Diabolical Death/ Black Metal giants BELPHEGOR have just revealed the cover design of their forthcoming album ‘CONJURING THE DEAD’. The artwork was created by Greek artist, Seth Siro Anton who also painted the cover of ‘Pestapokalypse IV’ in 2006.
Helmuth comments:
“The spectacular cover, the offensive lyrical content, the Death Musick. BELPHEGOR´s nine new sound collages are a new dimension of intensity and dynamics.”
Seth adds:
”Once you can customize the basic principles of Renaissance painting and deriving energy/data from chaotic reservoir of unconscious… you get BELPHEGOR´s “CONJURING THE DEAD” cover art.”
‘CONJURING THE DEAD’ was recorded at Mana Studios in Florida under the direction of Eric Rutan. Three and a half years have past since the highly praised album ‘Blood Magick Necromance’ was released. BELPHEGOR are back to conquer – possessed, on fire and stronger than ever!
The tenth studio album of one of the most bizarre and authentic bands in the world of Metal will be unleashed on August 8th (EU/ North America) and August 11th (UK/FR) via Nuclear Blast.
Detroit Metal squad, BATTLECROSS, just launched three new live bootlegs! POV Recordings recently shot and edited live videos of “Flesh & Bone,” “Never Coming Back” and “Kaleb” from the band’s show at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina. The videos can be seen on the Metal Blade Records, BATTLECROSS, and POV Recordings YouTube channels. Click the links below to watch them now!
BATTLECROSS recently kicked off a North American tour with Killswitch Engage and Trivium, which was preceded by a headlining show on April 30th at Dingbatz in New Jersey. The trek will wrap up at the end of May, before the band ventures to Europe in June for a series of festival appearances, as well as club shows with Huntress.
BATTLECROSS will be touring in support of latest album, War Of Will, which debuted at #134 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, #118 on the Top Current Albums chart, #2 on the Heatseeker chart, #15 on the Current Hard Music chart, #16 on the Hard Music Overall chart, and #32 on the Independent Albums chart! This marks the band’s first ever Billboard chart debut. Additionally, War Of Will also peaked at #3 on the US iTunes metal chart on the day of release.
BATTLECROSS w/ Killswitch Engage
5/12/2014 – Capones – Johnson City, TN w/ Trivium (No Killswitch Engage)
5/13/2014 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA w/ Trivium (No Killswitch Engage)
5/15/2014 – Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD w/ Trivium, Nothing More
5/16/2014 – The Machine Shop – Flint, MI w/ Trivium, Devil You Know (No Killswitch Engage)
5/17/2014 – London Music Hall – London, ON w/ Trivium
5/18/2014 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY w/ Nothing More
5/20/2014 – Iron City – Birmingham, AL w/ Trivium, Nothing More
5/21/2014 – The Varsity Theatre – Baton Rouge, LA w/ Trivium (No Killswitch Engage)
5/22/2014 – Minglewood Hall – Memphis, TN w/ Trivium, Nothing More
5/23/2014 – Centerstage Bar & Grill – Kokomo, IN w/ Black Fast
5/24/2014 – Fubar – St. Louis, MO w/ Black Fast
5/25/2014 – Aftershock – Merriam, KSw/ Black Fast
5/26/2014 – The Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep
5/27/2014 – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM w/ Nothing More
5/28/2014 – Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO w/ Nothing More
End Tour
8/09/2014 – Dirtfest @ Birch Run Expo Center – Birch Run, MI
The band originally began in 2009 in Missouri under the name The Harrowing. Formed by Colton Deem and brothers Cody and Mitch Pegg, they then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and changed their name to Gomorrah in 2013.
After several refinements to their sound, the band have now unleashed their debut “To the Depths”. Since releasing the EP, the band has increased momentum by sharing the stage with metal legends such as Destruction, Abigail Williams, Macabre and Krisiun. Combining elements of death, thrash and heavy metal, Gomorrah play music with a nod to metal both past and present.
“To the Depths” track listing:
1. To the Depths
2. Tribulations
3. Tempest
4. Colossus
5. Chapel of Stilled Voices
6. Beneath the Falling Sun
John A.B.C. Smith – Vocals, Lead/Rhythm Guitars, Bass, Keys
Don Amiro – Lead/Rhythm Guitars, Vocals
Ian O’Sullivan – Lead/Rhythm Guitars, Vocals
Mark Cross – Drums
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From Massacre Records:
Here’s an introduction to the band:
Former Gallow’s Pole singer and At Vance/Scanner bassist John A.B.C. Smith formed GOD’S ARMY A.D. in 2004 – back then under the name God’s Army. The band’s name was recently changed to GOD’S ARMY A.D. due to legal reasons.
