthemic melodies, technical rhythms, furious shred and high-flying vocals.
The group - founded by Gabriel Guardian, whose uncanny ability to play guitar and keyboard simultaneously has been showcased on MTV's “Amazingness” and on his unique dual-instrument covers of classics by the likes of Iron Maiden, Pantera and Guns N' Roses that have garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube - began building their following through multiple self-released EPs before signing with M-Theory Audio for the 2018 release of their first full-length record, Age Of Revolution. The band has also performed live alongside some of the biggest names in metal, including Judas Priest, Dragonforce, Kamelot, Symphony X, Sonata Arctica, Slayer, Metal Church, Soilwork and Steve Vai, and in countries such as Brazil and Russia, and during high-profile performances at ESPN's X Games, South By Southwest and the Fun Fun Fun Fest.
Psychosomatic is the next step in Immortal Guardian’s evolution while still capturing the band’s exhilarating trademark melding of melodic power metal with progressive/shred tendencies. More information about the album will be revealed in the weeks to come.
Immortal Guardian is:
Gabriel Guardian – guitars/keyboards
Carlos Zema – vocals
Justin Piedimonte – drums
Josh Lopez – bass
Sammy Hagar and his CIRCLE bandmates have once again teamed up via the Internet, this time to record a version of the Red Rocker's Christmas song "Santa's Going South". The original track was released in 2011 and was a duet between Hagar and country singer Toby Keith.
In a statement accompanying the YouTube release of the CIRCLE version of "Santa's Going South", Sammy wrote: "This song has been waiting many years for a video. Here it is, courtesy of Lockdown 2020. Merry Christmas Redheads!"
As previously reported, SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE will release "Lockdown Sessions" as an album collection titled "Lockdown 2020" on January 8, 2021. Fans who pre-order the album now will also receive a new instant-grat track, a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes". Additionally, all proceeds from the song "Heroes" will be donated to food banks nationwide.
"Lockdown Sessions" began in March, when the COVID-19 shelter-at-home order went into effect. With time on their hands and their upcoming tour in limbo, the band's legendary drummer Jason Bonham challenged his bandmates Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson to record a warmup jam they'd been playing backstage before concerts for several years. Equipped with iPhones and their respective instruments, they each laid down their individual tracks from the den, music room, closet and even showers of their homes, and "Funky Feng Shui" and the band's "Lockdown Sessions" were born.
"When we first start doing these lockdown sessions, it was only meant to stay in touch with the fans until we could get back out on the road again," Hagar explained. "But as the weeks and months drew on, it also became a fun way to keep the band together, musically and creatively."
Over the next eight months, their "Lockdown Sessions" became a hit with critics and fans alike, producing 10 tracks and reaching an online audience approaching 30 million. The sessions gave the band the opportunity to throw down raw and raucous compact covers of classic hits that they'd jammed to backstage but never planned to record, including THE WHO's "Won't Get Fooled Again", Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds", AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" and more. When plans for an album came to fruition around the holidays, the band came together to record one more track, a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" which they'd offer as an instant download or single purchase.
"With the addition of 'Heroes', it made sense to help those who are struggling from the effects of COVID-19," Hagar said. "It probably wouldn't have happened without it."
"Lockdown 2020" track listing:
01. Funky Feng Shui
02. Won't Get Fooled Again (THE WHO)
03. Good Enough (VAN HALEN)
04. Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)
05. Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC)
06. For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield)
07. Keep A-Knockin' (Little Richard)
08. Right Now (VAN HALEN)
09. Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do (VAN HALEN)
10. Sympathy For The Human (SAMMY HAGAR & THE WABOS)
11. Heroes (David Bowie)
This past May, SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE's U.S. tour with NIGHT RANGER was officially canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe. Produced by Live Nation, the outing was scheduled to kick off July 9 in West Palm Beach, Florida at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre and make stops in Tampa, Cincinnati, Dallas, Phoenix and more, before wrapping September 20 in Chula Vista, California at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.
THE CIRCLE's first album of all-original material, "Space Between", was released in May 2019 via BMG.
Vessel Of Light has unveiled the latest video from the Doom-laden hard rockers’ fourth album, Last Ride, in the Sabbath-esque “Torture King.”
The video was captured by Jason Stewart and includes footage from one of Vessel Of Light’s rare full-band rehearsals, when vocalist Nathan Opposition flew in from Cleveland to join the rest of the guys in New Jersey just before Halloween.
