Illinois-based Vikings Thrashers THE HORDE has officially added drummer Travis Scudder to their lineup. The 20-year-old skin-basher has stepped in to replace the recently departed James Whitehurst, who left the band for personal reasons. Scudder also plays with Rock Island, Illinois Black Metal outfit SEPT OF MEMNON.
THE HORDE are currently working furiously on material for their next epic slab of Viking Thrash to be released in CD and vinyl format in the fall of 2013 by Abyss Records.
THE HORDE was formed in 2006 and released their debut album From Empire to Ashes via Scenester Credential Records in June of 2008. The band’s second album, Thy Blackened Reign,which was released in 2011, was engineered, mixed and mastered by John Hopkins and John Svec at Minstrel Studios in Iowa City, IA using old school technology married with new school production values.
Earlier this year, THE HORDE released a video for the track “Odin’s Blood,” taken from Thy Blackened Reign. Check it out below!
MITCH LUCKER – It has been reported by Suicide Silence, on their facebook, that Mitch Lucker, lead vocalist for Suicide Silence, has passed away at the young age of 28, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. The motorcycle crash happened last night (October 31st) in/near Orange County, California.
As Reported By Suicide Silence On facebook:
There’s no easy way to say this. Mitch passed away earlier this morning from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. This is completely devastating to all of us and we offer our deepest condolences to his family. He will be forever in our hearts.
R.I.P. Mitchell Adam Lucker – We Love You Brother
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Stone Says: Mitch Lucker and his band Suicide Silence have taken the torch of Extreme Metal and carried it proudly, as a fast rising and world popular Metal band. I am shocked and saddened at this tragic news. Metal Odyssey expresses condolences to the family, friends, bandmates and fans of Mitch Lucker.
Good news from Germany. Massacre Records has confirmed that the contract with Nightqueen (is) extended.
The band is in writing modus and already with the first demo recordings. The attendees on Rebel Rock have already become acquainted with “Rain of Blood and Fear.” The successor of “For Queen and Metal” is approaching. It’s still just brainstorming to the title of the album but the music will (have) greatly evolved sound. Production is in the hands of Rex, Danny and Christian Moos.
Also as reported on the facebook of NIGHTQUEEN:
Nightqueen welcomes 2 new band members. More about this in a few days … stay tuned.
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Listen and watch below the recently released video for Diamonds & Rust, as performed by NIGHTQUEEN!
* This song is recorded as a tribute to its songwriter Joan Baez and also to Judas Priest. Diamonds & Rust will not appear on a NIGHTQUEEN album.
HELL ON WHEELS TOUR 1987 – That’s it at the top! That’s my Hell On Wheels Tour 1987 cassette! This (now historical) tour featured: Grim Reaper, Armored Saint and Helloween. Whoa! As you can see, this cassette was a free sampler!. I obtained this old school Metal cassette sometime last Winter, at a thrift store. I paid a ridiculous price of 50 cents (U.S.) for this very cool cassette too. Yes, it plays just fine!
This tour was sponsored by MTV Headbangers Ball; yet there is no print or logo stating this on the cassette. The inside of the cassette jacket is blank. Notice the crack on the cassette tape box? That’s old school man!
Back in 1987, the Hell On Wheels Tour did not pass through the state I was living in; that being the very expensive state of Connecticut. Can’t see ’em all, I guess. Still, it super sucks I never saw this tour.
Here is what the spine of this cassette looks like:
Hell On Wheels Tour 1987 – Track Listing:
Side One:
Hell On Wheels Medley – Rock You To Hell / Isolation / Halloween
Grim Reaper – Night Of The Vampire
Side Two:
Armored Saint – Raising Fear
Helloween – Future World
Here is what the backside of the cassette tape jacket looks like:
The 3 record label logos printed on this cassette tape jacket are: RCA, Concrete and Chrysalis.
Speaking of Power Metal pioneers HELLOWEEN… their 14th studio album, Straight Out Of Hell, will be released on January 18th, 2013! Whoa! Metal be thy name! Yes, I’m psyched-out about this! Are you?
