Finnish melodic death metal band Before The Dawn return after a decade-long hiatus and announce their new album, Stormbringers, to be released on June 30, 2023 via Napalm Records. Today, the band serves up a first taste of their upcoming album with the massive single, “Destroyer”, together with a captivating official music video.
“Destroyer” takes no prisoners - relentless drumming and ever-changing guitar lines build up a wall of sound that sets the tone for the album perfectly. Harsh sounds interfere with calmer parts, the intense clean vocals of Paavo Laapotti, and an astonishing guitar solo. Before The Dawn prove that even after their absence, they haven’t lost a glimpse of their power and unleash a storm - paving their way to reconquer the scene!
Before The Dawn on “Destroyer”: “'Destroyer' was the first song written for the new album, and being the spark that ignited the whole writing process, it deserves to be the first single as well. The song also reflects really well the rediscovered fire inside the band, and our determination and strength we have gathered during the ten years of hibernation.”
After a long ten-year hiatus, Finnish melodic death metal band Before The Dawn proudly returns! Formed in 1999, chart-cracking Before The Dawn reigned as one of the most successful Finnish metal bands of the early 2000’s, and since their burial in 2013, hundreds of thousands of new fans have discovered their music on streaming platforms, entirely without promotion or labels involved. Did the music find the people, or the people find the music - one can’t be sure, but after being inactive for almost a decade, Before The Dawn now returns with their first new full length studio album since their hiatus - and stronger than ever!
The band originated as Finnish Metal Award winning Tuomas Saukkonen’s (Wolfheart) solo project, but throughout the years, there have been several lineup changes. With the exciting new lineup, the band introduces its biggest changes so far. Previous guitarist and vocalist Saukkonen has moved behind the drums, and talented Voice Of Finland 2022 finalist Paavo Laapotti has taken on all vocalist duties, while Swallow The Sun’s Juho Räihä - who has been with Before The Dawn since 2006 - performs lead guitar duties. Now, the Finns have fully transformed into their new power and are ready to reconquer the scene!
Before The Dawn on Stormbringers: “Stormbringers breaks a silence that lasted over ten years and brings Before The Dawn back stronger than ever. A decade of gathering strength, growing the hunger and building determination and now it is time for our eighth album to see the light of the day and bring the band back on the road.”
Tracklisting:
"The Dawn"
"Destroyer"
"Reveries"
"Downhearted"
"Chains"
"Divided"
"The Dark"
"Chaos Star"
"The Weight"
Stormbringers will be available in the following formats:
Frontiers Music Srl will release of the new studio album from dark metallers False Memories, Hybrid Ego System, on June 9. Pre-order/save the new album here.
Hybrid Ego System follows the band's last release, The Last Night Of Fall, which was composed by guitarist/producer Francesco Savino (Demons Down, T3NORS) and vocalist Rossella Moscatello. The duo also oversaw the creation of the new album, with drummer Emanuele Cossu, guitarist Moreno Palmisano, and new bassist Davide Tavecchia rounding out the lineup.
Hybrid Ego System sees False Memories continuing to explore the farthest reaches of dark metal while still exploring their fondness for progressive metal. And as a special treat, legendary vocalist Anette Olzon (The Dark Element, ex-Nightwish) joins the band for a duet with Rossella on the track, "The Storm Inside". Watch a video for the song below.
Beginning in 2021, False Memories have enjoyed a burst of creativity and activity that has heightened their profile. First, they released their well received album, The Last Night Of Fall, before closing out 2021 with a covers EP, Echoes Of A Reflection, where they paid tribute to Lacuna Coil, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, The Gathering, and All About Eve.
2022 would see the band release a special live EP, Live Until The Twilightl on all digital music platforms, and embarking on a European tour with labelmates Semblant. Additionally, vocalist Rossella Moscatello and Francesco Savino contributed their songwriting talents to tracks for their labelmates Revolution Saints' album Eagle Flight. Of course, in 2022 the band also worked on their new album, Hybrid Ego System.
Tracklisting:
"The Storm Inside" (ft. Anette Olzon)
"Holding On"
"Rising Tide"
"The Other Side"
"Rise Again"
"Stains"
"Concrete"
"Insanity"
"From Dust"
"Fragments Of Your Ego"
"Shed My Skin"
"The Storm Inside" (Rossella Only Vocal) (Digital Bonus Track)
Arjen Lucassen’s Supersonic Revolution will release their debut album, Golden Age Of Music, on May 19 via Music Theories Recording/Mascot Label Group. A music video for the new single, "Golden Age Of Music", can be viewed below.
