Irish thrashers Gama Bomb have released a video for "Give Me Leather", featured on the band’s sixth album Speed Between The Lines, out October 12th via AFM Records. Watch below.
Bassist Joe McGuigan on Speed Between The Lines: “Our aim with this record was keep refining the Gama Bomb thrash formula. It’s got faster and more punky riffing, battling axes and catchy, memorable choruses from Philly, who’s back with the Halford / Belladona notes after injuring his voice a few years back.”
Speed Between The Lines was produced by longtime Gama Bomb collaborator Scott Atkins (Cradle of Filth, Sylosis). The album will be available as CD, clear yellow gatefold vinyl (ltd. to 250 units), turquoise gatefold vinyl (ltd. to 250 units), clear/red gatefold and vinyl red/black splatter (ltd. to 100 units) which is exclusively available in the AFM webshop.
Tracklisting:
"Give Me Leather"
"A Hanging"
"666teen"
"Bring Out The Monster"
"R.I.P. U"
"Motorgeist"
"Alt-Reich"
"Stay Rotten"
"We R Going 2 Eat U"
"Kurt Russell"
"World Gone To Hell"
"Faceblaster"
Nita Strauss, the incredibly talented guitarist who has rocked out on stage with ALICE COOPER, FEMME FATALE, Jermaine Jackson, THE IRON MAIDENS and more, will release her debut solo album, "Controlled Chaos", on November 16 via Sumerian Records.
The electric and fiery music video for "Our Most Desperate Hour" is the first look into what's to come from this new chapter of Nita's career. You can check out the clip below.
On the upcoming album, Nita shares: "From bright and fun to aggressive and dark, from peaceful to chaotic, this album is a way for me to give the listener a glimpse into my personality and what goes on inside my mind."
"Controlled Chaos" is available for pre-order at NitaStrauss.com.
b>Strauss has been fighting to make a name for herself in the guitar world for years. She is one of the most sought-after clinicians in the industry and has done extensive clinic tours across multiple continents. Her consistent touring schedule has shown her to play in front of over a million audience members per year consistently for the past several years. 2018 has already proven to be a banner year for Nita with her being named as the first-ever female Ibanez signature artist in the company's 60-year history. She played WWE suprstar Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance music at "WrestleMania" in New Orleans in front of an audience of 78,000 fans and millions streaming worldwide just before surpassing her Kickstarter campaign eight times over, allowing her to self-produce and record "Controlled Chaos".
The 11-track album was a challenge to Strauss and an opportunity for her to reconnect with what inspired her to pick up a guitar in the first place. She says: "I started playing guitar because of instrumental guitar music. All my real heroes made instrumental albums. All my own career has been spent playing in bands, but I never forgot that dream of what inspired me to pick up the guitar in the first place."
"Controlled Chaos" track listing:
01. Prepare For War
02. Alegria
03. Our Most Desperate Hour
04. Mariana Trench
05. Here With You
06. The Stillness At The End
07. The Quest
08. Hope Grows
09. Lion Among Wolves
10. Pandemonium 2.0
11. The Show Must Go On
Earlier this year, Strauss said that she always intended to keep the production costs for her solo disc relatively low. "I'm not planning on making a 'Chinese Democracy' here," she said, referring to GUNS N' ROSES' last studio effort, which reportedly took more than a decade and cost in excess of ten million dollars to record. "It's an instrumental guitar record. I can make it on a good budget. I have a home studio, so the only thing I'll really need to spend the money on, as far as recording, is some equipment and, of course, drums, 'cause I don't wanna do drums at my house, and mixing and mastering. So the budget for the actual recording is fairly modest. And the rest of it already was planned to go towards a tour and towards publicity for the record and making it as cool as it could be. So now that we've reached the goal and then some, there will definitely be a tour. And there will definitely be quite a few tours to support it."
Asked if she has given any thought as to whether she might use the same musicians that are playing on the album as her backing band on tour, Nita said: "I'll definitely use the same drummer; yeah, it my boyfriend [Josh Villalta]. He played drums on my single, 'Pandemonium', which came out last year. And besides it being really great to work with somebody that you have such great chemistry with, he's also the best drummer that I know, so it's a match made in heaven right there. And then as far as bass and second guitar, it really just depends who else is on the tour. I'm not gonna be putting really a band together for this project; it's really just gonna be me and the backing musicians, aside from the consistent drummer, of course, Josh. So I'll either be sharing a backing band with some of the other musicians on the tour or hiring people on a need-to-hire basis."
Strauss will perform at this year's U.K. Guitar Show on Sunday, September 30.
Nita's skill, exuberant stage presence and love for all things about her instrument have earned her a stellar reputation in the music industry and endorsements including Ibanez Guitars, Marshall Amplification, DiMarzio pickups, Monster Energy and more.
BraveWords is exclusively premiering the music video for "Last Call", featured on Hollow Cry's new album, From Ashes To Flames, out today via Into Records. Order the album at this location, and watch the new video below.
Says the band: "'Last Call' came out from the most stressful period we experienced as a band. We'd just signed with Metal Music Bookings and were asked to produce three new songs for the EPK. In two weeks. We thought we wouldn't make it. Then our drummer bailed out. We couldn't understand why, after so much struggle, he'd quit right when his big opportunity was in front of him. The song is about that, about taking risks in life. It also goes into the duality of day and night, determination and abidance; believing in something so much you're willing to go upstream, or renouncing and following the herd. That contrast is shown in the music video through two opposite backgrounds: a dark, closed space, and a bright, open place."
