“Emergency” is the haunting opening track of MSG’s upcoming new studio album, Universal, set for release on May 27th via Atomic Fire Records.
The album’s first single comes along with an official music video, produced by Justin Griffiths. Comments MICHAEL SCHENKER, “‘Emergency’ is quite a complicated song with different rhythms but catchy at the same time. It’s fun to play and to listen to. Enjoy and keep on rocking.”
View MSG’s “Emergency” video at THIS LOCATION or below:
Universal will be available as a CD digipak (including two bonus tracks), Earbook (CD including two bonus tracks), on vinyl, and digitally. Find preordering options at THIS LOCATION.
For over 30 years, J.B.O. are the specialists for vociferous escapism at the highest stage. Gold albums, frenetically acclaimed live appearances and top ten chart positions pave their way. Their new album, PlanetPink, makes no exception. Especially in a world we are currently living in on planet earth, with pandemics, insane dictators, ecological disasters, surging prices for beer. Mankind’s only chance is escapism, so let’s enter the orbital glider and head for the stars when PlanetPink, the upcoming album by iconic J.B.O., starts to make its rounds on April 15, 2022 via the metal powerhouse mothership AFM Records!
After previously-released singles, “Metal Was My First Love”, the album title track and just recently, “Nicht Doof” (“Not Stupid“), today the charismatic German-based collective released a new, official music video for “Einhorn” (in engl: “unicorn”).
Escape to Planet Pink & watch J.B.O.‘s new music video for “Einhorn” HERE:
For obvious reasons, Planet Pink was created under very special circumstances. Usually the band bosses Vito C. and Hannes “G.Laber” Holzmann sit together on a couch and exchange ideas. This time they jammed through the phone. It worked out, because Vito and Hannes know each other better than identical twins.
Planet Pink was recorded with producer Christoph Beyerlein at Sound and Groove studio, Nuremberg. Beyerlein is part of the J.B.O. family since 1994 and the fifth band member in the studio. Supervised by the observing ears of Beyerlein, the rest of the crew sorted and refined a lot of demo recordings for only one reason: in the end there will be just one planet glow in the brassiest colours. “It’s Planet Pink”!
Heavy Metal pioneers ANVIL have announced the release of a brand new studio album, entitled ImpactIsImminent, due out on May 20, 2022 via AFM Records!
The Canadian trio belongs to one of the most distinctive bands of their genre, often cited as having influenced notable metal acts such as Slayer, MEGADETH, Metallica and Anthrax. After 40 years in the music industry, touring the world in sold-out venues, and garnering critically acclaim for Anvil! TheStory Of Anvil – the number 1 music documentary of every metalhead – the iconic band returns with their nineteenth album.
On ImpactIsImminent, ANVIL fires off merciless riff attacks, relentlessly driving drums and impressive bass grooves, complemented by vocal melodies and lyrics that inevitably drill themselves into the listener’s aural tract. As always, Kudlow and founding member and drummer Robb Reiner, are at the epicentre of this heavy metal extravaganza. For the past eight years, they have been supported by bassist Chris Robertson, who not only complements the ANVIL fold on a personal level, but also enhances the tracks with his powerful low frequency bass parts and backing vocals.
Today, ANVIL shared a first single alongside a music video for the full pedal-to-the-metal anthem ‘Ghost Shadow’! Says charismatic frontman Lips: “Ghost Shadow is my 6th sense telling me I’m being watched! Could be internet trolls or paranormal phenomenon! Either way the song is heavy as fuck!!“
“None of our previous albums blends music and lyrics into as tight a unit as ‘Impact Is Imminent’,” enthuses Lips on the fourteen songs on the group’s new album. “Everything comes together homogeneously. As a result, the new material sounds monolithic, right down to the very last details, both in terms of rhythm and harmonies. In the past, our studio sessions were sometimes like a little like jumping in at the deep end, with us having to improvise a lot and making decisions at short notice. Working on ‘Impact Is Imminent’, not only was there plenty of time for the songwriting process in the run-up to the recordings, but I also had the leisure to put all my ideas to the acid test and work on them until they were perfect.”