Says Arjen: "I'm beyond excited to share the official music video for 'Golden Age Of Music', the new single from my 70's passion project, Supersonic Revolution. This is the title track of the album and it represents everything the record stands for."
You think you know Arjen Lucassen? Towering Dutch prog rock polymath? The man behind the super successful prog rock conceptualists Ayreon? Not to mention his prog metal of Star One and Guilt Machine? Enormous overarching concept albums about space and time, packed to the hilt with special guests that read like a who’s who of modern day progressive rock? Arjen Lucassen? Well, think again…
Supersonic Revolution, the band behind Golden Age Of Music, are simply five men: Arjen on bass, long-standing keyboard player Joost van den Broek, guitarist Timo Somers, drummer Koen Herfst and singer Jaycee. Five men rocking out and having one hell of a time doing it.
The whole project grew from a request to provide a track for a cover CD for the German music magazine Eclipsed. “They asked if I had any cover versions lying around,” he recalls. “I said, ‘No but I’ll happily record one for you.’ So, they gave me a list of bands and I saw a ZZ Top song ‘I Heard It On The X’ that I really like. I said I could record it for them, but then they told me it had to be ready in one week...”
“I was like ‘Oh my god!’. I contacted my favorite musicians in Holland via WhatsApp and literally within 30 minutes I had assembled five people. A band basically. From there the seed was sown in Lucassen’s mind. ‘I want to form a band. And I want to simply have fun!’.
“I’m a perfectionist as you know, so I’m always sending musicians their parts back and asking them to change stuff,” he acknowledges. “But this was all brilliant. We were having fun, calling and WhatsApping all the time, and within a week we had a complete product.” He continues, “Also I wanted to have an up-beat, positive project.”
“I was like, let’s form a band and let’s write songs in the style of the 70s, and have the lyrics be a celebration of all the memorable things from that time, because those were my formative years,” he enthuses. “But I didn’t want it to sound like the 70s because that’s already been done, and I can’t do it any better than ‘Stargazer’ or ‘Kashmir’.”
“The guys are all younger than me - around 30 - so they weren’t even alive yet in the 70s. So, it was a great way for me to make 70s music with lots of Hammond and blistering guitars, but to update it to this time.”
The end result is 11 tracks of high energy, progressively inclined heavy rock that swings with the kind of groove Deep Purple rocked with in the early to mid-1970s. “This album is not a typical prog album. It’s not YES or Genesis. But it’s not a metal album either. There’s a track called ‘Burn it Down’,” Lucassen notes, “it’s totally based on ‘Smoke On The Water’ but written from the perspective of the ‘stupid with a flare gun’ mentioned in the original lyrics.
The album also features covers of some legendary songs given the Arjen Lucassen treatment as bonus tracks: T-Rex’s "Children Of The Revolution", ZZ Top’s "Heard It On The X", Earth Wind & Fire’s "Fantasy" and Roger Glover’s "Love Is All".
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the real Arjen Lucassen. Job done. Having fun.
Available formats:
- Artbook
- Transparent Blue 2LP
- Pink Marble 2LP
- Purple Marble 2LP
- Yellow Marble 2LP
- CD
- Digital
"SR Prelude"
"The Glamattack"
"Golden Age Of Music"
"The Rise Of The Starman"
" Burn It Down"
"Odyssey"
"They Took Us By Storm"
"Golden Boy"
"Holy Holy Ground"
"Fight Of The Century"
"Came To Mock, Stayed To Rock"
"Children Of The Revolution" (Bonus Track)
"Heard It On The X" (Bonus Track)
"Fantasy" (Bonus Track)
"Love Is All" (Bonus Track)
Anubis Gate, Denmark's premier prog-power metal band, will unleash their new album, Interference, on CD and digital formats on June 2 via Animated Insanity Records (North America) and No Dust Records (Europe).
The band comments: Anubis Gate,are ready to present their new album of 10 original songs entitled Interference. Interference is a varied collection of material written and produced during the last six years.”
Musically this ninth Anubis Gate album is even more melodic while also harder edged. More direct while also containing the most experimental songs in their catalog. It has the hardest song, but also the most haunting song the band has done. The album is very focused, while also perhaps being their most varied to date.