October 31, 2012 – London, UK – The music industry is buzzing about the new concept album by former legendary Uriah Heep / Lucifer’s Friend vocalist John Lawton titled ‘The Power of Mind’. An innovative new CD, conceived, written and produced by the CGI member, Dr. Milen Vrabevski, but performed by John Lawton and Bulgarian ensemble Diana Express, ‘The Power of Mind’ is an exploration into the science of positive thinking and its applications to the subconscious mind. Featuring 14 amazing songs that showcase the soulful vocals of John Lawton and the powerful instrumentals by Diana Express will leave you wanting to hear it again and again…
“ ‘The Power of Mind’ is a concept album with positive thinking being the theme,” John explains. “In the world of today, I don’t think there are many better things to focus on. The way the songs flow into each other is really the way one would read a book or relate stories to friends. The melodies and lyrics say a lot about how we should view each other.”
John Lawton began his musical career in North Shields, UK, in the early ’60s with The Deans, a bunch of kids who decided at random that John should be singer. He then moved on to West One and later to Stonewall, which included John Miles, Vic Malcolm (later of Geordie) and Paul Thompson (later of Roxy Music). After Stonewall finished a stint at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg in 1969, John decided to stay in Germany. He is offered the job as singer with legendary German cult rock band Lucifer’s Friend (1969-1976, 1979-1995) and subsequently recorded 9 studio albums during his time with the band. In the early ’70s John also joined the Les Humphries Singers, with whom he recorded more than 20 albums and took part at 1976’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Listen to and watch the video for Fairy Tale below!
Stone Says:John Lawton has a truly amazing and timeless voice. Diana Express are certainly world-class musicians. I cannot say it any better than that. Metal be thy name.
In 1976 John joined Uriah Heep as their front man, and recorded the classic albums ‘Innocent Victim’, ‘Firefly’, ‘Fallen Angel’ and ‘Live ’79’, and toured Europe and the USA until September 1979. During his longstanding career John has worked with some big names of rock, on various projects, including Roger Glover’s ‘Butterfly Ball’ and Eddie Hardin’s ‘Wizard’s Convention II’. In late 1980 he joined German rock band Rebel on three albums, including their hit singles “Line of Fire” and “Eagles Flight”. He would record one more album with the group, now known as ZAR in the early ’90s. John ventured into the world of classical music when he recorded vocals for Volker Barber’s ‘Excalibur’. In January 1994 he formed GunHill, later known as JLB – John Lawton Band. The band recorded two albums (studio/live) and toured the UK and Europe. In August 2000 John recorded his first solo album, the critically acclaimed ‘Still Paying My Dues To The Blues’.
In December 2008 John entered the world of television by presenting the Bulgarian travel documentary series “John Lawton Presents”. Which leads to the teaming of John and Bulgaria’s Diana Express in November 2011 to record ‘The Power of Mind’ in Plevin, Bulgaria. John comments, “The involvement came via a musician friend of mine from Sofia, Bulgaria, who knows the writer and producer of the album, Milen Vrabevski. I met with Milen briefly in Sofia after an exchange of e-mails and he gave me a copy of the original ‘The Power of Mind’ CD, which had been sung in Bulgarian. I must say I liked it very much, it was very well sung, played and produced. Milen then asked me if I would consider singing the whole album again in English and after looking through the English lyrics I agreed. It was a real joy to record in the studio in Pleven, owned by the guitarist of the band, Maxim Goranov. It took me about a week and a half to complete the solo and backing vocals.”
John Lawton has built a reputation on his powerful vocals and charismatic personality and is regarded as one of the best singers around today! And now with his new CD ‘The Power of Mind’, John has reached an artistic peak. In conclusion John has this to impart to his longtime listeners, “People who know me and my background will expect something new and with ‘The Power of Mind’ they have exactly that. The album is a collection of excellent songs very well-played and produced and one which I am very proud of…so make sure you give it a good listen. Think positive and trust in the Power of Mind.”