Like its three predecessors ‘Anvil Is Anvil’ (2016), ‘Pounding The Pavement’ (2018) and ‘Legal At Last’ (2019), ‘Impact Is Imminent’ was produced by Martin ‘Mattes’ Pfeiffer (U.D.O., among others) and Jörg Uken at Uken’s Soundlodge studios, so the successful combination consisting of Anvil/Pfeiffer/Uken has struck again.
The album pre-sale of ImpactIsImminent, available as CD, Vinyl and Digital formats on May 20, 2022, has just started at THIS LOCATION!
Tracklist:
Take A Lesson
Ghost Shadow
Another Gun Fight
Fire Rain
Teabag
Don‘t Look Back
Someone To Hate
Bad Side Of Town
Wizard´s Wand
Lockdown
Explosive Energy
The Rabbit Hole
Shockwave
Gomez
ANVIL: Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow – Vocals/Guitar Robb Reiner – Drums Chris Robertson – Bass/Vocals
Symphonic metalcore band AGE OF ATHENA has released a video for their song “Together We Fall”. The track is taken from their critically acclaimed album GatetoOblivion which was released in December.
“Together We Fall captures the essence of Age of Athena. We wanted to showcase the chaos and beauty of the music through a balance of light and dark in the video. We are incredibly proud and excited share our hard work with everyone. We thank everyone for the support and hope you enjoy!”
AGE OF ATHENA: Zachary Sabean Helen Illumina Nathan Gross Michael Johnson
Heavy rockers NOTINGODZ will release their self-titled EP on April 8, 2022.
The trio are a powerhouse of groove rhythms, soaring melodies and distortion. From “I Walk Alone” to “Hell Yeah” their energy never falters. Forging a full sound drawing influences from traditional metal such as BLACK SABBATH, to the heavy of ROB ZOMBIE, and melodic style of GHOST, NOTINGODZ deliver a heavy modern twist with a rock ‘n’ roll edge.
The epic impact of the intro riff in “I Walk Alone” establishes the hard-hitting intensity NO TIN GODZ produce. Melodic commanding vocals and intricate guitar leads, along with rhythmic experimentation, show the clever manipulation of dynamics across the tracks which cultivate charismatic moods. “We Are Zombies” combines NOTINGODZ energy with a darker atmosphere. While “Just Before Dawn” ventures into a greater focus of guitar riffs and licks, with a raw sentiment portrayed through the chorus.
NOTINGODZ’s unyielding spirit storms through the album. Exposing all sides of the human condition with great enthusiasm, the new EP is a model of pure, high voltage heavy metal.
Finnish melodic death metal band Anima Hereticae has released a 12 minute long music video short film from the song ConstellationOfCapricorn. The released video is shot for the final song of the debut EP and it is the band’s second video. The band’s music is a mixture of melancholic and mystic death metal. The Bands song themes are inspired by the northern nature and it’s mysthicisma and the new video explores this concept even further.
“We have had an idea of a video with an apocalyptic setup for quite a while. It was exciting to see how someone outside the band would see our vision. It was pretty clear from the very beginning that the producers Atte Santala & Jenna Wáthen would be able to interperent our band’s theme to the apocalyptic setting. It was a real acid test for our concept. It seems that our music and themes can be visualized beyond vikings, castles and mountains. To the future, that is.” The band describes the process.
Finnish dark metal band Kuoleman Galleria releases their third album “Armon Loppu” on February 18th 2022. Now they present the third and last single before the album release. “Jean Grenier” is a gruesome historical story.
“Jean Grenier is a true story of 17th century poverty and endless hunger that pushed Jean Grenier to make his own solutions. He fell into insanity wearing his wolf skin cloak that gave him a dark freedom which was ripped away from him in the end. Within every human there is a beast that will step in when the situation forces to do so.” – Band backgrounds the single.