Two of his long-time friends and both guitarists, Ian O’Sullivan and Don Amiro, soon joined forces with him and they started writing their first songs in late 2004. In May 2005, John met drummer Mark Cross and their musical interests and combined ideas were the final push for GOD’S ARMY A.D.
In 2006 GOD’S ARMY A.D. played some very successful concerts indeed, not only supporting acts like Paul Di’Anno and Mystic Prophecy, but also selling out their own shows. The band quickly won the hearts of metalheads, building up a true fan base – not only in Germany – over a very short period of time. In 2007, whilst recording their first record, the unexpected happened: Mark Cross was offered to play for the band Firewind and he took it.
The exit of Mark from the band didn’t mean the end of it but another twist of fate: Lead singer John A.B.C. Smith had a severe car accident. This in turn threw him out of the game for a while and only in 2012 he celebrated his “coming back to life”.
Without knowing where the path would lead, John A.B.C. Smith re-recorded all of the old GOD’S ARMY A.D. songs again as some kind of art therapy and they took on a new form. It made him realize that now was the right time: GODS ARMY A.D. is back!
You can already watch the video clip for the new song “Gods Must Be Crazy”, directed by Eddie Van Dahl, below:
The self-titled debut album by GOD’s ARMY A.D. is set to be released on May 23, 2014 via Massacre Records!
Baltimore, MD:HighVolMusic has announced an exclusive distribution deal with Megaforce Records in which they will service physical, digital and mobile products released by the label.
With immediate effect, the enhanced distribution agreement will allow HighVolMusic artists to benefit from MRI’s market leadership and in-house services throughout North America. This partnership provides HighVolMusic the ability for placement of their artists into Sony / RED distribution network.
“In an effort to elevate the company to a higher level it is imperative that we secure solid distribution through reputable channels and we have done that with Megaforce Records / Sony Red.” says HighVolMusic CEO Bill Chavis
Saints of Rebellion will be the first artist to take advantage of the new distribution deal with their debut New American Dream set to release in a few weeks.
Minotauro Records has released the new album from Canadian Experimental Metalists SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLES as a digital download. With the release of the physical CD coming on May 10, fans can stream and download Calculations of the Ancients now at minotaurorecords.bandcamp.com.
Intriguing, thought-provoking and memorable, SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLES plays a mix of genres that will make you scratch your head and tap your foot, all the while banging your head into solid objects. Seamlessly blending Death Metal, Rock, Jazz-Fusion, Prog, Blues, and a variety of others, SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLES will expand your mind and prove that new and interesting music is alive and well.
“The Canadian band have put together songs centered around science themes (almost like an episode of The Big Bang Theory) and enveloped them in musical passages that mix Death Metal, hard rock, Jazz-Fusion, Prog, Blues, ambient, math rock, and well, you name it.” – Sea of Tranquility
After a two-year hiatus, Ohio Technical Grinding Death Metal peddlers, LOCUSTA, will be embarking on a live takeover through the East Coast this Spring! Slated to commence on May 13th in Raleigh, North Caroline, LOCUSTA will rape faces through Columbia, Knoxville, Columbus, Washington DC, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Providence, Portland, Philadelphia, Harrisonburg and Richmond with additional incursions to be announced in the coming weeks. The band will be joined by drummer Alex Tomlin (Battlemaster, Arsis, Withered et al).
LOCUSTA is currently putting the finishing touches on their as-yet-untitled full-length tentatively scheduled to drop later this year. In the meantime, ravaging preview track, “Contaminant Remains,” will appear on the band’s forthcoming, four-track Dendromorphosis EP which also includes a molten rendition of Death’s “See Through Dreams,” and artwork by renowned designer Lucas Ruggieri (BlackTusk, Kylesa, Ghoul, cough et al). Dendromorphosis will be available for purchase at all upcoming tour dates.
Comments the band of their forthcoming live offensive: “We’re looking forward to hitting the road again after such an agonizingly long break from touring and to what we’re anticipating will be some of the best shows we’ve ever played, both in respect to the caliber of the bands we’re billed with and the fact that our live sets sound tighter than they ever have before. Our set lists will mostly contain songs from the new album, including the first track we’ve ever written that extends past the nine-minute mark, which is easily the darkest and most epic piece of music we’ve written so far. There is more grinding technicality than before, but the songs are also much more mature from a songwriting point of view than what you hear on our first album. We’re excited to be sharing this time in the band with all of our new and old friends on the road, but…no survivors.”
Formed in the fall of 2006, LOCUSTA take their name from a female chemist from Ancient Rome regarded as the first documented serial killer. LOCUSTA released their debut full-length upon an unsuspecting underground in 2010 which is available for download/purchase via their official bandcamp page HERE.