Tracklisting:
"Emergence"
"Ignorance Is Bliss"
"Number Stations"
"The Phoenix"
"Equations"
"Dissonance Consonance"
"The Intergalactic Dream Of"
"World Of Clay"
"Interference"
"Absence"
"Emergence" video:
Anubis Gate lineup:
Henrik Fevre - Vocals, Bass
Kim Olesen - Guitar, Keyboards
Michael Bodin - Guitar
Morten Gade Sørensen - Drums
The darkness is dead, long live the darkness! The 69 Eyes' new studio album, Death Of Darkness« is finally out today via Atomic Fire Records (physical North American versions will be out in a week). To celebrate its release, the Finnish gothic/glam rock icons took this train with them to the official video for their new track, "This Murder Takes Two", an extraordinary song they co-authored with popular singer/tattoo artist Kat Von D . On the one hand, this offers fans the uniquely glamorous dark sound of the quintet, but on the other hand it also shows the extraordinary side of their new work.
"Jyrki 69 (vocaks): "John Carter Cash, Johnny Cash's son, was once with us in talks about recording and producing an acoustic EP at Johnny Cash's legendary Cabin Studios in America. So we recorded some potential tracks, but they never really got played. Apparently we were so taken with this song that we still haven't gotten rid of it to this day. Finally, what was missing was a touch of femininity, so we asked our good friend Kat Von D to sing the song. This is my absolute favorite [on the record]. "
Kat Von D: "It's always a great pleasure to work with the The 69 Eyes guys. Especially because I've been a big fan of their music for a long time. 'This Murder Takes Two' really is a special song. Although it's not in the same style I usually sing, it was really great fun to step out of my comfort zone for this recording. Jyrki just has this wonderful way of giving everything a certain pinch of gothic romance - and in this case even a western song."
Death Of Darkness was recorded and produced by Erno Laitinen at Inkfish Studios in Helsinki. Miles Walker took care of the mixing at Westside Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia alongside with Erno Laitinen while mastering duties were handled by Tom Baker. The artwork was created by the UK artist Adrian Baxter (Paradise Lost, The Halo Effect, Mayhem, Schammasch).
Death Of Darkness will be available in the following the formats:
- Digipak CD
- Blue-Clear vinyl
- Blood Red Marbled vinyl
- Digital
Order the album in the physical format of your choice or save it on your favorite DSP, here.
Death Of Darkness tracklisting:
"Death Of Darkness"
"Drive"
"Gotta Rock"
"This Murder Takes Two" feat. Kat Von D
"California"
"Call Me Snake"
"Dying In The Night"
"Something Real"
"Sundown"
"Outlaws"
"Gotta Rock":
"Drive" video:
Recently The 69 Eyes announced their upcoming Gotta Rock tour dates through Europe and the US. See all confirmed dates below.
The 69 Eyes lineup:
Jyrki 69 - vocals
Bazie - guitars
Timo Timo - guitars
Archzie - bass
Jussi 69 - drums
Iberian black/death metal practitioners, Noctem, performed "A Cruce Salas" from during their set at Bloodstock Open Air 2022. Watch professionally-filmed footage below.
Video of the band performing "The Black Consecration" is also available.
The band’s new full-length, Credo Certe Ne Cras, was released last October via MNRK Heavy. Find order options here.
Credo Certe Ne Cras trackisting:
"I Am Alpha"
"Sovereign Providence"
"Sanctum Of Anguish"
"Credo Certe Ne Cras"
"Homilia Of Punishment"
"The Pale Moon Rite"
"The Tolling Of The Nine Bells"
"Chalice Of Turpitude"
"Ceremonial Miasma"
"We Are Omega"
"Credo Certe Ne Cras" video:
"We Are Omega" video:
Noctem:
Beleth - vocals
Varu - bass
Voor - drums
Moss - guitars
Tobal - guitars
Florida death metal legends Hellwitch have released the video for “Delegated Disruption” taken from the forthcoming album Annihilational Intercention scheduled for a digital release on June 2 and on CD, vinyl , cassette on June 30.
Originally formed in 1984, old school Florida death metal legends, Hellwitch, are back with their unique brand of highly energetic, incisive, thrashing death metal. The band has always sounded insanely catchy, always balancing technicality to a great measure, Hellwitch have drafted some genuine classic songs over the years and their new album is a culmination of all such works and experience.