The new HANGINGGARDEN EP NeitherMothnorRust was released on Friday and the band have revealed the brand new video for On the Shore of Eternity off the new effort!
Shifting one’s perspective outward far enough, our constant struggle to persist starts to lose it’s meaning – for what are we but a mote of dust, a speck on the celestial canvas, a grain – on the shore of eternity.”
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR ON THE SHORE OF ETERNITY HERE:
The output of the Finnish band is as remarkable as their ability to keep progressing creatively. On their newest EP, HANGINGGARDEN remain dedicated to dark, atmospheric music. Once again, they manage to develop a gloomy sound that seems a bit different in the broader picture, but also is differently shaded for their own musical pathway. The breadth of impressions on the listener’s side is as pronounced as the group’s valuable, general sounding arrangements.
With the six tracks of the follow-up to their seventh album “Skeleton Lake” from 2021, HANGINGGARDEN explore the sonic space between sparseness and universal grace. Ethnic and folky accents are used even more naturally. The same goes for the use of electronic elements or beats, piano and the inclusion of Riikka Hatakka‘s vocals respectively clean singinig in general.
On their new EP, HANGINGGARDEN present themselves as sound seekers whose sole concern is to translate emotions and moods into somber music. With this, they succeed impressively, while sadness is omnipresent and tangible.
The newest offering from California blackened death lords GORESKINCOFFIN is out now on all streaming platforms. ReleaseMySuffering is the band’s third full-length album and is also available as a digital download via FuneralGoatRecords.
The album comes following a brutal year of writing, rehearsing, recording and shows, and features seven furious tracks of blackened death/grind.
Check out the lyric video for album track “Elegy for Mankind’s Failings” below and at youtu.be/dCCcrL3JoaY.
TRACK LISTING: The Plague Father Wrath and Ruin Release My Suffering It Will Not Die Elegy for Mankind’s Failings Defiant Misanthropy Lamentations for a Broken Angel
Keyboards and Orchestra performed by Lou Kelley. ReleaseMySuffering was recorded and mixed by Hunter Peterson at Desidarius Recordings. Album artwork by Chadwick St. John.
Originally formed in 2011 from the ashes of other local death metal groups, GORESKINCOFFIN started as a three-piece featuring Dean Rice (drums), Dustin Stark (guitar/vocals), and Justice Reckis (bass). The trio wrote and released their debut album, Corpse Filled Caskets, that same year. The album drew influences from black and death metal bands, both classic and modern.
Following a six-year hiatus, GORESKINCOFFIN returned with the addition of Cody Winter on vocals. The band released their second full-length, ShatteredConceptionsOvReality, in 2017. Guitarist Randy Hoofard joined the fold shortly thereafter. In 2018, the band released the CursedPaths EP.
GORESKINCOFFIN then amicably parted ways with Hoofard, a move that saw Reckis pick up guitar duties and the addition of new bassist Edgar Castro-Salazar. The newly invigorated lineup released the “Wrath and Ruin” single in 2021 before going to work on their newest burnt offering, Release My Suffering.
GORESKINCOFFIN: DustinStark – guitar JusticeReckis – guitar Dean Rice – drums Edgar Castro-Salazar – bass CodyWinter – vocals
Indianapolis (IN) – Rising U.S. Power Metal force PREHISTORIA have released debut EP Cursed Lands on all major digital platforms. Purchase and stream the EP at: prehistoriaband.bandcamp.com/album/cursed-lands
Concurrent with the EP release is a new lyric video for the song “Time,” which is available at youtu.be/9BzLPW_NCz4 and below:
Combining influences from power metal giants – Blind Guardian, Symphony X, Helloween – with inspiration from the genres of black and thrash metal, PREHISTORIA has a sound that will appeal to followers of both US and European power metal.