Critical Praise:
“I got dinner at the bar while LOCUSTA played their set. Melodic, technical death metal in the vein of Spawn Of Possession or Decrepit Birth, the band brought the riffage with a vengeance. Health notice: The surgeon general has advised that discreetly headbanging with a mouthful of food is a choking hazard. But totally worth it.” – NoCleanSinging.com
“LOCUSTA. Why isn’t this band huge? Serious death metal from Columbus shredded bar and house shows alike and smote their victims with ease.” – The Athens News
“LOCUSTA is one of the best underground metal bands out there right now; seriously one of the highest underground-to-quality-music ratios possible…Totally real-deal, bad-ass performers, worth the money and time spent x1000.” – Day After Day DC
As reported on the SCORPIONS Facebook page, on April 30th, 2014:
Dear fans,
When James Kottak arrived in Dubai at 3. april, he ran into problems at immigrations and got busted. Whatever happened is totally out of our control and we don’t know any details about it at this point. For the concerts in germany Johan Franzon, a swedish drummer, will take James seat. Please understand, we keep you posted, SCORPIONS.
DAISIES FANS STAND UP TO FACEBOOK IN THE NAME OF ART!
As reported by The Dead Daisies:
As all our Dead Daisies fans know, we love skulls. We endeavour to find the coolest skulls the internet has to offer and share them with everyone on our Facebook page. Last Saturday we posted a photo of a human skull. It was created by seven women covered in body paint, lying down to form the shape of a skull. It was a modern interpretation of Salvador Dali’s masterpiece ‘In Voluptas Mors’.
The photo was a received extremely well, with huge appreciation, only to have it removed by Facebook with their reason being that it “didn’t follow the Facebook Community Standards”.
See image below…
Not knowing whether Facebook realised that this was in fact an interpretation of Dali’s masterpiece, we then posted an image of the original masterpiece, which included an image of Dali, and asked the fans if they deemed the image to be of offensive/inappropriate nature.
The comments poured in, with thousands of fans sharing their absolute disbelief that such great art was banned. But alas, Facebook stepped in AGAIN, and removed the image, even after all of the support on the post.
We then decided to research these ” Facebook Community Standards”, and came across the following:
After reading this, it is abundantly clear that we have NOT in anyway, breached their guidelines as we have not shared any explicit sexual content, and have shared a significant art piece by one of the greatest artists of our time.
The Dead Daisies are big believers in freedom of speech and do not want to sit quietly while Facebook exercise unjust and inconsistent censorship.
It makes us ask, what should be deemed acceptable and what is unacceptable when there are thousands of images and videos of violence, racism, sexism, and hate that circulate daily?
We want to take a stand for the arts, and we need you to help!!
Today we want everyone to post either of the images we posted on Facebook to their personal or artist page, and use the hashtag #DaisiesLiveForArt.
Let’s rally together (peacefully!), and make a stand for good art!
We are revved up and ready to UNLEASH the PRIEST one more time for our metal fans around the world – so here’s a track for you to listen to entitled ‘Redeemer of Souls’ from our new album of the same title – Judas Priest
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Redeemer Of Souls releases on July 14th, in the UK and on July 15th in the USA! Whoa! For other release dates, by country, click on the link below:
Stone Says: I’m digging this new Judas Priest song! Just knowing that the iconic Judas Priest are still around and creating new Metal material, really makes me feel like everything is freaking okay in the Metal world. Plus, I really appreciate the kick-ass album artwork for Redeemer Of Souls too! Metal be thy name.
Following the release of their Traverser LP via Toxic Assets in November, Austin’s caustic Sludge Metal trio, LIONS OF TSAVO, continue to tour the American landscape in support of the album. The band is currently embarked on their latest trek with another five cities still in its path, including Birmingham, Jackson, Shreveport and Dallas next to get slammed; this week LIONS OF TSAVO plow homeward.
LIONS OF TSAVO Spring Tour [remaining dates]:
4/29/2014 The Forge – Birmingham, AL
4/30/2014 TBA – Jackson, MS
5/01/2014 Fatty Arbuckle’s – Shreveport, LA
5/02/2014 Chichen Itza – Dallas, TX
After a long absence between releases, LIONS OF TSAVO returned with their long and winding third full-length manifesto, Traverser. While not far-removed from the attack shown on Firelung, the band splices in more breathing space in the newer material, and matched with their torrential onslaught of amplification, their debilitating, diverse alloy of metallic sludge is unquestionably more devastatingly memorable on Traverser. Eviscerating landscapes through blood spitting riffs and mind altering psychedelics, Traverser is both destruction and redemption incarnate; a conceptual album where the music, lyrics and artwork align, and cannot be separated. Washington-based Toxic Assets released the album on CD in November, while a vinyl edition remains on deck for release later in 2014.