Spain possesses a fertile heavy metal and hard rock scene, of which the fast-rising Hollow Cry are the sonic proof - as evidenced with the arrival of their new album, From Ashes To Flames.
Hailing from the town of Tremp and initially started as a covers band in 2007, Xavi (lead vocals) had always wanted to start a band and on meeting a friend at a Taekwondo class who suggested themselves as drummer, the early formations of Hollow Cry took form. The wheels were in motion, shortly after Xavi recruited friends Marc, on rhytmic guitar, and Aleix on lead guitar, to give the band a more solid sound. Ek-tombe had been born.
In the winter of 2010. Playing metal turned out to be more demanding than expected, so after finding a replacement for the original drummer, Xavi began to focus solely on his singing and Marc picked the guitar to help Aleix with the melodies. Bass was needed, and the new drummer's cousin Joan joined the band.
Ek-tombe had given way to Hollow Cry. The guys had their big debut the following summer, in FestiPallars 2011, the biggest music festival of their region. They established a notorious fan base and kept playing in similar scenarios with crowds of 1-2,000 thousand people, juggling college, work and music, covering bands such as Avenged Sevenfold and occasionally throwing in a few originals of their own.
In 2012 they competed in Barcelona's biggest contest for emerging bands, Emergenza. They reached the final over a pop band whose members were disguised as farm animals, but the judges took a last minute controversial decision and left them out of the contest. The guys decided to focus on their own material then, and it wasn't easy. After a year of sporadic gigs, the band went into a one-year hiatus and didn't regroup until the fall of 2014, when Xavi told them he had composed songs of his own that could do well for a debut album. The band had been re-fueled and reignited, ready to hit the road with more energy than ever.
Hollow Cry entered the studio to record their first demo EP, meanwhile choosing their shows carefully, to ensure their music hits where it is most greatly received. In recent months Hollow Cry signed to worldwide agency Metal Music Bookings and Management, and have undergone a revival; the name change to Hollow Cry (from WinterShades), a new approach, and an array of epic tracks ready to be unleashed to the public. The underground metal scene is still emerging in Spain, and the newly launched Hollow Cry feel they are at the forefront. This is the result of that journey, the final leap, this is the beginning of Hollow Cry - and From Ashes To Flames is a mighty/bold step forward.
Tracklisting:
"Shades Of Winter"
"My Way Out"
"Procrastinated"
"From Ashes To Flames"
"Heaven’s Jail"
"Beyond Defeat"
"Tears In Rain"
"Never Enough"
"Last Call"
"Years Gone By"
Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY have released the official music video for the song "Carry Me On Down The Road". The track is taken from the band's latest album, "Family Tree", which was released on April 20 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.
BLACK STONE CHERRY frontman Chris Robertson told Metal Hammer about "Carry Me On Down The Road": "[It's] one of my absolute favorites from the album. It may be one of the top five songs we've ever written. It's one of the most musical things we've ever written. It flows up and down, and there's a lot of dynamics. It's a pain in the ass to sing and play, but it's a lot of fun! You really hear the jam band influences coming through: bands like GOV'T MULE and THE ALLMAN BROTHERS."
If you've ever wondered what it's like or wanted to experience a tour with BLACK STONE CHERRY, the "Carry Me On Down The Road" clip — which was filmed and directed by Mike Rodway — gives you "the coolest and most unique perspective" of the band's touring lives.
As was the case on 2016's "Kentucky", the BLACK STONE CHERRY members opted to produce and track "Family Tree" at David Barrick's Barrick Recording in Glasgow, Kentucky, the same studio where the four-piece recorded its eponymous debut. BLACK STONE CHERRY also chose to not over-rehearse upfront of the album sessions, instead preferring the immediacy and spontaneity of in-the-moment takes. The band also entrusted frontman Chris Robertson to mix the songs, which perfectly fit the loose, creative process that birthed "Family Tree".
wo special guests appear, one bringing the concept of family full circle. Chris's five-year-old son contributes backup vocals on the swaggering "You Got The Blues", while the other, revered jam-band musician Warren Haynes (GOV'T MULE) offers a guitar cameo and vocals on the delta stomp of "Dancing In The Rain". The band first met Warren 17 years ago as freshly signed youngsters on their first visit to New York City.
AFIRE has released "Let Me Be The One", the first single from the band's debut album, "On The Road From Nowhere", due November 16 via Concorde Music Company.
AFIRE is a melodic hard rock band hailing from Oulu, Finland. The group was formed in 2016 when vocalist Suvi Hiltunen joined forces with Oulu-based musicians guitarist Antti Leiviskä (ex-POISONBLACK, BRÜSSEL KAUPALLINEN), guitarist Sami Kukkohovi (ex-SENTENCED, KYPCK), bassist Harri Halonen and drummer Tarmo Kanerva (ex-POISONBLACK).
Halonen comments on "Let Me Be the One": "'Let Me Be The One' is one of the first songs I wrote with our singer Suvi Hiltunen for this band. It might not be the most evident choice as first single amongst the uptempo rock songs on the album, but it does represent well the moodier side of AFIRE, which is an essential part of what we have to offer."
SINSAENUM, the extreme death metal project featuring DRAGONFORCE bassist Frédéric Leclercq and former SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison, has issued a brand new single, a previously unreleased cover of the MELVINS song "Hooch".