PREHISTORIA was formed in 2020 by seasoned musicians in four different states – vocalist Alonso “Zo” Donoso, guitarists Shaun Cothron and MaxOtworth, drummer Cody Johns, and bassist Ian Bender. Members have collective decades of experience in the metal scene, with their own groups (Zephaniah, Unity, Well of Night), as well as touring members of Viking, Acheron, and Abigail Williams.
Produced amidst an ongoing global pandemic, Cursed Lands, is a triumph of remote collaboration and dedication to heavy metal.
Track Listing:
Time
Castles
Purgatorio
Cursed Lands
EP Credits:
Recorded and produced by Dan Wagoner at Wagoner Bros Studios Mixed by Mike Heller at Heaven and Heller Studios Mastered by Lasse Lammert Cover artwork by Adam Burke Logo design by Chris Horst
Check out this ridiculous display of technique and power from Witherfall “Curse Of Autumn” Drummer Marco Minnemann. (The Aristocrats, Joe Satriani, Jorden Ruddess, Necrophagist, Kreator)
Veteran California deathcore outfit IMPENDINGDOOM today unleashes their new video for “Culture Of Death.” The ferocious hymn comes off the band’s Hellbent EP, released late last Fall via MNRK Heavy.
Comments vocalist Brook Reeves, “’Culture Of Death’ is a song about sacrificing your beliefs to become someone you’re not for people who don’t care only to feel numb in the end and the wanting to feel alive again.”
View IMPENDING DOOM’s “Culture Of Death” video at THIS LOCATION and below:
Hellbent is a fierce five-song blast of readily identifiable IMPENDINGDOOM brutality. The EP showcases the enduring trio who formed the creative core of the band in Riverside, California: Sittig, vocalist Brook Reeves, and guitarist Manny Contreras. “Satanic Panic,” “New World Horror,” “Culture of Death,” “I Must End,” and the title track are punishingly incisive entries into the band’s esteemed canon, which stretches back to their 2005 demo. As reliably as ever, the band warn of society’s inevitable destructive collapse through crushing heaviness, punishing death and grindcore riffing, impossibly guttural growls and a steadfast reverence for Christ.
Recorded with engineer Joseph Calleiro at Dungeon by the Sea in Los Angeles and mixed by longtime band collaborator Will Putney (Knocked Loose, The Ghost Inside, Thy Art Is Murder), Hellbent also comes adorned with the arresting cover art of Jim Pavelec, an illustrator specializing in the occult, sci-fi, horror and fantasy; including pieces for classic RPG Dungeons & Dragons.
Preview and purchase Hellbent today at THIS LOCATION.
View the band’s previously released video for “Satanic Panic” HERE and “New World Horror” HERE.
The Sin And Doom Of Godless Men, IMPENDINGDOOM’s devastating 2005 demo, was shocking in its urgent immediacy and its unashamed outspokenness. But that demo was merely a step toward the total devastation that was their debut album, Nailed. Dead. Risen. (2007), which shook the proverbial Earth with its uncompromising vision of what they had transfigured with elements of death metal, grind, and hardcore.
The series of increasingly diverse and intense releases that followed never compromised, always challenging, and pushing the limits of the genre, with the likes of The Serpent Servant (2009), There Will Be Violence (2010), Baptized In Filth (2012), Death Will Reign (2013), and the back-to-basics bludgeoning of The Sin And Doom, Vol. II (2018) appealing to the faithful and faithless alike.
Italian bass master and composer ALBERTO RIGONI (solo, BAD AS, NATURAL BORN MACHINE, Bassists Alliance Project, Vivaldi Metal Project etc.) will release on January 15th 2022, his new album “Songs for Souls”, in memory of his Father.
Now Alberto has posted online a stunning performance video for “L’Origin du Monde”, featured by JORDANRUDESS & MARKZONDER and ALBERTORIGONI. Video edit by Mark Barret.
Alberto Rigoni on “L’Origin du Monde”: “Composed by myself and Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and featuring Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder “L’Origin du Monde” is one of the songs of my upcoming album “Songs For Souls” out on January 15th 2022, in memory of my father. Happy Christmas!”