Additional upcoming LIONS OF TSAVO live actions will be continually announced into the Summer months. In the meantime, stream all of Traverser and purchase the digital/CD versions of the record below:
German Melodic Death/Black Metal band CRAVING are being featured in a TV commercial for Samsung Galaxy S5 on Danish television. The spot is scheduled to run for the next three weeks and features the band’s cover of “Only Teardrops” by Emmelie de Forest. Watch the ad below:
Since 2006, CRAVING has masterfully blended Black and Death metal with soaring melodies and folk influences. In October of last year, Apostasy Records released the band’s sophomore album, At Dawn. With lyrics written in German, Russian and English and a noticeable progression from their 2012 debut, At Dawn stands as one of the most intriguing and varied records in recent memory. Guest appearances on At Dawn include Helge Stang (Ex-Equilibrium), Chris Caffery (Ex-Savatage), Niels Löffler (Ordan Ogan) and Agalaz (Obscurity). The official music video for CRAVING’s cover of “Only Teardrops” can be seen below:
Legendary NWOBHM band SATAN will kick off its first U.S. tour tonight at Black Bear Bar in Brooklyn, New York. The influential Trad Metal pioneers will spend the next six days gracing North American stages in support of their 2013 comeback album, Life Sentence. Dates are as follows:
4/11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Black Bear Bar
4/12 – Montreal, QC @ Katacombes
4/13 – Worcester, MA @ Ralph’s Rock Diner
4/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
4/15 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
4/16 – Baltimore, MD @ The Metro Gallery
SATAN is a heavy metal band originating from Newcastle, England in 1980, known as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement. Though generally obscure throughout their career, the band is considered influential for playing a form of proto-thrash metal that was fairly advanced by the standards of the early 1980s.
Their 1983 debut album, Court In The Act, is now widely acclaimed and regarded by many as the pinnacle of their career, during which the band’s line-up underwent a number of personnel changes and even changes in band name, releasing albums under the name of BLIND FURY and PARIAH, before folding in 1990. Guitarist Steve Ramsey and bassist Graeme English went on to found folk metal band SKYCLAD, while vocalist Brian Ross reformed his original band BLITZKRIEG.
SATAN remained inactive until re-assembling for a one-off gig at Germany’s Wacken Open Air in 2004, and finally reunited in their original Court In The Act line-up for 2011’s Keep It True festival. The band performed at several european festivals in 2011 and 2012 and have announced more festival shows and even a new album for 2013, to mark the 30th anniversary of Court In The Act‘s release. Bow to your knees, SATAN was back with its new album Life Sentence, released in April 2013 on Listenable Records.
Life Sentence was featured on many a “Best Of 2013” lists, and has been heralded as one of the best comeback album of the decade.
“The 80s NWOBHM legends return with an absolute beast of a comeback” – Metal Hammer
Footage of SATAN performing “Cenotaph” at last year’s Live Evil Fest in London is now playing at this location.
Brian Ross – vocals Steve Ramsey – Guitar Russ Tippins – Guitar Graeme English – Bass Sean Taylor – Drums
EMPIRE OF RATS – The self-titled debut album from Columbus Ohio’s Empire Of Rats was released back on October 31st, 2013, via A389 Recordings. This Hardcore group has taken their inner disgust for society’s status quo, annoying antagonists and whatever else pisses them off, funneling it all into fuel for a freaking impressive debut for (what’s left of) my eardrums. Empire Of Rats don’t screw around with their sonic brutality. If its legit, underground Hardcore that you crave, Empire Of Rats serves it up with ferocity. It’s that easy to explain.
Everything about this debut is pummeling, with the exception of the 1:05 intro to Early Mourning, which boasts a calming acoustic guitar number before succumbing to a mid-tempo (all band) Metal instrumental; an instrumental that reminds me of Metallica’s Ride The Lightning days. Overall, the vocals, musicianship, energy and rage on this album are what diehard Hardcore fans yearn for and I highly endorse Empire Of Rats. Metal be thy name. – Stone
Track Listing: Leeches, Another Minute In Hell, Bottomless Pit, Untitled, Society’s Zero, Rats Reign, Sinking, Little From The World, We’re Dead, Exposed, Early Mourning
An Evening with TERRY BOZZIO North American Tour 2014
Los Angeles, CA – Drum legend Terry Bozzio, known for his work with Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, UK and his critically acclaimed solo ventures, celebrates the 50th anniversary of his first drum lesson with “An Evening With Terry Bozzio” coast-to-coast North American tour! During the course of this tour, Terry Bozzio will hit over 40 cities from San Diego to Jacksonville to Montreal to Vancouver to Los Angeles and everywhere in between. This will be a night of solo drumming and include compositions from throughout his career, as well as improvisation. It is by no means a clinic or a workshop. Enjoy an intimate evening of Terry Bozzio and his monster sculpture of a drum kit together for the first time in seated venues across North America.