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Available soon on iTunes, “Fairy Tale”, the first single from ‘The Power of Mind’.
Title: John Lawton and Diana Express – ‘The Power of Mind’
Originally released to the underground in 2009, MAELSTROM’s It Was Predestined is now available in digital format via Los Angeles’ Itchy Metal Entertainment (IME).
Few self-released EPs have been met with the kind of critical acclaim and fan reception as It Was Predestined. Famed music journalist Martin Popoff called the release “A symphony of progressiveness the likes of which has pretty much never been articulated, invented, or heard, before now,” and world-renowned publications such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer and MetalSucks.net all sang MAELSTROM’s praises upon the EP’s release.
When MAELSTROM signed with IME earlier this year, it seemed only natural for the EP to be offered once again to metal fans around the world. Visit http://www.itchymetal.com to order your copy today.
Check out the video below of MAELSTROM guitarist and Julliard guest lecturer Joey Lodes in the studio demoing solos for the EP.
International Critical Praise for It Was Predestined:
Named in the Top two Unsigned Bands Worldwide – Terrorizer
Demo of the Month, January 2009 – Rock Hard
“Fusing a dizzying array of styles – death, power, thrash and prog-metal – with cinematic elements, jaw-dropping musicality and Gary Vosganian’s eccentric, staccato vocals, cult New York band Maelstrom have ended a two-decade hiatus to present something thunderously unique.” – Metal Hammer
A symphony of progressiveness the likes of which has pretty much never been articulated, invented, or heard, before now.- Martin Popoff –Editor in Chief BWBK
“This band is on their way to becoming the next big thing.” – Metal Asylum
“Pagan/folk/viking/whatever metal has fallen out of favor since it momentarily exploded onto the scene in 2008-2009, but every so often a band in that micro-genre comes along that piques our interest. Long Island crew MaelstroM have some of the trademarks of that genre – vocals that occasionally soar, fantasy-themed artwork, keyboards – but theirs is a brand that’s distinctly thrashier and a whole lot less cheesy than most of what we hear. Great guitar work, too.” – Metal Sucks
“These tracks will leave you breathless…their power is undeniable” – The Gauntlet
“It Was Predestined is a flattering combination of old school and new school power, and it works surprisingly well.” – Metal Review
“Maelstrom is not your typical power metal act and It Was Predestined is going to strike a nerve with classic fans.” – Teeth of the Divine
“MaelstroM are not only back, they’re stronger than ever and dedicated to bringing their wildly inventive brand of metal to a new generation of listeners.” – Ultimate Guitar
“Maelstrom are a mean and snarly power metal band, and they aren’t afraid to keep things raw instead of sparkly.” – Unrestrained!
“If you love huge, massively melodic metal with an off the wall touch, ‘It Was Predestined’ is worth a listen.” – Chronicles of Chaos
HAPPY METAL HALLOWEEN! Today is October 31st and Halloween 2012 is finally here! As you’ll see below, I’ve selected some of my all-time favorite spooky albums and movies, especially for all you Metal ghouls, monsters, witches, zombies and goblins out there. Enjoy!
The scary album cover at the top of this post is Orange Goblin’s fourth studio album Coup De Grace. Released back in 2002 via Rise Above Records, I highly recommend Coup De Grace from the solid-as-steel discography of Orange Goblin. This isn’t a Horror Metal album, yet it is lyrically filled with plenty of strange stories. MonkeyPanic is a true Horror themed song, however. Coup De Grace contains a sensationally cool mix of Stoner Metal, Doom and a cover of the Misfits classicWe Bite, (a song which adds a potent moment of Horror Punk to this album).
As with many of you out there, my favorite King Diamond album is Abigail. One of the greatest Metal concept albums ever written, structured and performed, in my Metal opinion! Released back in 1987 via RoadrunnerRecords, Abigail also features current and longtime Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee. Abigail is the crème de la crème of the King Diamond discography, without any Metal doubt in my mind.