Jordan Rudess adds: “I co-wrote a song with Alberto Rigoni and I think it turned out beautifully. He originally sent me a lovely bass track and I let the inspiration flow and came up with the rest!”
Just recently Alberto Rigoni announced Jordan Rudess, Mark Zonder, Fabrizio Leo, Marco Sfogli, Tommaso Ermolli, Enrico Taddei, Alessandro Bertoni and the legendary guitarist Jennifer Batten, joining the “Songs for Souls” album line-up.
With All Hallows’ Eve and the Day of the Dead fast approaching, the L.A.-based thrash/death/shred quartet EXMORTUS has unveiled a visualizer for the title track for their just-released horror-themed EP Legions of the Undead. Check out the clip – which was designed by Wayne Joyner (Dream Theater, Devin Townsend). Watch it HERE or below:
Says guitarist Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez, “Just in time for Halloween, enjoy this video of the new EP title track, ‘Legions of the Undead,’ inspired by the darker themes in Tolkien & Lovecraft lore. We are extremely excited to perform the new songs on Death Angel’s North American Humanicide Tour this November and December. See you on the road, Legions!”
As Gonzalez acknowledged, the song “Legions of the Dead” nods to the Dead Men of Dunharrow in “Lord Of The Rings.” It is joined on the new EP by one other new original track – the “Evil Dead”-inspired “Swallow Your Soul” – as well as three instrumental covers: renditions of Danny Elfman’s “Beetlejuice” theme and Bernard Hermann’s theme from Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic “Psycho,” as well as a neoclassical shred take on 19th Century Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s haunting “Night On Bald Mountain.”
Recorded earlier this year with longtime producer Zack Ohren (Machine Head, Immolation) at Oakland’s Sharkbite Studios, “Legions Of The Undead” – the cover art for which was designed by Toha “AHOT” Mashudi – is now available via the band’s own Exmortus Music in cooperation with M-Theory Audio. Physical copies can be ordered on CD and limited-edition green slime-colored vinyl HERE.
“Legions Of The Undead” marks the first EXMORTUS release featuring the lineup – founding guitarist/vocalist Gonzalez, guitarist Chase Becker (also of Warbringer), bassist Cody Nunez and drummer Adrian Aguilar – that has logged numerous miles on the road together over the past two years with the likes of Obituary, Venom Inc., Sabaton, Kreator, Havok, Allegaeon, Hatchet, Homewrecker and The Absence. The group – whose most recent performance was alongside Exodus at the legendary thrash group’s sold-out “Bonded By Con” concert during San Diego’s recent Comic-Con – will support another iconic Bay Area act this fall, when they team up with Death Angel for a five-week tour across the U.S. and Canada. See below for the complete itinerary.
Founded by Gonzalez when he was just 12 years old, EXMORTUS released their debut album, “In Hatred’s Flame,” via Heavy Artillery in 2008. After gaining additional acclaim with their 2011 sophomore effort “Beyond The Fall Of Time,” the group signed a three-album deal with Prosthetic Records in 2013. In support of that acclaimed trilogy of releases (2014’s “Slave To The Sword,” 2016’s “Ride Forth” and 2018’s “The Sound Of Steel”), the band toured alongside some of metal’s biggest names, including Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Abbath, Dark Tranquillity and Marty Friedman, earning extensive praise along the way for their live power, prowess and proficiency.