The song is extremely heavy, while visually, "Hooch" is a tribute to the original version’s video with a disturbing twist.
SINSAENUM's latest album, "Repulsion For Humanity", was released on August 10 via earMUSIC.
With the help of Francis Caste on mixing duties, SINSAENUM sharpened their own sonic identity, far from the typical death or modern metal sound.
he cover artwork, created by none other than Travis Smith, matches the radical, violent and angry approach of the album.
Last November, SINSAENUM released the EP "Ashes", with Metal Hammer Germany declaring it to be a "rad sign of life" and Metal Hammer U.K. taking it one step further, saying, "Take that form into the studio for the second full-length and we could have a classic on our hands."
"Echoes Of The Tortured", SINSAENUM's first album, was nominated as "Best Debut" by Metal Hammer Germany and was praised worldwide as one of the freshest and finest approaches to death metal.
With these impressive credentials, it is hard not to label SINSAENUM a supergroup, since it embodies the joint venture of Leclercq and Jordison. The rest of the band is of no less importance and credibility — Sean Zatorsky (DÅÅTH, vocals), Stephane Buriez (LOUDBLAST, guitar), Heimoth (SETH, bass) and Attila Csihar (MAYHEM, vocals) – all of which are well respected in their fields – complete the ensemble, making SINSAENUM the epitome of premium-level heavy metal.
This autumn, SINSAENUM will be touring for the first time since its formation.
Danish thrash metal veterans ARTILLERY will release their ninth studio album, "The Face Of Fear", on November 16 via Metal Blade. The follow-up to 2016's "Penalty By Perception" is ARTILLERY's third effort with the current lineup.
The official video for "The Face Of Fear" title track can be seen below.
The lyrics are ARTILLERY as you know them, with subjects concerning the destruction of mankind, double standards, abuse and the looming worst-case scenarios. "The Face Of Fear" was recorded with longtime producer Søren Andersen at Medley Studios. It's Søren's fifth time at the helm, and once again he manages to deliver a monster production.
Søren comments: "Pure and raw! Some of the material of this album was originally written in the early '80s, and that inspired us to go old school this time. Not too many layers, just classic ARTILLERY thrash metal... And Bastholm [singer Michael Bastholm Dahl] is better than ever on this one. This is a no-filler album, created together with the band. I'm really proud of the final result and I hope everyone will enjoy it as much as I do!"
b>ARTILLERY comments about the video for "The Face Of Fear": "Most of the scenes for the video were shot at Amager strand park right outside of Copenhagen. And the live scenes go back to when the band visited Japan and played at the Thrash Dominations together with EXODUS, VOIVOD and SANCTUARY. The video was shot by the band's good friend Terkel Christensen, who also did the video 'When The Magic is Gone', from the last album, 'Penalty By Perception'. The song is about dealing the end of man by himself. We create our own phobia about the destruction of the world, but remain disrespectful to the globe."
"The Face Of Fear" track listing:
01. The Face Of Fear
02. Crossroads To Conspiracy
03. New Rage
04. Sworn Utopia
05. Through The Ages Of Atrocity
06. Thirst For The Worst
07. Pain
08. Under Water (instumental)
09. Preaching To The Converted
10. Mind Of No Return (limited first-edition bonus track / re-recorded song from ARTILLERY's first demo from 1982)
11. Doctor Evil (limited first-edition bonus track / 2018 version)
Since the release of "Penalty By Perception" — which won the band four Danish Metal Awards in 2016 (best album, best band, best production and honorary prize) — ARTILLERY has toured around the world, including Europe, South America and parts of Asia. For the rest of 2018, there will be time for Copenhell's Metal Cruise and a Denmark tour, plus a release party on High Voltage. 2019 will include tours in Europe, South America and USA.
Norwegian alternative metallers MADDER MORTEM have released a music video for the song "Liberator". The track is taken from the band's seventh full-length album, "Marrow", which came out on September 21 via Dark Essence Records. The clip was created by the noted Romanian artist Costin Choireanu.
According to MADDER MORTEM, "Liberator" "is the declaration of intent from 'Marrow' — it's our call to arms. It's a reminder to not make yourself smaller to appease others, but to sink your teeth into life and bite off way more than you can chew. Never let them drag you back into line."
Regarding the video itself, and the collaboration with Chioreanu, who has a long-standing history with Dark Essence Records and the Norwegian music scene, MADDER MORTEM went on to say: "After seeing Costin Chioreanu's gorgeous artwork in the animated video for 'Far From Home', we really wanted to see what his take would be on a filmed video. Costin somehow managed to poke a hole in his incredibly busy schedule, and the video was shot in our home town of Nord-Odal over three hectic days. We wanted something different and unexpected and strange, and we love the surrealist feel of this video."
"Marrow" sees MADDER MORTEM hungrier and heavier than ever before. The eleven-track album is complex, covering a wide variety of genres and sounds that range from moments of folk/prog to avant-garde. From delicate ballads to harsh metal. Agnete M. Kirkevaag's dynamic and immensely powerful vocals, are, as always, at the fore on an album that is more doomy than its predecessor, "Red In Tooth And Claw", as well as being at times both heavier, and catchier.
b>"Marrow" is about "sticking to the essence of yourself. Your ideas, your thoughts, your values". It was produced by BP M. Kirkevaag and mastered by Peter In de Betou at Tailor Maid.
With artwork by the legendary artist Thore Hansen, "Marrow" will be available in digipak CD, digital, and limited-edition green vinyl gatefold LP formats.