Band leader Pat Ranieri comments about the artwork for Annihilational Intercention: "The cover of Annihilational Intercention is what is coming in the future of mankind on this wretched planet. The Judge is in the final stages of administering punishment to our race, eradicating every last being. Having biologically and supernaturally evolved to possess otherworldly powers, his psychic assault is manifested in spears of burning energy and levitational force. His apocalyptic "Horsemen" look on with hatred, aiding the cause. The poisoned, decimated world that surrounds tells the tale of man left to his own devices."
June
5 - Milestone Club - Charlotte, NC
6 - Powers BMX Shop - Richmond, VA
7 - The Kennel at West York Inn - York, PA
8 - The Fire - Philadelphia, PA
9 - Pie Shop - Washington, DC
10 - Lurking Class Skate Shop - Salisbury, MD
11 - Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn, NY
November
3-5 - Mass Destruction Fest at The Loft - Atlanta, GA
More dates to be added soon.
Hellwitch lineup:
Pat Ranieri - Guitars, Vocals
J.P. Brown - Guitars
Brian Wilson - Drums
Berlin-based atmospheric post metal collective The Ocean will return with the follow-up to their critically acclaimed Phanerozoic double album— Holocene— on May 19. On this new record, The Ocean are presenting a gear shift toward the electronic world while reaching new depths of heaviness at the same time. Preorder at the Pelagic Records webstore.
This heaviness is palpable on the band's new single "Subatlantic,” which starts off with trip-hop beats and dark psychedelia and slowly gains momentum to eventually culminate in an unexpectedly heavy grand finale of the album. Intricate and heavy guitar riffs are built over a propulsive rhythm section and when vocalist Rossetti eventually screams "prepare for departure," it has become clear that this is the closing of not just a record, but a series of paleontology-inspired albums that the band started 16 years ago with their seminal Precambrian LP in 2007.
Subatlantic's brilliant new music video, once again directed by Drew Storcks, continues right where the previous album track, "Parabiosis" left off. In the new video, the doctor-protagonist whose patients signed up for a de-aging program and ended up in their own personal purgatories (pictured in the previous video) is being chased by an anonymous masked figure through rainforest and across tropical beaches. The clip was filmed on tour in Puerto Rico after the band's recent North American tour with Katatonia, with band members acting in the clip.
On the first half of "Subatlantic," The Ocean's Massive Attack influence is quite obvious and makes more sense than listeners could have ever guessed within the context of this band.
The Ocean's Peter Voigtmann mentions: “We're all huge fans of 'Mezzanine,' which is still one of the best-produced albums to date. It has aged incredibly well. And for me it is an immensely heavy album too, a different kind of heaviness but one that somehow connects logically with what we've been doing with The Ocean over the course of the past two albums.”
BraveWords is premiering Cruzados new video for "Land Of The Endless Sun", the title track of the band's new EP, produced by Bruce Witkin. Stream the EP here, and watch the video below.
"Recording our new 6-song EP Land Of The Endless Sun brought me back to our early days in the Cruzados. The guitar sounds we got thanks to Loren Molinare and Mark Tremalgia are tough as nails and set the mode for the entire EP. Ron Young belts out even stronger on this collection and the songs cover a wide range of classic Cruzados styles from the desert sound to 60s garage, all rounded out with a backbeat by drummer Rob Klonel that propels each track,” says Tony Marsico, co-founder/ bassist.
“This was a fun group of songs to record. It highlights so many of the band’s influences that we love to weave into our set. It keeps the Cruzados legacy going. Getting to work with our favorite Producer, Bruce Witkin again was also a blast as he makes us so comfortable all through the tracking that it makes the music flow out of us and he gets great performances from each of us," says lead singer Ron Young.
Tracklisting
"Dead Inside"
"Land Of The Endless Sun"
"Golden Child"
"A Little More Time"
"Queen Of The Quake"
"Johnny Pay To Play"
"Land Of The Endless Sun" video:
- Recorded at Unison Studios Feb 18-22, 2023
- Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Bruce Witkin
- All songs written by Marsico, Klonel, Molinare, Tremalgia, Young
- Additional Keyboards- Bruce Witkin
- Mastered by Dave Schultz at D2 Mastering
On the way from Cruzados is a collection of live music recorded in Europe from the band's 2022 tour. Live From Marseille is a full-length live album that contains performances of Cruzados band classics and some new tunes from 2022-2023. Further details to follow.
Cruzados' European tour kicks off this spring, April 27 through May 27 with stops in Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany.