EXMORTUS on tour with Death Angel:
Nov 13 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst (EXMORTUS only)
Nov 14 – Chico, CA – Metal Shop (EXMORTUS ONLY)
Nov 15 – Bend, OR – Third St. Pub (EXMORTUS only)
Nov 16 – Seattle, WA – Club Sur
Nov 17 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
Nov 18 – Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw Theater
Nov 19 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite
Nov 20 – Calgary, AB – Dickens
Nov 21 – Regina, SK – The Exchange
Nov 22 – Winnipeg, MB – Pyramids
Nov 23 – St. Paul, MN – The Amsterdam
Nov 25 – London, ON – London Music Hall
Nov 26 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Nov 27 – Montreal, QC – Piranha Bar
Nov 28 – Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey
Nov 29 – Quebec City, QC – L’Anti Bar & Spectacles
Nov 30 – Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
Dec 1 – New Bedford, MA – Vault @ Greasy Luck
Dec 2 – Waterford, NY – Chrome (EXMORTUS only)
Dec 3 – Lancaster, PA – Chameleon
Dec 4 – Baltimore, MD – Otto Bar
Dec 5 – Richmond, VA – Canal Club
Dec 6 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club
Dec 7 – Tampa, FL – Brass Mug
Dec 8 – Orlando, FL – The Haven
Dec 9 – Mobile, AL – Alabama Music Box (EXMORTUS only)
Infected Dead made a grand impression with their Lovecraftian cosmic horror debut Archaic Malevolence and have left fans salivating for more ever since. Today the band proudly reveal a blistering new single and video to sate those in wait, a track entitled ‘The Rache’ out now via Hostile Media.
The video was shot in the woods of Heathfield, Sussex UK earlier this summer with Loki Films. Vocalist Lou Ede elaborates: “The song is loosely based on the lesser known Lovecraft short story ‘The Hound’ so the main concept we had in mind was to give the allusion of the band being stalked by the titular monster, I think the director did a great job of getting that across.”
“We are delighted to finally be unleashing our first fresh track since Archaic Malevolence. It was great to be back working with Wynter Prior (producer) and work is well underway on our debut album, we’re really excited to share the first glimpse of what we’ve been up to over the past year.”
‘The Rache’ was produced by Wynter Prior, while Inner Sound overseen mixing and mastering. Luciferium War Graphics manned the helm once again for the epic artwork.
Catch Infected Dead Live in UK with Bloodshot Dawn next month!
Oakland death metal outfit VASTUM is preparing for the release of their gnarled fourth album, Orificial Purge. Ahead of the album’s public unveiling through 20 Buck Spin at the end of October, the new single “I On The Knife (Second Wound)” has been issued.
With lead vocalist Daniel Butler, guitarist/vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf, guitarist Shelby Lermo, bassist Luca Indrio, and drummer Chad Gailey, Ryan Honaker provides guest strings on VASTUM‘s Orificial Purge, and Honaker and Abdul-Rauf also help shape the album with elements of ambience. Recorded with Greg Wilkinson (Necrot, Nightfell, Ulthar) at Earhammer Studios and visually represented by the brooding abstraction of San Francisco artist Laina Terpstra, VASTUM’s Orificial Purge is one of the year’s most vicious and hypnotic LPs. Fans of Bolt Thrower, Undergang, Autopsy, Necrot, Asphyx, Mortuous, Tomb Mold, and Scorched are orificially summoned to take note.
Vocalist Daniel Butler exposes of the track’s lyrical content, “‘I On The Knife’ is about psychophysical self-mutilation under the command of a thing, an it, which is gradually symbolized as an object (e.g. father, knife) that in turn reveals the self as a wound. Basically, it’s about how you’re a wound and nothing else.”
Guitarist/vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf offers, “We felt this song – along with initial single, ‘Reveries In Autophagia’ – was the most representative of the classic VASTUM sound.”
Hear VASTUM’s “I On The Knife (Second Wound) at THIS LOCATION or below:
20 Buck Spin will issue Orificial Purge on CD, LP, cassette, and all digital platforms on October 25th. Preorders go live this week at the label webshop HERE and at Bandcamp where “Reveries In Autophagia” is now streaming HERE.
Guitar World just ran a feature on the 25 Best Metal Guitar Tones Of All Time where VASTUM‘s Leila Abdul-Rauf was featured alongside the likes of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Metallica, Entombed, Meshuggah, Danzig, Sunn O))), and more. See the piece HERE.