“TERRY BOZZIO – An Evening of Solo Drum Music” is a unique, intense, dynamic, spiritualistic, melodic, orchestral, atmospheric, and musical performance on the largest tuned drum & percussion set in the world. Unless you have seen Terry, you have no idea what you are in for. Bozzio is an enigmatic, evocative, and engaging musician whose instrument just happens to be the drums. Terry Bozzio is able to accompany himself with bass note patterns and, at the same time, melodically solo on top with highly developed coordination skills to express a complete musical statement on the drum set alone. Drawing from jazz, classical, & ethnic percussion styles from around the world, Terry Bozzio is “a storyteller,” able to weave a hypnotic spell over audiences and enthrall them with an eclectic experience filled with contrast, variety, intimacy, excitement, & passion.
Terry has had tremendous success with his last two Terry Bozzio solo drum performance tours in Europe (2012 included his headline show at the Jazz Festival Frankfurt – the oldest jazz festival in the world – and 2013 which included sold out performances in Sweden, Germany, Eastern Europe, and France). Please note that this is not a bombastic 2 hour drum solo. This is MUSIC on drums, “an evening with Terry Bozzio.” In most of Bozzio’s works, he accompanies himself with bass lines while soloing over it melodically on the tuned toms. There is space, classical forms & structures, ambient electronic loops, and atmospheric percussion effects, as well as some exciting & fiery drumming that brings audiences to their feet!
An Evening with TERRY BOZZIO North American Tour Dates:
Aug 15, 2014 – Mexicali, BC, Mexico – Lob Bar (Bol Bol)
Aug 17, 2014 – Phoenix, AZ – MIM Music Theater
Aug 23, 2014 – Denver, CO – Soiled Dove
Aug 26, 2014 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard
Aug 28, 2014 – Conroe, TX – Dosey Doe
Aug 29, 2014 – Fort Worth, TX – McDavid Studio
Aug 31, 2014 – Austin, TX – One World Theater
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Sept 04, 2014 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live
Sept 05, 2014 – Largo, FL – Largo Cultural Center
Sept 10, 2014 – Washington, DC – The Hamilton
Sept 11, 2014 – Wilmington, DE – World Café
Sept 13, 2014 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint
Sept 14, 2014 – New York City, NY – Iridium (2 shows – 8pm & 10pm)
Sept 15, 2014 – New York City, NY – Iridium (2 shows – 8pm & 10pm)
Sept 16, 2014 – Stafford Springs, CT – Stafford Palace Theater
Sept 19, 2014 – Richmond Hill, ON, Canada – Cosmopolitan Music Hall
Sept 21, 2014 – Buffalo, NY – Nietzches
Sept 24, 2014 – Nashville, TN – 3rd and Lindsley
Sept 26, 2014 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival
Sept 30, 2014 – Little Rock, AR – Juanitas
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Oct 05, 2014 – Chicago, IL – Martyrs
Oct 06, 2014 – Chicago, IL – Martyrs
Oct 14, 2014 – Calgary, AB, Canada – Orpheus Theatre
Oct 16, 2014 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – Imperial
Oct 17, 2014 – Vancouver Island, BC, Canada – Tidemark Theatre
Oct 19, 2014 – Seattle, WA – The Triple Door
Oct 20, 2014 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
Oct 23, 2014 – Oakland, CA – Yoshi´s
Oct 25, 2014 – Los Angeles, CA – Catalina´s
Oct 26, 2014 – Los Angeles, CA – Catalina´s
In other news, Over the last four decades, drummer Terry Bozzio has built an extraordinary legacy based on his unique approach to rhythm and the diverse and acclaimed recordings to which he’s contributed. On April 18, 2014 he’ll go beyond genres into new mediums with the release of an art collection titled [RHYTHM] + [SKETCH]. Available exclusive at www.terrybozzioart.com, the collection is a fusion of artwork crafted over the last three decades mixed with new abstract visuals made from capturing rhythm.
A project that began a year ago, [RHYTHM] + [SKETCH] is a highly limited release of artwork on canvas. The collection’s visuals are a unique fusion of ink sketches Bozzio has made throughout his career, as well as his take on the new medium of rhythm-on-canvas, a process of creating abstract artwork through the documentation of rhythmic performance and light movement. To build the collection, Bozzio joined Los Angeles art team SceneFour in the creation process. SceneFour is the team responsible for the rhythm-on-canvas movement, working exclusively with the world’s finest drummers to craft abstract artwork from performance. “Terry’s collection is a remarkable step forward. His style is so unique that once captured the arcs and techniques he’s mastered become crystal clear to a discerning viewer,” SceneFour’s Co-Founder Cory Danziger states. “The fusion of Terry’s sketches into the rhythmic creations is a natural. His work behind the kit has similarities to the artwork done by hand. It’s very telling of how his creativity is consistent even as it crosses platforms.” In total, twelve different works are featured in Bozzio’s collection, with a limited number of each piece available to the public on April 18, 2014. Each piece is numbered and signed individually by Bozzio.