What would a Metal Halloween be without the super-duper legendary IRON MAIDEN? For that matter, what would Halloween be like without IRON MAIDEN’s iconic mascot Eddie? I cringe at the thoughts! IRON MAIDEN without question, has the greatest assemblage of album covers in Heavy Metal history. Thanks to artists DerekRiggs and Melvyn Grant, Eddie’s mascot celebrity within the world of Metal is second to none.
* Back on March 25th, 2010, I posted a feature titled: My Favorite Heavy Metal Album Cover Is… and you can read all about it by clicking the link below! Hint: It’s IRON MAIDEN.
Directed by the ultra-legendary John Carpenter, They Live was released back in 1988 and is distributed by Universal Studios. This is a Science Fiction-Horro Film that essentially shows what our world would be like if taken over by elitist aliens. Uh, huh. Filthy rich space aliens want to take over the world!
My favorite professional wrestler of all-time is the star of They Live: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. I feel his performance in They Live was stellar, just like his wrestling career. Rowdy Roddy Piper gives plenty of hurtin’ on these white-collar space aliens, before he, um… I won’t give the ending of this fabulous movie away.
Shout! Factory will be releasing, on November 6th, 2012, a “collector’s edition” of They Live, on both DVD and Blu-ray. Check out Shout! Factory here: http://www.shoutfactory.com
Another Science Fiction thriller directed by John Carpenter! This creepy Sci-Fi film takes place in 1997 and New York City is a maximum security prison! Once you’re put inside this NYC prison, you never come out… unless you’re Snake Plissken.
Legendary actor Kurt Russell is phenomenal in his role as Snake Plissken; his mission is to rescue The President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) from this horrible prison. It’s detailed as to how this all happened! Just get this movie at all Metal costs, if you already haven’t.
* Escape From New York was released back in 1981 and distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures.
* Escape From New York also stars such other notable actors: Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Adrienne Barbeau and Isaac Hayes as The Duke of New York.
* I once met the producer for Escape From New York! Debra Hill was introduced to me at a wedding I attended (somewhere) in Long Island, (sometime) back in the ’90’s. A very quick “hello” and (I think) handshake and that’s about it. That’s my “brush with fame” when it comes to this unreal terrific movie!
STRYPER – Attention STRYPER fans in South America! Two new dates have been announced via http://www.stryper.com and they are listed below! Metal be thy name!
February 16, 2013 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Teatro Flores
February 17, 2013 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Carioca Club
Oct. 30, 2012, LOS ANGELES — ISIS’ demo version of Ghost Key, from the forthcoming retrospective releaseTemporal (Nov. 6, Ipecac), is currently streaming via Pitchfork.com: (http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14511-ghost-key/).
The track was recorded in the band’s Los Angeles rehearsal space by Aaron Harris and Aaron Turner in 2007. Ghost Key was included on the band’s final album, Wavering Radiant.
1. Streetcleaner (Godflesh cover, Recorded in 1999)
2. Hand of Doom (Black Sabbath cover, Originally released on the Sawblade CD, 1999)
3. Not in Rivers, But in Drops (Melvins/Lustmord remix; originally released on Holy Tears, 2007)
4. Holy Tears (Thomas Dimuzio remix; originally released on NIRBID, 2008)
5. Temporal (Recorded in 2009) *
6. Way Through Woven Branches (originally released on Melvins/ISIS split LP, 2010)
7. Pliable Foe (originally released on Melvins/ISIS split LP, 2010)
8. 20 Minutes/40 Years (acoustic version) *
DVD (official music videos)
1. In Fiction
2. Holy Tears
3. Not In Rivers, But in Drops
4. 20 Minutes/40 Years
5. Pliable Foe *
* Previously unreleased
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Aaron Harris, Jeff Caxide and Clifford Meyer recently partnered with Chino Moreno (Deftones) to form Palms (https://www.facebook.com/palmssongs).
The band’s debut album will be out in the Spring of 2013 via Ipecac. Aaron Turner’s Old Man Gloom released No in late June, he is currently touring with Mamiffer. Mike Gallagher continues on with his solo project MGR as well as scoring films, most recently 22nd of May.