Tour dates:
April
27 - Verviers, Belgium - Spirit Of 66
28 - Besançon, France - Bar De L’U
29 - Dortmund, Germany - Blue Notez
May
1 - Girona, Spain - Sala la Torrentera
3 - Madrid, Spain - Rockville
4 - Zaragoza, Spain - Rock & Blues
5 - Aviles, Spain - Sala Malecón
6 - Cangas, Spain - Salason
7 - A Coruña, Spain - Mardi Gras
8 - Leon, Spain - Babylon
11 - Orihuela, Spain - La Gramola
12 - Castellon de la Plana, Spain - Sala Because
13 - Barcelona, Spain - La Textil
14 - Vitoria, Spain - Urban Rock Concept
16 - Marseille, France - Cherrydon
17 - Chambéry, France - Brin De Zinc
19 - Kufstein, Austria - Fufa
20 - Lauchhammer, Germany - Real Music Club
22 - Norderstedt, Germany - MusicStar
23 - Bremen, Germany - Meisenfrei
26 - Krefeld, Germany - Kulturrampe
27 - Fürth, Germany - New Orleans Fest (Open Air)
Lineup:
Ron Young: Lead Vocals
Tony Marsico: Bass, Vocals
Rob Klonel: Drums
Mark Tremalgia: Guitar, Vocals
Loren Molinare: Guitar, Vocals
The Cruzados attracted national attention in the ‘80s with their stormy, Latin-inflected brand of post-punk hard rock. Signed to Clive Davis’ Arista Records, the quartet issued two albums, Cruzados (1985) and After Dark (1987). They also made a high-profile screen appearance in the 1989 cult classic Road House. However, familiar rock ‘n’ roll pressures capsized the band in 1991; guitarist Marshall Rohner died in 2005, and drummer Chalo “Charlie” Quintana died in 2018.
In the intervening years, Marsico worked on the debut album by Plugz and Cruzados singer-guitarist Tito Larriva’s band Tarantula, today based in Austin. He also carved out a notable career as a top session musician and touring sideman with such artists as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey, Marianne Faithfull, and Willie Nelson. The bassist’s studio and road stories are collected in two books, Late Nights with Bob Dylan (2009) and I’m Just Here for the Gig! (2020).
With the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and the enforced solitude that followed, Marsico began to contemplate a new project under the Cruzados handle.
“Being penned up with the pandemic at home for a year, I started questioning my mortality,” he says. “I felt like I got shortchanged with the Cruzados. We never got to put out a third album, due to a lot of crazy circumstances that cropped up. I wanted to do the band justice and go out on a high note. That was my goal, and to pay tribute to Chalo and Marshall.”
Material for a new Cruzados release came quickly. It didn’t take long for Marsico to decide on the right musicians to carry on the Cruzados’ legacy in the studio: He turned to singer Ron Young and guitarists Loren Molinare and Mark Tremalgia of Little Caesar, who were also active on the L.A. scene in the late ‘80s as a Geffen Records act. The core lineup was completed by drummer Ron Klonel, who has collaborated with Little Caesar in recent years.
“The Little Caesar guys were Chalo’s best friends – they were pals from back in the day,” Marsico says. “I had to find the best guy to be the lead singer. My tastes have changed a little – the influences are blues and rock ‘n’ roll. I knew that Ron Young from Little Caesar loved blues, and we got to talking and we hit it off with the same style of music. I knew that he could pull this off and get behind it.
“Loren Molinare was in the great ‘70s L.A. band the Dogs, of course, and I loved the Dogs, and Mark Tremalgia is a new guy I’ve been working with for a couple of years now. Rob Klonel is a great, solid rock ‘n’ roll drummer. It was really important for me to get someone who hit ‘em hard like Chalo. They were a perfect combination of guys, and they had a lot of enthusiasm.”
With Bruce Witkin engineering and producing, the new Cruzados set up shop at Unison Studios in L.A. Marsico recalls, “We did it all “old style “– we just set up in a room all together, like we used to do records before they started putting everybody in isolation booths and all that crap. We got the band together and rehearsed, and we went into the studio a week later. Before we knew it, we had the album. All live, no click tracks. We all played in our own little area, with our masks on. Set up, play, cut the songs, boom. It felt great to rock with a bunch of like-minded guys. With our special guests, half of them came to the studio, and half recorded their parts at home.”
Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein's band, Doyle, performed at the 2022 edition of Bloodstock Open Air. Professionally-filmed footage of the band's full set can be seen below:
The Original Misfits, one of the most influential, genre-defining bands to emerge from North America, have announced a limited run of shows for 2023 kicking off on June 24 in Tampa at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre with Megadeth, hitting the band’s home turf of NJ at the Prudential Center in Newark on July 8 with fellow New Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem, followed by a performance at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on July 15 in Phoenix with AFI. All three dates will also have support from Fear.
The tour will give fans the rare opportunity to see the horror punk pioneers in their fiendish glory, live on stage as well as mark the first time the reunited Original Misfits have visited the states of Florida and Arizona, featuring the classic lineup of original singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig and original bassist Jerry Only with longtime guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.
Dates:
June
24 - Tampa, FL - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre (Tickets)
July
8 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (Tickets)
15 - Phoeniz, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (Tickets)
Ulvedharr has released a video for “Wasteland”, third single taken from the new album Inferno XXXIII to be released on April 21 through Scarlet Records. Find the video below, and pre-order the album here.
Mixed and mastered by Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio (Fleshgod Apocalypse, Decrepit Birth, Hideous Divinity), Inferno XXXIII will be released in the following formats:
- vinyl (limited edition)
- jewel case CD
- digital
Tracklisting:
"A Full Reload Of Fear"
" Wasteland"
"Revenge Loop"
"Dagon"
"Master Liar"
"The Edge"
"Eternal Attack"
"Their Game"
"A New God"
"Oblivion"
"Wasteland" video:
"Dagon" video:
Ulvedharr lineup:
Ark Nattlig Ulv - vocals
Jack Draven - guitar
Magnus Frost - guitar
Markus Ener - bass
Mike Bald - drums
Stratuz is an atmospheric death/doom metal band based in Venezuela and they have issued their new live video for “Back To The Sun“. The track comes off of their album Osculum Pacis, which was released in April 2022. Having disbanded in 2006, and reformed in 2019, this latest offering pushed them to increase the technicality of the playing and work harder in the studio. Many years away from the scene led them to experiment with other musical currents, nourish themselves, and create inspirational, gloomy, and engaging music.
They comment on the single “Back To The Sun“:
“It could be said that it is a kind of ritual, where a living master who has left a deep mark among his followers through his teachings is bid farewell, and these, as a sign of respect, prepare his return home, the abode from which we all come. It is the closing of a cycle of transformation, transmutation, life and death or death and life.”
Stratuz invites you to become immersed in their universe of sound and delve into the themes of the human being from existential, philosophical, and religious points of view. Awaken your senses with eleven tracks that ebb and flow through dreary gutturals, majestic choruses, and heart-pumping riffs.
The band is currently preparing to continue promoting their latest album Osculum Pacis in Venezuela and other countries. Order the album on Bandcamp.
The live video for “Back To The Sun” was taken from their memorable performance this past March 10 in the Venezuelan city of Caracas, where they were accompanied by a string ensemble and a choir.
For Rimouski, Quebec, Canada’s Vortex, delivering a story is of utmost importance and unsurprisingly their last two albums The Asylum (2016) and Lighthouse (2018) have been epic concept albums set to their signature orchestral blackened melodic death metal. The third installment in their discography is The Future Remains In Oblivion, which builds on their sound with added black metal influence, a heavy dose of aggressiveness and a buildup of intensity and emotion as the storyline progresses.
The first single “First Blood”, premiered exclusively through BraveWords, is the sixth chapter, out of eight and the band shares what can be expected:
“The single is a war and survival song. It has aggressive black metal riffing and vocals in its verses, atmospheric orchestral melodic death in its choruses, huge choirs, epic soloing, it has all what Vortex does at its best. We can’t wait to show how we have evolved since the last album. This is war. The survivors of the cataclysm are coming again, but this time in greater numbers and much more prepared. ‘This battle brought us our first suffering. In this battle, our first blood, our first deaths’.”
Watch and draw "First Blood":
When it comes to writing, Vortex starts with the story first, something worth talking about. Each song becomes a chapter and then the music can start to form based on the feeling of the tale. That process is diversified, sometimes the orchestra is the backbone of the song and sometimes it’s added once the drums and guitars are all written. All the band members participate in different degrees to the writing process, bringing their own influences into the mix.