To join the interest list to learn more and see it before the release, sign up at www.terrybozzioart.com. Terry’s stage setting for his upcoming solo drum tour will include large pieces of his [RHYTHM] + [SKETCH] work as a backdrop on the stage.
“I just want to make music on the drums.” – Terry Bozzio
New York City Stoner Doom trio, BLACKOUT, will bring their quaking riff rituals to Canada later this month on a four-date mini tour through Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. This will mark the band’s first time ever on Canadian soil.
The band is justifiably ecstatic, “Wang dang poutine bang! BLACKOUT is taking their filth to the streets of Canada! We are so psyched and surprised that none of us have DUIs! Canada here we come!”
BLACKOUT Takes Canada 2014:
4/17/2014 Smiling Buddah – Toronto, ON
4/18/2014 Café Dekuf – Ottawa, ON
4/19/2014 Turbo Haus – Montreal, QC
4/20/2014 Sous Sol Du Cercle – Quebec City, QC
BLACKOUT will be touring in support of their We Are Here debut released independently last year. Commended by Sea of Tranquility for its “crushing, psychedelic heaviness,” We Are Here was recorded at Vacation Island Studio with engineer/producer Rob Laakso (Diamond Nights, Swirlies, Kurt Vile), and continues to reap critical applause. Mister Growl champions the trio for, “creating music so massive you can’t fathom its source,” Heavy Planet notes, “Loaded with screeches, twitches, and six hits of heady fuzz, We Are Here moves between massive sludge rhythms, ashy stoner passages, and sparse pockets of simplified doom. Present throughout is a rubbery weirdness, a sporadic psychedelia that sways as much as it stomps. The sound is true and solid, evidenced by the band’s approach,” while The Obelisk enthuses, “[BLACKOUT] show up with big riffs, big stomp, and underpinnings of quirk that give their unabashed tonal weight a sense that’s both lighthearted in not taking itself too seriously and a huge part of what makes the album overall so effective.
Copping influence from stoner heavyweights like the Melvins and Sleep – easy comparisons to make, but true all the same – BLACKOUT might read on the surface like Riffy Brand X, but there’s more to We Are Here than sonic redundancies and tonal largesse.” Adds the Sludgelord pointedly, “Sometimes, you need a little bit of honest-to-goodness primordial metal. No pretence, no airs and graces, just crushing doom, feedback-saturated hunks of raw metal. This is where Brooklyn three-piece instrument destroyers BLACKOUT come in… We Are Here has bashed me like a club and dragged me back to its cave to examine its crude, yet creative, works. Put on your best animal skins, it’s about to get primitive. ”
Order your copy of We Are Here TODAY via the band’s official BandCamp page.
With food, beer and America at the forefront, it only makes sense guitar player/vocalist Christian Gordy and drummer Taryn Waldman would meet at Gordy’s 2011 July 4th cookout in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Waldman, a former Hooter’s waitress turned big time commercial film editor, and Gordy, a one-legged bartender/artist/BBQ enthusiast were an oddball couple for NY’s heavily-styled metal scene. The duo began rapidly banging out monolithic snail-paced riffs that could party as much as they could crush.
BLACKOUT – referring to blackout drunk, the absence of light, or a mobster hit on an entire family – was the only appropriate title for the band. With a three-song demo recorded at the now defunct Headgear Studios in the bag, Waldman set out on the task of stalking and acquiring drum wizard Justin Sherrel for the bass position. The sound filled out and quickly grew like Chuck Berry’s mustache. Now with Sherrel’s nitty-gritty, rhythm-heavy mud beneath an electrical tide of riffs and explosions, the mighty river of sludge was primed to lurch forward.
Cincinnati, Ohio – The Warriors of Metal, Inc. non-profit organization is honored to be able to welcome back the Houston, Texas Power/Speed Metal legends of HELSTAR as the Saturday headliner for our Seventh Annual Warriors Of Metal Fest.