Looking to get your Halloween treat a little early? If so, teleport over to the dungeons of Metal Underground where you unearth the startling truth that A BAND OF ORCS have returned, after 5 years, with their first full-length album, Adding Heads to the Pile, due out on Itchy Metal Entertainment on Halloween of 2012, following up their debut 2007 EP WarChiefs of the Apocalypse (Produced by Scott Lee Sargeant, engineered by Juan Urteaga).
The latest offering, Adding Heads to the Pile (Produced and Engineered by Juan Urteaga), a concept album, tells tales of A BAND OF ORCS’ mercenary employment for a human kingdom in the realm of Hirntodia. This craven kingdom of humans hires the Gore-Stained Axe Tribe to “settle their giant troubles” for them with axe and spear, but they get a lot more than they bargained for, once the orcs fulfill the terms of their geas by vanquishing the giants and return to pay the piper. Come listen to songs about war, gold, and betrayal; featuring monstrous foes the likes of dragons, giants, titans, elementals, volcanoes, humans, chaos gods and more.
March over to Metal Underground now, add your head to the pile, and hear the exclusive album stream ofAdding Heads to the Pile. The cover and liner notes for the album contain art by fantasy illustrators Chuck Lukacs and Lorraine Schleter, both of whom have done work for Wizards of the Coast, among other role-playing game companies.
You can assure yourself of being spared when the Domination comes by pre-ordering your copy of “Adding Heads to the Pile” at www.abandoforcs.storenvy.com now.
Saxon live plans – Saxon Facebook has cracked 70k followers!!!
We are still busy with the last final details for the new album! Major announcement re the new album will follow shortly!
In the meantime we want to thank you all for your support! That gives us the strength and the will to move on and to work as hard as we can! Your support is not only viewable in all the nice letters and emails and everything you are sending but also in the fantastic amount of Facebook followers! We have reached the unbelievable number of 70.273!!!
To give you a little bit back we confirmed to play the Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen, Germany on the second July weekend. The great thing is that we don’t just play a “normal” headline gig. We are bringing the mighty “Heavy Metal Thunder” Production we already used on this years Wacken Festival! We will see where else we are able to take this production and keep you of course updated. Further live dates will be also announced soon.
Kolumbarium, the latest slab of old school darkness from masters of Swedish Death Metal MORDBRAND is now available on vinyl 7″ from Deathgasm Records.
MORDBRAND (Swedish for arson) offers two new deadly hymns to the rotten here and when that needle drops into the groove it’s the putrid and unsettling atmosphere you’ll recognize immediately as 100 percent genuine Swedish-made Death!
Stone Says: The Death Metal assault that MORDBRAND unleashes with their song Consume Them has branded my brains with this inscription: Thou Shall Uphold The Swedish Death Metal Of MORDBRAND. Death Metal fans worldwide absolutely must hear and breathe in the Death Metal of MORDBRAND. Metal be thy name.
ADORNED BROOD’s new album is going to be released on November 23, 2012 via Massacre Records!
“Kuningaz” was recorded at the Kohlekeller Studio in Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany, with producer Kai Stahlenberg and will also be available as limited digipak. It will include a new recording of ADORNED BROOD’s old song “Totenmarsch” as bonus track.
Germany’s cult label Ván Records is proud to unleash the opening track to Interbellum, the debut album from Dutch Rock outfit, GOLD, confirmed for worldwide release on the edge of the Mayan calendar, December 7th, 2012.
Recorded at the Amsterdam Recording Company, Interbellum offers nine hard-rocking pop songs that will enrich the contemporary Rock landscape with its fresh vocals, catchy riffing, its driving rhythms and refreshing songwriting. A world in crisis needs a Rock album full of urgency, anger and hope. Here it is.
The opening track to Interbellum, “One Of Us,” was shot on a gloomy Autumn afternoon at GOLD‘s rehearsal space at Studio SanteBoutique, Rotterdam. Check it out below!