Having just made their return to Killtown Death Fest 2019 in Copenhagen alongside Grave, Coffins, Abhorrence, Tomb Mold, and many others in September, VASTUM has also been confirmed to play the inaugural Shadow Frost Music & Arts Festival taking over Frederick, Maryland February 21st and 22nd, 2020. The band joins The Chasm, Primitive Man, Thantifaxath, and labelmates Magic Circle as one of the event’s main headliners, and guitarist/vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf will also perform a set from her solo/ambient project at the fest as well.
VASTUM Live:
2/21-22/2020 Shadow Frost Music & Arts Festival – Frederick, MD [info]
After four years of near silence, Oakland death metal outfit VASTUM returns with Orificial Purge, the anxiously awaited follow-up to their acclaimed Hole Below. With its members playing in Acephalix, Necrot, Ulthar, Mortuous, Ionophore, Cardinal Wyrm, and others, the band’s dedication to their craft is showcased throughout the underground. After three standout albums over the course of the last eight years, the effect of VASTUM‘s influence has by now seeped into the wider death metal scene, leaving an indelible mark due to their singular amalgam of aural primitivism and aesthetic originality. Their most markedly refined and tortured oblation to date, Orificial Purge represents the dominant return of VASTUM, a death-doom band driven by the horrors of psychic and corporeal life.
VASTUM‘s Orificial Purge offers a distinctive blend of sinister atmosphere, punishing brutality, and an unparalleled lyrical and visual imagery that traces connections between perversion, mortification, and “an abyssal mysticism of sin.” Elements from previous albums are preserved on Orificial Purge, but they are evolved and devolved at once. The usual mid-paced dirge and cave-dwelling riffs are intertwined with slicing melodic dissonance and a celestial frenzy in the solos and the leads, all of which is set against the background of a bulldozing rhythm section. The dual vocal and lyrical exorcisms of Daniel Butler and Leila Abdul-Rauf combine to deliver unsettling, dichotomous meditations on “abjection as life, life as tragedy, and tragedy as an eviscerating, eroticized rapture through which an evil and useless humanity comes into being.
International extreme power metal unit DRAGONFORCE will kick off their anticipated North American headlining tour this week. The trek will commence on October 1st in Tucson, Arizona and conclude October 12th in Ventura, California. Support will be provided by Dance With The Dead and Starkill. The following day, the band will set sail as part of the first annual Megacruise. See all confirmed dates below.
DRAGONFORCE w/ Dance With The Dead, Starkill:
10/01/2019 Encore – Tucson, AZ
10/02/2019 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
10/03/2019 Vinyl @ Hard Rock – Las Vegas, NV
10/04/2019 Strummers – Fresno, CA
10/05/2019 Cargo – Reno, NV
10/06/2019 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
10/07/2019 The Red Room – Vancouver, BC
10/08/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
10/11/2019 August Hall – San Francisco, CA
10/12/2019 Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
10/13/2019 Megacruise – Los Angeles, CA* DRAGONFORCE only
DRAGONFORCE is touring in support of their eighth full-length, Extreme Power Metal, released worldwide on September 27th via Metal Blade Records. Produced in Los Angeles, California by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited, Extreme Power Metal was also recorded, in part, on guitarist Herman Li’s livestream channel on Twitch (twitch.tv/hermanli) with participation from fans. To preview the record, and to view the band’s recently-released video for “Razorblade Meltdown” visit metalblade.com/dragonforce.
DragonForce – Razorblade Meltdown (New Official Video)
The Grammy-nominated extreme power metal group is based in London, England. Their platinum-selling record, Through The Fire And Flames, brought them international acclaim and was featured as the most-challenging song on Guitar Hero III. Their energetic and humorous live performances have won them fans on every continent.