Blending a sound that is a complex mix of classical orchestrations, cosmic synths, and extreme metal to portray the epics of parallel worlds, Hickory, NC, based Rapheumets Well (Ra-few-mets) bring forth a voyage enriched with lore, fabricated from scratch to show the depth in which represents them as artists. From the birth of organic matter to great wars that tear the fabric of space/time, the story of Rapheumets Well’s music serves to immerse you into a world of oddities.
Inspired by the fictitious universe of the Atai, Rapheumets Well have unleashed three albums over the years, Dimensions (2014), Exile (2016) and Enders Door (2017) that progressively told a larger story portrayed in a complex saga of the Atai (ancient architects) who aid in the propagation of sentient life throughout the multi-verse. Returning in 2018, the sci-fi metallers are releasing their epic “The Elder’s Anthology” on October 26th on Test Your Metal Records. The release is a trilogy of sorts featuring selective tracks remixed and remastered from their three previous albums.
The band comments:
"The Elder's Anthology is a collection of songs (we felt) are important in re-igniting the lore of the previous albums. With new changes and new members, we felt it was important to transpose their skills into the foundation of the band. The Elder's Anthology is remastered with updated guitars, vocals, and baselines and we fell this was appropriate for moving forward with the next full-length album!"
Rapheumets Well have a new video "Witch of Darkspire" to present to fans in two versions, one is NSFW uncensored and the other censored.
Tracklisting:
“Resurrecting The Blood Gate”
“Dimensions”
“Crucible Of Titans”
“Resurgence”
“Witch Of Darkspire”
“The Betrayer (Part One)”
“They Cometh In Fire”
“Distress On The Aberrant Planet”
“Ghost Walkers Exodus”
Athens, GA based alternative rock band Lullwater has release the official music video for their socially critical single "American Glutton." Directed by Jason Thrasher, the song is off of the band's Revival album, released in 2015.
"No matter your age or political beliefs, we hope this video inspires you to continue to challenge the status quo and always question the "fake world on the TV screen." - John Strickland (vocals, guitar)
Back in August, Lullwater issued the official music video for their cover of Pearl Jam's "Release," off of the 1991 hit album TEN. "Release" features live footage with Dave Krusen (Pearl Jam, Candlebox) and Kevin Martin (Candlebox), and was recorded at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, WA, where TEN was originally recorded, with engineering and mixing by Justin Davis.
"The entire experience of recording Pearl Jam's ‘Release' in London Bridge Studios was so surreal. Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands and to cover that song in the same room as they did, was very emotional for me. I had no idea that a couple of years later we would be performing it live with Dave Krusen and Kevin Martin on the Candlebox tour; it’s such an odd and incredible feeling of living and experiencing the moments we've made because of ‘Release.' It's by far the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me as a musician. Thinking back to when I was in my adolescent years playing that song over and over and then one day to be performing it live with the original drummer, is simply crazy for me. ‘Release' has a special place in my heart and is one of my favorite songs to play live.” - John Strickland (vocals, guitar)
With their recently released full-length debut Warmageddon turning (and banging) heads around the globe, the Oakland-based thrash quintet Cultural Warfare has unveiled a music video for a song from the new album, “Eyes Of The Land.” The clip, which was directed by Mike Sloat (Testament, Machine Head), captures the spirit of the song's lyrics, which celebrate the Native American heritage of vocalist Jacques Serrano.
Says Serrano, “Cultural Warfare are very proud to have created a song that represents Native Americans. The song captures their spirit and strength and puts them in a light that is positive. It was fun to tell a story about them and the video encapsulates the lyrics while showing the performance aspect of the band. The entire process from music to video was very rewarding to all of us.”
Physical copies are available to order via M-Theory Audio.
Warmageddon is the follow-up to the Cultural Warfare's 2017 debut EP Future Kill. Recorded at California's Trident Studios with producer Juan Urteaga (Machine Head, Exodus) and mastered at Sweden's Fascination Street Studios by Jens Bogren (Sepultura, Kreator), Warmageddon is a “look into the future” where a “new world chaos” reigns supreme, according to the band. The album's artwork was designed by Brian Lewis (DevilDriver, Black Label Society).
Guitarist Billy Garoutte details the concept of Warmageddon further: “Decade after decade, humanity has been in constant battle. Now set in a post-apocalyptic time, there is a new form of humanity now known as the blood machines and the eye of the future that live off of what once was. The extinction of mankind has brought forth the Warmageddon and a new world order.”
Cultural Warfare create music that stays true to the classic Bay Area while creating a modern twist in the music to create a melodic, yet aggressive sound. With all five members of the band having long-standing roots in the Bay Area dating back to the golden age of thrash metal, Cultural Warfare understands the rich history and lineage of the classic bands that paved the way for the heavy bands of the modern age. With that said, the group has created a sound of their own while flying the flag for the legendary music that inspired them along the way.
Upon releasing Future Kill last year, the group performed throughout the Western United States alongside the likes of Warbringer, Apothesary, The Agonist, Hatriot and others. Whereas the EP found Kevin Doughty playing drums, Warmageddon sees him join Billy Garouette on guitar to make room for new percussionist Bones Padilla, a former tech for Biohazard.
The Bay Area has a legacy for great music throughout the decades, and the influence of the region’s thrash metal bands on the international scene is unparalleled. With their unique combination of traditional metal and aggressive, melodic thrash, Cultural Warfare furthers the area's legacy and proves that thrash is undoubtedly alive and well.