The main drive of GOLD’s songwriting takes place between vocalist Milena Eva and guitarist Thomas Sciarone (ex-The Devil’s Blood). Longtime friends, drummer Igor Wouters and bassist Harm Haverman provide a steady yet adventurous foundation and guitarist Nick Polak completes the bunch with his talent for harmony and melody. Each song on Interbellum is a well-crafted piece of music and a story on its own, and overall is a monument to our time and to a civilization in decline. It deals with instability and the fear of things to come, yet offers a spark of love and hope in an attempt to give meaning to life in modern times. The album’s authentic tone and warmth completes the richness of GOLD’s sound, produced by Igor Wouters and Vanderbuyst main man Willem Verbuyst.
GOLD will be performing live by the end of 2012, delivering their songs to every soul that cares to listen.
Interbellum Track Listing:
1. One Of Us
2. Antebellum
3. Love, The Magician
4. Gone Under
5. Dreams
6. North
7. Medicine Man
8. The Hunt
9. Ruby
Stone Says: I dig this band! GOLD ROCKS! From the vocals of Milena Eva to the overall melodic Rockin’ sound that this band generates, GOLD is a band to keep our Rockaholic eyes and ears on! Metal be thy name.
Deepsend Records will release Godless, the new album from Danish old school Death Metallers DEUS OTIOSUS on November 20th. The Danes’ sophomore effort (and first for Deepsend) is the follow-up to debut album Murderer, which was released by FDA Rekotz and American Line Productions.
Take a listen to album track Pest Grave below!
Visit the Deepsend Records Webstore for ordering information:
In a world where no god watches or guides, humankind is left to fend for itself like feral children. And in this world, horror and cruelty of every unspeakable kind lives and breathes amongst us. These horrors are echoed in Godless. This is old school death metal with nuances of black and thrash, creating a heavy, down-tuned force that will appease the servants of Hell while they slave for their sins.
HURRICANE SANDY – I live in Central/Eastern Pennsylvania, right near the border of New Jersey. Therefore, the impact of Hurricane Sandy is very real to me and my family. As was the case last year, with Hurricane Irene, taking safety precautions and hunkering down is my #1 concern. I’ve been trying to make sure no items are left in the yard that will become dangerous flying debris; while checking off our list of necessities: batteries, first-aid supplies, radio, non-perishable food, gas for the car and of course… bottled water.
It’s a very melancholy mood for us right now, while awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. I’m sure anyone living on the East/Northeast Coast knows what I mean. What’s so outrageous and creepy is just last year, we all endured the wrath of Hurricane Irene and a major ice storm (back-to-back); both storms left their mark, that’s for certain.
Apparently, Hurricane Sandy will make her presence known sometime around Sunday night, with her outer bands of wind and rain. The “main impact” of this hurricane will be felt here on Tuesday. I hope and pray that life and property are not impacted as heavily as the forecasters predict. Life is precious and my main concern is for family, friends and Metal Buddies.
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I have drafted some posts in advance of this hurricane and have scheduled them to launch throughout this coming week of Halloween. In the event you see posts begin to cease come next weekend or I’m not leaving reply comments on the posts and emails go unanswered, then that means our power is out. I surely hope we don’t lose power. Predictions for power outages are being discussed in the news by length of “weeks” and not days!
That’s the update thus far, on what to expect from Metal Odyssey’s coverage of Rock N’ Metal this coming week. I wish everyone living on the East/Northeast Coast to stay safe and strong, through this awful ordeal that Mother Nature has once again dealt us. Meteorologists have been calling Hurricane Sandy the storm of the century, the perfect storm and even… Frankenstorm. Scary times indeed. Metal be thy name.
London, UK – Much to the excitement of music fans across the planet, Dutch rock legends Focus will be undertaking a worldwide tour beginning November 2012 in support of their forthcoming CD Focus X. With their unique brand of progressive rock, Focus manifested themselves at the start of the ’70s as the most successful and appreciated of all the Dutch pop-rock exports. Fronted by founding member Thijs Van Leer, and best known for their hits “Hocus Pocus”, “House of The King” and “Sylvia”, as well as critically acclaimed albums ‘Moving Waves’, ‘Focus 3’ and ‘Hamburger Concerto’, the iconic Dutch music masters are back with their tenth album, which is guaranteed to please their legions of fans!