“The opening riff to ‘Torture King’ was the first riff I wrote after we finished our last album,” says guitarist Dan Lorenzo. “Even though it's not drop tuning it just sounded so heavy. Obviously, it's very Sabbathy and I was curious if Nathan could come up with a cool melody line to it. When I first heard what he wrote to it I was blown away...I still am. I actually asked him if we should change the name of our new album from ‘Last Ride’ to ‘Torture King’ at one point.”
As the title may suggest, “Torture King” is in line with the lyrical theme that permeates Last Ride, exploring the darkest sides of humanity and indulging both Opposition and Lorenzo in their fascination with true crime.
“The riff in ‘Torture King’ is so heavy and dark that I wanted to make the lyrics evil and descriptive to get into the listeners head and convey a message equally as dark and sinister,” Opposition says. “For me it's about creating a mood when I sing and when I write lyrics. The mood of ‘Torture King’ is sadistic terror through the eyes of a cold-blooded killer. The subject matter is a familiar story, from Jack the Ripper to Dennis Rader. Sick people in the world playing sick games, winning sick prizes. Just a pawn in someone else's game of chess where human life holds no value and the ones who suffer are the innocent. There will always be real horror out there in the world no matter how much we try to hide it. There's no escape from it, just a blind eye.”
The most refined of Vessel Of Light’s releases, Last Ride, released October 23 via Nomad Eel Records, is rife with depth, harmonies, the trademark riffs and guitar sound of guitarist Dan Lorenzo while also maintaining a familiar feel. Like the haunting first single and title track from Last Ride, “There’s No Escape” has a sinister lyrical theme, keeping in line with the darker subjects that permeate this record.
In the video below, Venom Inc. guitarist Mantas covers The Dead Daisies track, “Resurrected”.
Mantas says, “Cover version of the song ‘Resurrected’ from the album Burn It Down by The Dead Daisies. This song and its lyrics means so much to me given what happened in 2018 [referring to the heart attack he suffered] and ironically it was released around three weeks before the event.”
Venom Inc. guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn and Behemoth frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski teamed up for a lockdown version of the Venom classic "Satanachist" in May. Check out the clip below.
Nergal: "That came out spontaneous... just to have some fun and kill the time during quarantine. But to me, as a big Venom devotee, it’s a fan boy moment. Thank you, Jeff Dunn, for involving me, means a lot. Ladies and gents, from the very depths of hell... one of my all time favorite Venom songs, 'Satanachist'.
PS: Shout out to Haldor Grunberg for making all this possible in his home studio... plus thanx for backing vocals!
PS2: Becoz this riff sounds almost EXACTLY the same as Burzum’s 'War', I used the same opening scream 'This is... war' just like Varg did. Just to build the link and show who inspired who..."
"Satanachist" appears on Venom's fourth album, Possessed, from 1985. It was performed by the band's classic line-up of Mantas, Cronos (vocals, bass) and Abaddon (drums).
The Acacia Strain - Vincent Bennett (vocals), Kevin Boutot (drums), Devin Shidaker (guitar), Griffin Landa (bass), and Tom "The Hammer" Smith, Jr. (guitar) - have shared the video for "One Thousand Painful Stings". The song, which features Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante, appears on the band's eighth full-length album Slow Decay, out now through Rise Records.
In lieu of an actual live show, the clip is a socially distanced sign of the times - featuring the band members performing in fuzzy onesies, substituting pet cats for instruments and Swiffers for mic stands, LaPlante's living room mosh, and much more. It's truly a hilarious (and thoroughly metal) way to cap off what has been quite a tumultuous year.
"Having a record come out during a pandemic is hard," says Bennett, who also directed the video. "No touring, no playing the new songs, no nothing. All of us live far away from one another, so we cannot do a cool livestream, either. We couldn't even get together to make a music video, so we did this! Stay safe, stay sane, and stay away from each other!"
Latvian hard rockers, Bloody Heels, have released a "live from the studio" video for "No Matter", a track from their new album, Ignite The Sky, out now via Frontiers Music Srl. Watch the clip below, and order the album here.
Formed in 2012 in Riga, Latvia, Bloody Heels have a musical style that could be best described as a sort of missing link between Crashdïet and Crazy Lixx, with heavier elements like early W.A.S.P. and Kissin’ Dynamite. The band have already made a name for themselves with the EP Summer Nights (2014) and the album Through Mystery (2017). They’ve played shows all around Europe including Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, and the Baltic States.
Tracklisting:
"Ignite The Sky"
"Criminal Masterminds"
"No Matter"
"Sugar & Spice"
"Farewell To Yesterday"
"Black Swan"
"Stand Your Ground"
"Thin Line"
"Silhouette"
"Healing Waters"
"Streets Of Misery"
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