On November 16th, Metal Blade Records will finally release Skull Pit, the self-titled debut album from the American/Japanese collaboration. For a preview of Skull Pit, the video for the first single, "Fire Breather", can be found below.
Skull Pit is a tale of two musicians from opposite sides of the heavy metal spectrum and the planet: Tatsu, hailing from Tokyo/Japan, is the bassist and mastermind behind the internationally acclaimed doom outfit Church Of Misery; Mem, from New York/USA, is the singer and front-man of German thrash pioneers Exumer.
The album can be pre-ordered here in the following formats:
Skull Pit vocalist Mem comments: "This album perfectly captures the entire spectrum of what we were passionate about as youths and now as adults: unfiltered, honest and straight-forward heavy metal. The 'Fire Breather' video clip basically combines all the key elements of Skull Pit's global sonic attack in every frame. Shot in and around the desert of Las Vegas/Nevada, the clip was edited by known Japanese director Kazuaki Kimura, who immediately came on board after listening to the Skull Pit album!"
The two veterans endeavoured to combine their favourite elements of bands like Motörhead along with the countless outfits of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal into one blistering and highly energetic nine-track album. The songs on Skull Pit's debut are a clear departure from what Exumer or Church Of Misery usually sound like. Stepping away from Exumer's lighting fast rhythms and Church of Misery's slowed down, Iommi-inspired riffs, Skull Pit creates melodies in the vein of 70s hard rock and 80s NWOBHM with Lemmy's punk attitude.
Mixed in Tokyo by O-mi Kihara, Skull Pit was recorded in New York and Japan during Exumer's and Church of Misery's time off from playing live around the globe. The result is a free-flowing album that switches effortlessly between genres and boundaries, but always with the intent to deliver a razor sharp riff or a memorable hook.
Skull Pit didn't shy away from further expanding their all-inclusive attitude when it came to choosing and recording a cover song as a bonus track: Rose Tattoo's "All The Lessons". The song features Brian "Mitts" Daniels (ex-Madball), who produced Mem's vocal tracks in New York.
Skull Pit tracklisting:
"Double Cross"
"Roller"
"Fire Breather"
"Year Of The Dog"
"Soul Raiders"
"Blood Titan"
"Marauders"
"The Line"
"Wolf Spirit"
"All The Lessons" (bonus track)
Greek black metallers Lucifer's Child have released a video for "The Order", the title track of their upcoming second studio album, out on November 9th via Agonia Records. Watch the clip below.
The band, featuring members of Rotting Christ, Nightfall and Chaostar, recorded eight new songs clad in artwork by Daniele Valeriani (Dark Funeral, Dissection, Mayhem).
Lucifer's Child originates from Athens. Its music is a bridge to the world of atmospheric black metal, and a vessel for spiritual self-expression through lyrics. The goal of unifying these two elements gleamed clearly in the eyes of George Emmanuel, a prolific guitarist primarily known for his work as part of Rotting Christ (and a former guitarist of Chaostar), when he formed the band together with bassist Stathis Ridis (a member of another long-running Hellenic metal unit, Nightfall) in 2013. Born from a partnership between two talented musicians, the duo quickly expanded to take in vocalist Marios Dupont (Karma Violens) and drummer Nick Vell (Chaostar), and delivered their debut album The Wiccan in 2015. Encouraged by the album's keen reception, followed by several festival appearences (incl. Inferno Festival, Blastfest and Incineration Festival), Lucifer's Child returns in a darker, more extreme shade, passionate in outperforming its bold debut.
The Order was recorded, mixed and mastered in Emmanuel's own recording studio, Pentagram. He commented on the new album: "After three years of converging and sculpting our ideas and sounds we are ready to present our second full length album entitled The Order. Lucifer awaits!"
Album formats:
- Digipack CD
- Black LP
- Transparent Yellow LP
- T-shirt
- Digital
German metal ensemble Hammer King have released the official video for "The King Is A Deadly Machine", the first single from their forthcoming album, Poseidon Will Carry Us Home.
Hammer King will release their third full-length, Poseidon Will Carry Us Home, on October 5th via Cruz Del Sur Music. Recorded at Studio Greywolf with Powerwolf bassist Charles Greywolf at the helm, Poseidon Will Carry Us Home is an unabashed bow to classic, anthemic, hook-laden metal, proving Hammer King was more than up to the task of meeting the often-high expectations that come with a band's third album.
The album will be available on CD, digital, and black (300 copies) and blue (200 copies) vinyl LP formats. Pre-order Poseidon Will Carry Us Home at this location.
Variety abounds on Poseidon Will Carry Us Home, with Hammer King engaging in strident, call-to-arms jaunts like the opening title track and "Battle Of Wars". Twin guitar harmonies and fierce gallops highlight "7 Days And 7 Kings" and "Where The Hammer Hangs", while the true metal call is heeded on the mid-tempo "Warriors Of Angelhill" and "Glorious Nights Of Glory." Hammer King's progression is best exemplified on album standout "We Sail Cape Horn," an adventurous, sea-faring number that is equal nods to classic Iron Maiden and progressive rock.
An album stocked with future anthems at every corner, Poseidon Will Carry Us Home is representative of a band now hitting its creative stride - and fully realizing it.
For further details, visit Hammer King on Facebook.
Finland's Arion will release their new album, Life Is Not Beautiful, on October 19th via AFM Records. Pre-order the album here.