The songs you will encounter on this upcoming release are aggressive, but Vortex also has a strong melodic approach and a lot of orchestrations combined with guttural and black metal vocals, and diverse guitars that alternate between howling shreds and beautiful, emotional riffs. It is recommended for fans of Shadow Of Intent, Septicflesh and Dimmu Borgir. Find preorders here.
In additional news, Vortex will be performing in the Wacken Metal Battle Canada Eastern Final on Friday, April 21 in Montreal, QC at Piranha Bar alongside Fracturus (Montreal), Turbo (Halifax), Serene Dark (Ottawa) and Strigampire (Trois Rivieres).
Tracklisting:
“From The Sun”
“Downfall”
“The Fool”
“The Walls”
“Our Possible End”
“First Blood”
“The Future Remains In Oblivion”
“When No More Words Will Be Heard”
EXTREME's latest single "Rise" has seen unprecedented success following its debut on March 1 alongside a fiery music video which has received over two million views to date. The critically acclaimed song, from their new album "Six", due out June 9 via earMUSIC, has earned praise from international top tier media outlets, including Consequence, Classic Rock, Music Radar and Guitar World, in addition to accolades from such fellow musical peers as Brian May (QUEEN) and radio personality Howard Stern while peaking at No. 3 on the classic rock charts.
The band — Gary Cherone (vocals),Nuno Bettencourt, Pat Badger (bass) and Kevin Figueiredo (drums) — has today (April 19) shared two new singles along with dazzling videos to accompany each: "Banshee" and "#Rebel".
"Banshee" is a seductive classic hard rock tune with a chugging rhythm section, playful guitar wizardry and electrifying vocals that testify to the power and inspiration of the female form and spirit." "#Rebel" takes on scathing so-called keyboard warriors with its head-nodding beat and searing dive bomb lead guitar runs catering to the harder edges of EXTREME's sound. "We're calling out those trolls who can't back up their words," explains Cherone.
EXTREME will bring "Six"'s music to audiences across the globe on the "Thicker Than Blood" tour. The trek will see the band visit North America from August 2 to August 29 and Australia from September 6 to September 13, where they will be joined by special guests LIVING COLOUR. EXTREME will also continue to bring the "Thicker Than Blood" tour to audiences in Japan from September 17 to September 26.
A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, April 19 at noon (12:00 p.m.) local time and end on Thursday, April 20 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code "SIX" to access tickets before the general public. General on-sale will be Friday, April 21 at 10 a.m. local.
On "Six", EXTREME swings between unapologetic fits of fret-burning hard rock and intimately introspective balladry. For the recording of the Bettencourt-produced 12-track album, the members buckled down at his home studio in Los Angeles to channel the electrifying eclecticism that defined their seminal output with a 21st century twist.
This dynamic affirms the iconic Boston quartet as one of rock's most unpredictable, undeniable, and unbreakable groups whose songs course through the very fabric of popular culture. They're the rare band whose music has appeared in an actual cult series a la "Bill & Ted" as well as the Netflix juggernaut "Stranger Things". They've sold 10 million records, topped the Billboard Hot 100, packed major venues on multiple continents, memorably performed at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in London, and regularly average over five million monthly listeners on Spotify. However, their dynamic approach hits harder than ever on "Six".
EXTREME tour dates:
Apr. 29 - May 4 - Cape Canaveral Trailer Village, FL - Monsters of Rock Cruise
May 6-7 - Columbia, MD - M3 Rock Festival
Jun. 2 - Sao Paulo, BR - Best of Blues and Rock Festival
Aug. 2 - Portland, ME - State Theatre #
Aug. 3 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom #
Aug. 5 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner #
Aug. 6 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount #
Aug. 8 - Reading, PA - Santander Performing Arts Center #
Aug. 10 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom #
Aug. 11 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theater #
Aug. 12 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theater #
Aug. 14 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall #
Aug. 15 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater #
Aug. 17 - Gary, IN - Hard Rock Live #
Aug. 18 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre #
Aug. 19 - Cedar Rapids, IA - The Paramount #
Aug. 21 - Denver, CO - The Ogden #
Aug. 22 - Albuquerque, NM - Revel Entertainment Center #
Aug. 24 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues #
Aug. 26 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency #
Aug. 28 - Portland, OR - TBD #
Aug. 29 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox #
Sep. 06 - Perth, AU - Regal Theatre #
Sep. 08 - Adelaide, AU - Hindley Street Music Hall #
Sep. 10 - Melbourne, AU - Forum #
Sep. 12 - Sydney, AU - Enmore Theatre #
Sep. 13 - Brisbane, AU - Fortitude Music Hall #
Sep. 17 - Sendai, JP - Sendai Gigs
Sep. 19 - Yokohama, JP - KT Zepp Yokohama
Sep. 21 - Tokyo, JP - Hitomi Memorial Hall
Sep. 25 - Nagoya, JP - Shimin Kaikan Hall
Sep. 26 - Osaka, JP - Zepp Namba
Greek guitar virtuoso Gus G., well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as leader of his own band FIREWIND, has released the official music video for "Not Forgotten", an instrumental song taken from his latest solo album, "Quantum Leap".