The group is known for their long, complex, and fast guitar solos performed by Herman Li and Sam Totman, who founded the band after meeting through a classified ad in 1999. Since then, the band has released seven studio albums, including Valley Of The Damned (2003), Sonic Firestorm (2004), Inhuman Rampage (2006), Ultra Beatdown (2008), The Power Within (2012), Maximum Overload (2014), and Reaching Into Infinity (2017). 2019 brings the next chapter in DRAGONFORCE history: Extreme Power Metal!
Regarding Extreme Power Metal, Li says, “This album again combines the best of DRAGONFORCE in an even bigger, more epic way than we have ever done before. We are so excited for fans to hear it!” The keyboards of the new album were performed by Coen Janssen of symphonic metal titan Epica, adding a new dimension to the album. Notes Totman, “We worked really closely with Coen on this new album. We are so happy with what he has brought into this new album. Every fan will be so happy to hear his majestic playing!”
Drawing from a wide range of influences, the band’s sound combines the sing-a-long choruses of classic ’80s rock with triumphant, uplifting melodies and fantasy-themed power-metal-inspired lyrics. As a nod to their passion for all things video-game related, the band frequently incorporates retro game sounds and melodies into their recordings and live shows.
Following the release of Extreme Power Metal, DRAGONFORCE will begin their world tour in support of it. Li promises, “In this age, where our music is easily accessible, I am not going to waste time trying to describe the sound of our new album. I’ll let the music do the talking! However, what I can tell you is, our upcoming tour will be our biggest in a decade. We have a massive epic production and a really special surprise for VIPs. We can’t wait to see everyone out on the road!”
Produced by the Finnish mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen
Hungarian melodic death metal assault squad SYMMETRY OF THE VOID has reached to 2nd single in the collaboration with Finnish metal mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen (Wolfheart, Before the Dawn, Dawn of Solace etc.).
SYMMETRY OF THE VOID and Saukkonen started working together earlier this spring and before summer 1st single and video ‘DIVINE SERENITY’ was released and now it is time to bombard the metal scene with 2nd single ‘THE UNWORTHY’.
Unholy Domain Records and Dismal Fate Records are proud to present SEPOLCRO’s new EP, “Amorphous Mass”, on CD, LP and MC format. Release date is set for 15th May, 2019.
Hailing from the extreme metal hotbed of Northern Italy, old school death metallers SEPOLCRO have amounted a sizable arsenal in their years of existence. Following a couple of demos and a split came the “2011 – 2018” compilation on Sevared Records in 2018.
So impressed by their unbridled intensity and ceaselessly roiling rage, Unholy Domain Records and Dismal Fate Records are now releasing the new firestorm entitled “Amorphous Mass” on a worldwide scale.
SEPOLCRO honor their forebears as well as other death metal peers with a heavy and dark surge that duly smashes everything in its path.
Check out the title track “Amorphous Mass”RIGHT HERE or below:
Track List:
1. The Malevolent Mist 2. Sulphurous Eruption From The Depths 3. Unnamed Dimension 4. An Ancient Summoning 5. Amorphous Mass
Recorded and Mixed November / December 2018 at Dismal Fate’s Crypt by Hannes.
Mastered by Hannes.
Art by Cesar Valladares.
All Music and Lyrics by SEPOLCRO.
SEPOLCRO:
Hannes – Drums and Vocals Simone – Guitars and Vocals Nor – Bass
Hyderabad based Hardcore/ Crossover Thrash Metal act R.A.I.D – The second single called- ‘Outrage’ is part of the next full length that the band is planning to unveil soon. The title and release date will be announced soon via Rottweiler Records.
Front man Rueben says: “The song ‘Outrage’ is about breaking free from the norms and pressures created by society/the people around us. A lot of poisonous trends have been created that affect a good way of life. To overcome these hurdles, the only way out is to have an unbreakable state of mind. We are the captain of our fate, the master of our soul, the boss of our dreams and the king of our goals. It is up to us to negate the poison around us and create our own legacy.” The song is rebellious and speaks in the tone of a fallen soul who goes out to seek what he is meant to do. This second single is also set to be unleashed via the Digital 45 (where the band releases an additional track) along with the single.
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