The band has released a video for the song "At The Break Of Dawn" featuring Amaranthe vocalist Elize Ryd. Check it out below.
"It was an absolute honor, pleasure and a dream come true to write this song for two great singers, one of them being a world renown super star and one of my favorite voices in metal. Elize did one hell of a job singing her part. I could easily say that this song is something to feel proud of for a very long time and represents the very best a collaboration like this can become", Iivo Kaipainen (songwriter) states.
Vocalist Lassi adds: "Amaranthe has been one of my favorite bands for a long time, so it was a huge honor to sing a duet with Elize. Her voice is so unique and makes the song more powerful. Now finally having Elize on the music video makes the song complete."
The idea for symphonic metal band Arion was hatched in the fall of 2011 in the famed music school Sibelius Lukio in Helsinki, where drummer Topias Kupiainen and keyboardist Arttu Vauhkonen got together with guitar whiz kid Iivo Kaipainen. In short order, the threesome found bass player Georgi Velinov and vocalist Viljami Holopainen to round out the band.
Musically astonishingly accomplished, the newcomers raised some serious waves right off the bat in January 2013 when they debuted their debut song “Lost”, a symphonic metal gem in its own right, on television, participating in Finnish television’s UMK song contest.
Soon enough the 17–18 year old teen prodigies’ exceptionally impressive musical chops caught the attention of Mr. Riku Pääkkönen, the owner of Ranka Kustannus and the mastermind behind the overnight success stories of Children Of Bodom, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica and several others. In May 2013 Arion signed a recording deal with Ranka and entered the studio to record their debut EP New Dawn. New Dawn was released in November 2013 the same year to critical acclaim, while the band was already forging one of the most jaw-dropping metal debuts in Finland ever, Last Of Us.
There’s probably no other nation as vigilant for melodic metal music as Japan, where the love for beauty and aesthetics has blanketed all sorts of art for millennia. The Japanese are famous for their appetite for power metal, so, as crazy as it might sound, it shouldn’t even surprise anyone that Arion played their first concerts in Tokyo and Nagoya already before releasing their debut album. Ergo, it’s only fitting that Arion became one of those ultra-rare European artists whose debut album was released in Japan before its domestic release. Grandiose yet heartfelt, Last Of Us still stands as a one of a kind jewel in its genre, an album that hasn’t lost one iota of its splendour since the day of its release in July 2014.
A year later, in August 2015, singer Viljami Holopainen amicably left the band stating that his heart lies in other kind of music, and the band announced their new singer, Lassi Vääränen. In March 2016 Vääränen’s mettle was tested and proven worthy with his recording debut as a member of Arion on the explosive duet “At The Break Of Dawn” with Elize Ryd of Amaranthe fame. To date “At The Break Of Dawn” still is in heavy radio rotation in the nationwide Finnish Radio Rock and stands as the most streamed Arion song across all digital platforms.
After three more powerhouse singles; the thought-provoking "Unforgivable”, the heartrending ballad “Through Your Falling Tears” and the clarion call “No One Stands In My Way”, scattered through the next 2.5 years bring us now to the brink of release of Arion’s sophomore album Life Is Not Beautiful. And as potent the singles quadrilogy is, Life Is Not Beautiful is much more than a hit singles compilation. No, we would venture to claim that songs such as the in-your-face “Punish You” and the bombastic, melodic bullet train of “The Last Sacrifice”, lest we forget the album’s closing statement “Life Is Not Beautiful”, will squish some rivalling songwriters’ self-confidence for years to come.
Crafted every bit as meticulously as its predecessor, Life Is Not Beautiful is Arion’s declaration of independence. On their debut largely guided by their kind colleagues Matias Kupiainen (Stratovarius) and Jani Liimatainen (The Dark Element, Cain’s Offering), Arion now proudly demonstrate the next level in their musical progress and band leader Iivo Kaipainen’s newly found lyrical prowess.
World of metal beware! Arion are not the curiosity of a band of green-horned teenager prodigies anymore. Having faced just the right amount of adversity to gel as a band and improved in leaps and bounds, Arion are not just able - they’re ready and raring to go.
Tracklisting:
"The End Of The Fall"
"No One Stands In My Way"
"At The Break Of Dawn" (Feat. Elize Ryd)
"The Last Sacrifice"
"Through Your Falling Tears"
"Unforgivable"
"Punish You"
"Life Is Not Beautiful"
"Last One Falls"
The Brew will release their new album Art Of Persuasion on October 5th via Napalm Records. With their second single, and the official video for it, the band present a fuzzy killer tune named "Gin Soaked Loving Queen". While the whole seventh studio album is a masterpiece, this song stands apart from the rest of the album and foreshadows why this trio is regarded as one of Europes hottest live acts.
So, be curious about stepping out of your normal everyday life at one of their shows and reveal your own "Gin Soaked Loving Queen"! Or as The Brew would say: "We‘ve all got a gin soaked Queen inside us, it’s just a matter of finding the key to let her out!"
After six fine and varied studio albums and zero lineup changes, the trio presents Art Of Persuasion, their seventh masterpiece. While proudly displaying the band’s influences - from Led Zeppelin to Wolfmother - the record easily avoids schlocky retro clichés.
The Brew says about the recordings: “While making this record, we fell into the grooves of the tunes and we’re still trying to climb our way out.”