Band vocalist James Rivera states: “Here I go again; round three for me to appear at Warriors of Metal Festival, at its new location O’Sheckys LIVE in Columbus, Ohio! My first time performing at WOM was when HELSTAR headlined the fest in 2012 along with MANILLA ROAD at its former grounds in Pataskala, Ohio. The band and I had an awesome experience our first time around, we were treated very well by the organizers Datis & Lea Alaee and their organization and given a warm welcome by the fans. Due to overwhelming popularity in the Midwest U.S. region and with veteran WOM festival goers, I was invited back as the headliner in 2013 to premiere my solo project, JAMES RIVERA. Once again, I received unbelievable treatment and to say the least, I’m always overly flattered by the kindness of everybody involved in WOM. Now I’ll be returning for the seventh edition of WOM Fest with HELSTAR headlining on Saturday, June 28th, and there’s no better time to have us back. We have a new album coming out on April 29th entitled “This Wicked Nest”, which will be on the streets for two months by the time we hit the stage at WOM. I feel it’s the strongest HELSTAR record to date and will embrace all HELSTAR fans, old and new, throughout the decades. We even went as far as writing an instrumental to please the neoclassical metal admirers, which features guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Loomis (NEVERMORE, SANCTUARY, CONQUERING DYSTOPIA). The most exciting part about the HELSTAR shows in 2014, is not only are we going out in support of our new album and playing many great songs from previous albums, but it also happens to be the 30-Year Anniversary of the release of “Burning Star”, our debut album that put the band on the metal map of the world in 1984. So what we will be doing for all of our shows in 2014 (beginning with our European tour) is supporting “This Wicked Nest” and including a special 30 year salute to the “Burning Star” album. This means we will be playing an extended set with Burning Star songs as our encore. So for the old school HELSTAR fans, this is a show you will not want to miss! WOM is the first and only confirmed Midwest appearance for HELSTAR so far this year. Hope to see you all there!”
Check out HELSTAR’s “Fall of Dominion” from the forthcoming album This Wicked Nest, below:
HELSTAR’s appearance at Warriors of Metal Fest VII is partially sponsored by the generous donations of: Cecil Grosskopf II from Fort Gratiot, Mich., Craig Winsom from Tucson, Ariz., Scott Landon from Ashtabula, Ohio, Mike Burke from Plymouth, Mich., and Edward J. Schmidt from Cleveland, Ohio
The 7th annual Warriors of Metal Fest will take place June 27 – 28 at O’Shecky’s LIVE Bar & Grill in Columbus, Ohio. Tickets are on sale & various levels of sponsorship opportunities are now available at the Fest’s website at www.warriorsofmetal.org.
Bands confirmed for Pre-Fest Showcase on Thursday, June 26 at O’Sheckeys Live Bar & Grill include: ETERNAL LEGACY (headliner) AUTOMATON, DEADIRON, LOWER 13, DETHRATS, GRAVE ROBBER, SPLIT THE ABYSS and WINTERHYMN.
Warriors Of Metal Fest VII confirmed bands thus far for the main Fest on Friday, June 27 & Saturday June 28 include: ARMORY, ASKA (Friday headliner), A SOUND OF THUNDER, A TORTURED SOUL, BENEDICTUM w/ special guest LEATHER LEONE, BEYOND FALLEN, BURNING SHADOWS, CELLADOR, CRUSADER, DARKER HALF, HELSTAR (Saturday headliner), LORDS OF THE TRIDENT, MITHRIDIUM, NOBLE BEAST, RESISTANCE, RESTLESS BREED, SHADOWSTRIKE, SHALLOW GROUND, STEEL ASSASSIN, VALHALLA, VERMITHRAX and ZEPHANIAH.
Keep up-to-date with all of the developments such as band announcements and ticket information for next year’s show through the Warrior’s of Metal Fest’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/warriorsofmetal
ILLDISPOSED have finished the recordings of their upcoming album at Denmark’s Antfarm Studio! Tue Madsen is soon going to take care of the mix as well as the mastering.
ILLDISPOSED’s new album will be entitled “With The Lost Souls On Our Side”! It will be the first album with new drummer Kim Langkjær Jensen, who permanently joined the band in autumn 2013.
Lasse Hoile once again created the beautiful cover artwork. He is also responsible for the artwork of the band’s previous records “1-800 Vindication”, “Burn Me Wicked” and “There Is Light… But It’s Not For Me”.
The band also posted the following statement on their facebook page a while ago: “Since we haven’t been able to reach an agreement on a cover song to record, we’ve decided to record a new version of one of our own oldies instead!”
ILLDISPOSED’s new album “With The Lost Souls On Our Side” is set to be released on June 27, 2014 via Massacre Records!
2014 has seen UK Death/Thrash outfit Flayed Disciple back in the studio recording a new EP and follow-up to the 2012 debut album ‘Death Hammer’. Chuck Creese, who produced the ‘Ejaculate While Killing’ EP in 2010, was back at the helm recording the new record.
Guitarist Jon Whitfield comments: “The new EP will remain untitled and released on a stunning 12″ vinyl as well as digitally. This release is to showcase the bands new sound and energy, and our new drummer Rich Lewis who joined us in 2013.”