The "Not Forgotten" clip arrives the day before the launch of Gus's "Electric Guitarlands" European tour, also featuring Michael Angelo Batio (MANOWAR),Rowan Robertson (DIO) and Andy Martongelli.
Says Gus: "Hey everyone! I'm really excited about the 'Electric Guitarlands' tour that kicks off tomorrow! Not only it's my first solo tour in 4 years, but it'll be my first time presenting material from my latest album 'Quantum Leap' on stage. The album came out during the pandemic and I haven't had a chance to tour this, until now. Moreover, I get to share the stage with legendary guitarists Michael Angelo Batio and Rowan Roberson. Italian shredder Andy Martongelli rounds up the bill and this is going to be a guitar event you don't wanna miss! We will all play individual sets with a full band plus you'll get to see all of us jamming and improvising on stage together! Hope to see you out there at a show!"
"Quantum Leap" came out in October 2021 via AFM Records. Shortly before the LP's release, Gus stated about the effort: "It's my first all-instrumental solo album. So this means there's no vocals at all, no guest singers; it's just me and my guitar… I'm really excited about this album. It was about time that I stepped up and did a full-on instrumental guitar album. A lot of people have been asking me and pushing me to do this. And to be honest, I always turned it down. But I think the recent situation with the pandemic and the fact that everybody, we all had to stay locked in in our houses and we went through months of quarantine and lockdown, that kind of sparked ideas and got me to… Music was my only gateway, basically, so that's what I did; I just made songs. I couldn't fly to another country and meet with other musicians and do pre-production or anything like that, so I just decided to write stuff on my own and just make a guitar album. There's a lot of cool stuff on there — different stuff. Obviously, my style is all over the place. I tried to push the envelope a little bit and explore some new things."
Regarding the other musicians who appear on "Quantum Leap", Gus said: "I have two amazing players with me on the record. One of them you already know. It's Dennis Ward [PINK CREAM 69, UNISONIC]. Dennis has worked with me in the past. We've worked together the past five years, actually. We've done two FIREWIND albums together. He's been co-producing and co-writing with me. And also my previous solo record, 'Fearless', he played bass and he sang. He's a great singer. He's a multi-talented guy. He mixed and mastered the record and also played bass on most of the songs. I played bass on a couple of the tracks. I also did the keyboards. And I also have a great drummer from England, [Jan-]Vincent Velazco. He's great. He plays amazingly."
As for why he chose to name his new solo album "Quantum Leap", Gus said: "I liked the title. It sounded nice. It was something different. 'Quantum leap' means when you're taking a big step, so for me, making an instrumental album and letting my guitar do the talking was a big step for me, for once. I've always worked with singers and collaborated with many people, but this time, I decided to just let the guitar be a voice. So this was my quantum leap."
In September 2019, Gus issued a digital-only solo EP, "Live In Budapest - Part 1", consisting of four tracks recorded on the guitarist's headline European tour in support of his "Fearless" album. The world tour saw Gus and his band share stages around the world with legendary guitarists like Richie Kotzen, Vinnie Moore followed by his own headline dates and a massive tour as special guest of Los Angeles rockers STEEL PANTHER.
"Fearless" was released in April 2018 via AFM Records. The follow-up to 2015's "Brand New Revolution" marked Gus's first release since exiting Osbourne's band in 2017.
On "Fearless", Gus joined forces with Ward and drummer Will Hunt (EVANESCENCE).
FIREWIND's ninth, self-titled studio album was made available in May 2020.
Prior to the LP's arrival, the band parted ways with guitarist/keyboardist Bob Katsionis and singer Henning Basse.
FIREWIND's current vocalist is Herbie Langhans, who has previously played with AVANTASIA and SINBREED.
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