Art Of Persuasion will be available in the following formats:
- 1 CD Digipack
- 1 LP Vinyl (Black)
- 1 LP Vinyl (Gold) (Napalm Mailorder exclusive)
- 1 LP Vinyl (Purple) (Napalm Mailorder exclusive)
- Digital Album
"Seven Days Too Long"
"One Line Crimes"
"Boomerang Fool"
"Gin Soaked Loving Queen"
"Naked As I Stand"
"Shaking The Room"
"Pointless Pain"
"Excess"
"Carry The News"
"Ghost Of The Nation"
"Pink Noise King"
Two-time Grammy-nominated rock band DISTURBED has hit No. 1 at rock radio with new single "Are You Ready", the band's 12th No. 1 single and the fastest chart-climber of its career, reaching the top spot in only six short weeks.
"Are You Ready", which has close to 4 million Spotify streams and a companion video with over 4.5 million YouTube views, appears on the band’s upcoming album, "Evolution", which is set for an October 19 release via Reprise.
DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan revealed in a recent interview with Redlands, California radio station KCAL that the music for "Are You Ready" was first composed 14 years ago. Donegan explained: "We just never finished it 'cause we had other material that was more complete back then. So I always just kind of put it in the vault; it was on the backburner. And this time around, as we were bringing up new ideas, I kind of just looked back at the archives of a few things that I never got around to finishing, and I just brought it back into the mix."
Donegan continued: "David [Draiman, vocals] gravitated towards it right away and just said, 'Oh, dude, this is awesome. I've got something great for this.' And he started just kind of scatting a melody on top of it. And after it was coming together, I reminded him. I go, 'Do you realize it's something I kind of wrote in 2004?' I'm glad we were able to finally finish it now, 14 years later."
he guitarist added that "Are You Ready" is probably the "closest" of the songs on the upcoming DISTURBED LP "Evolution" to the band's classic sound, adding that the rest of the material has "a lot of directions in here that's gonna turn some heads."
The "Are You Ready" video was directed by Roboshobo (a.k.a. Robert Schober), who has previously worked with METALLICA, ALICE IN CHAINS, MASTODON and GREEN DAY, among others.
Like 2015's "Immortalized", DISTURBED's new album was recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko.
DISTURBED will play a special intimate show at the 1,000-capacity Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on October 10, presented by SiriusXM.
The group has only one other show on its schedule so far for the rest of 2018, at the Austin City Limits music festival on October 13 in Austin, Texas.
Taiwanese metallers CHTHONIC have released a music video for a delicate acoustic version of "Millennia's Faith Undone", taken from their latest album "Battlefields Of Asura".
CHTHONIC usually leaves the audience a ferocious impression; however, the release of the acoustic album "Timeless Sentence" four years ago and the music video of "Defenders Of Bú-Tik Palace" (acoustic version) and "Kaoru" (acoustic version) not only made a splash but also led the audience to a different world created by CHTHONIC.
After the release of the music video of their new track "Millennia's Faith Undone" at the beginning of the month, CHTHONIC has now dropped the official music video of the "Aeon's Wraith" version (acoustic version), featuring Denise Ho, on the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival. The original crew, including director Birdy, lead actor and actress Finn and Chia-Yu Chang, created the finale of the series of stories. Being executed during the White Terror, the protagonist dies without a place to rest in peace, either is his last will sent to his wife and children. Starting its first page from "Kaoru" (acoustic version), the story finally comes to a sorrowful end which is also a traumatic moment in Taiwanese history.
To faithfully present the period setting in the new album, Birdy had the production of the music video take place at the historical architecture Yilan Literature Museum. Set in the antique traditional Japanese style house, the music video gives CHTHONIC a delicate vibe different from their onstage look; Denise Ho, who gladly agreed to be featured in CHTHONIC's latest album, first time setting foot in Yilan Literature Museum, also didn't hesitate to show her fondness of the location.
sually, in the acoustic version of CHTHONIC music videos, the costume designing tend to be more "low key." However, bassist Doris's glacial style added a crucial touch that left all the crew impressed. Doris noted that she's thankful for the hard work by the hair and makeup artists. Besides, compared to the past metal version music videos which require more dramatic expression and gesture than live performance, she prefers the shoot for the acoustic version as it allows more natural body movement of everyday life. Moreover, frontman Freddy stated that to prepare for the music video, he had to refresh his slightly rusty erhu playing. After a busy day in parliament, he still had to practice late at night. He also joked: "Luckily I'm not in the shot too much as I didn't play it right in a couple spots!"
CHTHONIC will release its first album in five years on October 12. Although the "Aeon's Wraith" version of "Millennia's Faith Undone" is not included in the album, it will be released as a single on vinyl. Worth mentioning, this will be the first CHTHONIC vinyl. As an avid vinyl collector, Jesse Liu, the guitarist in CHTHONIC, excitedly announces that he must be the first one to have the vinyl once it's done as he can't wait to have it in his collection.
SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS have released the new video for "Driving Rain", featuring hilarious live-action, animated adventure with ragdoll puppets. The song is the first single from SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS' new album, "Living The Dream", which was released on September 21 via Slash's own label Snakepit Records, in partnership with Roadrunner Records.
"Living The Dream" is Slash's fourth solo album, and third with Slash and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass and vocals) and Frank Sidoris (guitar and vocals).