‘Flayed Disciple’ EP will be released May 24th via Bethlam Records.
The EP contains three new tracks; ‘Sick Abomination’, ‘The Gates Of Bedlam’ and ‘The Maniac’ and with over 20 minutes of music, Flayed Disciple are set to deliver more of the epic thrash style that they began to carve for themselves on ‘Death Hammer’. A music video for ‘The Gates of Bedlam’ will also be released coinciding with the vinyl release.
Since the release of Flayed Disciple’s 2012 debut album ‘Death Hammer’, things have moved forward greatly and at great speed. With massive acclaim from the Metal media, Flayed Disciple gained coverage in mainstream magazines such as Metal Hammer & Terrorizer. The band released two music videos, ‘The Shrine Of Dahmer’ and ‘The Westboro Massacre’; the latter, which went on to reach over 90,000 views on YouTube.
Watch ‘The Westboro Massacre’ Here:
The band have toured up and down their native UK as well as Europe and beyond with heavyweights such as Vader, Aborted, Blood Red Throne, etc. The band have played numerous festivals including the UK’s Bloodstock Festival, Hammerfest and they made an appearance at the Indian Metal Fest in Bangalore alongside Gojira.
Flayed Disciple are now seasoned live players, and have a UK tour from May 18th to 24th as main support to Earache Records’ Thrash maniacs Bonded By Blood. The band also has a 13-day European tour from October 6th to 18th in support of another Earache Records’ band Cerebral Bore.
Massachusetts hellions, GOZU, will take their riffs overseas next week for their first-ever European takeover! Set to begin at the legendary Roadburn Festival, the band will wage a full-on volume ambush through ten select locales in the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia and Italy, concluding with a performance at Desertfest in Berlin.
GOZU will be touting the fruit of their The Fury Of A Patient Man full-length released last Spring via Small Stone. The self-produced ten track monster earned widespread praise for its Chris Cornellian vocal swells and robust, heavy rock swagger. Describes The Big Takeover of the release, “Besides wielding bruising riffs like katanas, the Cambridge, Massachusetts quartet shows an impish sense of pop culture humor with titles like ‘Charles Bronson Pinchot,’ ‘Disco Related Injury’ and the Welcome Back, Kotter referencing ‘Signed, Epstein’s Mom.’ But the primary reasons GOZU stomps most pot smoking riffmeisters into the ground are their two frontdudes. Guitarist Doug Sherman maintains a melodic touch even as his amps scream for mercy, and singer Marc Gaffney exudes as much soul as bravado.”
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Adds MetalSucks, “GOZU play the tunes on their sophomore album with a pair of great grizzled gonads. We’re talking balls, people, some truly tremendous twin testes. The kind so deeply and scraggily forested that those epic ball-beards have epic ball-beards; the kind that require a high quality wide-angle lens to get any real perspective on… At times, The Fury Of A Patient Man plays like a de-progged Mastodon after a dozen successful anger management sessions, or a laid back King Giant. The consistently competent delivery, the thick lowdown chords, dynamic proficiency and attention to density all point that direction. It’s the kind of heavy rock that just about anybody can enjoy over a few foamy brews in a hazy basement bar on a Saturday night. And when your date agrees to take the evening back to your place, you can even pretend she’s thinking of you the whole time.”
A special deluxe edition of The Fury Of A Patient Man was recently released via Small Stone in celebration of the upcoming European journey. Limited to 500 copies, the 2XLP set comes on 180-gram wax with a wide spine jacket, poly-lined sleeve, and two colors – LP one is “clear green” while LP two is “solid purple.” Sides one, two and three feature tracks from the original album, while side four offers up exclusive vinyl-only numbers with one original tune (“Break You”) and GOZUed renditions of Simply Red’s “Holding Back The Years” and D’Angelo’s “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker.”
GOZU Spring Tour 2014:
4/12/2014 Roadburn – Tilburg, NL
4/13/2014 Hafenklang – Hamburg, DE
4/15/2014 Feierwerk – Munich, DE
4/16/2014 Channel Zero – Ljubiljana, SI
4/17/2014 Magnolia – Milano, IT
4/18/2014 E20 Underground – Montecchio, IT
4/19/2014 TBA
4/20/2014 TBA
4/22/2014 Das Bette – Frankfurt, DE
4/23/2014 Musicon – Den Haag, NL
4/24/2014 The Underground – Cologne, DE
4/25/2014 Astra Kulturhaus Desertfest – Berlin, DE
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Order the vinyl edition of The Fury Of A Patient Man at THIS LOCATION.
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GOZU:
Marc Gaffney – vox/guitar Mike Hubbard -drums Doug Sherman– guitar Joe Grotto – Bass Jeff Fultz – guitAR
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