Slash describes creating the fun clip: "The idea behind doing an animated video for 'Driving Rain' is mostly due to the dark subject matter of the song influencing directors to come up with very dramatic, dark and sullen regular live action treatments that weren't any fun at all (no offense to those guys). So, I wanted to create something that could be tongue-in-cheek and yet still be dark with live-action animation. We're all big fans of Stoopid Buddy and they came up with a great concept and treatment. We love the video and it came out effin' brilliant. FYI, no puppets were harmed during the making of this video."
"Our whole team at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios was beyond excited to work with Slash, Myles and those hard rocking CONSPIRATORS," explains John Harvatine IV, creative director and co-founder. "We had a blast creating a dramatic heart-pounding music video with rag-doll-like rod puppets and adrenaline-filled RC Jeeps. From this moment forward, 'Driving Rain' is now the 'Citizen Kane' of music videos!"
b>Slash described the creation of "Driving Rain": "This is a riff I specifically remember playing with the guys for the first time at a venue in New Hampshire on the 'World On Fire' tour. It's a cool guitar part we ran though, and from that point forward the rest of the song started to come together in my mind while on the road. We put it all together this year and Myles came up with a great melody for it." Myles Kennedy adds: "The riff is very reminiscent of vintage AEROSMITH. It's got a certain funk to it that's compelling. Lyrically, it's a story about somebody who works on the road — it could be a musician, and it could be a traveling salesman. What makes it interesting is this guy has an addict girlfriend or spouse who continues to relapse, and she ends up getting him to come home. She's miserable and falls back into bad old habits, and that compels him to head back to her to save the day."
Myles added: "It's another idea that had been around for years. To me, the riff is very reminiscent of vintage AEROSMITH. It's got a certain funk to it that is really compelling."
SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS just launched their North American headlining tour and will visit 20 major cities before ending October 16 back in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium.
Dutch metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION have released the official video for "The Reckoning", the first single from their forthcoming studio album, "Resist". The track features a guest appearance by PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix.
"He's so much fun!" WITHIN TEMPTATION vocalist Sharon Den Adel told Metal Hammer about Shaddix. "He's just fun to be around. After he recorded his part, he was, like, 'You guys are so great — you've been going 20 years, and with this song, you'll be going another 20."
"Resist" will be released on December 14. It is the band's first release through Spinefarm Records, the specialist hard rock label of Universal Music Group.
"Resist" will also feature IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén and ARID's Jasper Steverlinck on guest vocals.
b>"Resist" track listing:
01. The Reckoning (feat. Jacoby Shaddix)
02. Endless War
03. Raise Your Banner (feat. Anders Fridén)
04. Supernova
05. Holy Ground
06. In Vain
07. Firelight (feat. Jasper Steverlinck)
08. Mad World
09. Mercy Mirror
10. Trophy Hunter
"Resist" marks a departure from the WITHIN TEMPTATION's past. The record is armed with 10 anthemic tracks, driven by grand melodies and dark hooks. It brings a futuristic take on metal to the table — both instrumentally and thematically.
"'Resist' is a true milestone for us. If it wasn't for 'Resist', WITHIN TEMPTATION wouldn't be here anymore," the band stated.
"With this record, we've taken inspiration from modern music and gave it a face — a very dark one," Sharon said. "Sometimes, it feels that today's pop music lacks a rebellious edge. Our main goal was to collect pieces from sounds we did like and roughen it up as much as we could, resulting in a surprisingly new musical world that is heavier, dirtier and more futuristic than we've ever created before. 'Resist' is our take on metal in a new way: to give modern music its rebellious edge."
Earlier this year, Sharon told Cryptic Rock that the four years since the release of WITHIN TEMPTATION's last album, "Hydra", have been "like a roller coaster. It has always been like a roller coaster with WITHIN TEMPTATION, since the day we started the band," she explained. "The train started moving and it just has kept on going. Also, with 'Hydra', it was a very successful album, we toured everywhere in America and Europe. It was an intense tour again, although we did try to plan it a little bit better from previous years.
"When I returned home, I was pretty exhausted," she continued. "Normally, when I come back from a tour I have a lot of ideas and I want to start writing again immediately. This time, I didn't have any energy for anything, I was really exhausted. I thought, 'Okay, I am going to start anyway,' but nothing came out, and it was pretty frustrating. Also, that has always been my way to deal with life — I love writing music, it's the best thing for me, even more than being on stage because that's where everything starts creatively. There was an essential part of me that didn't work anymore. I didn't panic in the beginning, but later, I panicked a little bit more because I felt, 'Okay, if I don't have this anymore, did I lose the magic somewhere? What is happening to me and why?' Figuring that out, I came to the conclusion that I didn't have the kind of vibes I needed to write songs for WITHIN TEMPTATION. WITHIN TEMPTATION is big, storytelling, but epic and always very powerful as well as uplifting in a way. I didn't feel that way at all and it's very difficult to write that kind of music if you don't feel that.
"I felt like I needed to take a step back to see why that was happening and why I was feeling this way," she added. "It was taking more time for myself to do a little bit of soul searching. [Laughs] There was some time I took off for that, it's still a process that goes on and on, and it went deeper than I thought. I have been touring WITHIN TEMPTATION for so many years and there is always a pressure to perform. Also, I never really had the time to re-evaluate what I was doing, to think, do I still like what I am was doing? I liked what I was doing, but I never had the time to process the highs and lows of our career as well as personal life. That was in front of me and I needed to deal with it. Out of that came music again."
Den Adel's pop solo project, called MY INDIGO, released its self-titled debut album in April.
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