After a comeback in the early 2000’s, which resulted in the well-received albums ‘Focus 8’ and ‘Focus 9’, the band regrouped with a fantastic new line-up. Along with Thijs van Leer on vocals, flute and keyboards, back on the drums is famed Focus drummer Pierre van der Linden, who joined the group on their second album ‘Moving Waves’ in 1972. Internationally renowned for his rhythmic skills, Pierre remains a defining factor in the Focus sound. Bassist Bobby Jacobs, who comes from a well-acclaimed Dutch musical family and guitarist Menno Gootjes, who participated in Focus at an earlier stage, completes the band’s current line-up. Recently, Focus’s biggest hit “Hocus Pocus” was used in a 4-minute Nike commercial before the World Cup broadcast. Focus music can be regularly heard on Top Gear and Saxondale TV.
A new Focus era has arrived! There is a rejuvenated passion in the new compositions that adorn the new album ‘Focus X’, which features a full-scale Roger Dean painting on the cover. Says Thijs van Leer, who holds the distinction of being the first ever knighted musician in Holland, “It’s a thrill to have finally completed ‘Focus X’; we are all ecstatic and looking forward to playing the new material on the forthcoming Focus X Tour.”
As reported on the Official MANOWAR Website – The Kingdom Of Steel:
MANOWAR will return to Germany’s cult show ‘TV Total’ on October 30 and reunite with TV Total host and entertainer Stefan Raab.
2012 not only marks the 10 year anniversary of MANOWAR’s hit album ‘Warriors Of The World’, but also the band’s last visit on TV Total and Stefan’s memorable performance during the Warriors Of The World Tour.
MANOWAR will perform ‘Touch The Sky’ live, a track from the new album ‘The Lord Of Steel’ that is now available in stores and on iTunes worldwide.
“Stefan is a really cool guy and a true metal brother.” said Joey DeMaio. “We look forward to meeting him again and to shake the studio walls with the new sound of MANOWAR!”
The show will be aired on October 30, 2012 at 11:10PM CET on Pro7.
SUICIDE SILENCE fans can now win one of guitarist Mark Heylmun’s signature LTD MKH-7 guitars! Simply head over to Mark’s official Facebook, like the page, and then enter your details to be placed into the drawing to win one of these awesome guitars. This competition is open to anyone in any country. Contest ends November 15th.
SUICIDE SILENCE recently announced that they have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment, the new division of Nuclear Blast formed by Nuclear Blast owner Markus Staiger and former Roadrunner A&R chief, Monte Conner. As one of the leaders of the Extreme Modern Metal movement, it is only fitting that their new home be one of the biggest Metal labels on the planet. It’s a union that is sure to bring much success to both parties in the not so distant future.
SUICIDE SILENCE’s Nuclear Blast Entertainment debut is tentatively scheduled for a Summer 2013 release.
Go to Mark Heylmun’s facebook by clicking on link below!
THE WRETCHED END – The second studio album, Inroads, from Norway’s The Wretched End was released this past Summer, via Candlelight Records. The Metal muscular supergroup of Samoth (lead/rhythm guitars), Cosmo (lead/rhythm guitars, bass & vocals) and Nils Fjellström are so incredible together that it’s scary. These three musicians are at the very top of their Metal tier once again with Inroads.
Dark lyrically, Extreme with a blackened atmosphere and mood; I cannot get enough of this sophomore release from The Wretched End. The combination of Cosmo’s vocals and the Metal music are for all intents and purposes… Extreme perfection. If our Metal community needs an ambassador band to stand up to all the societal bullshit we must (all) endure, then I’m electing The Wretched End.
Samoth is a Metal legend. Period. His presence is heard and remarkably felt all over these songs on Inroads and it’s a grand experience to take in. Nils Fjellström on drums is so damn great to listen to. Honestly, this band was meant-to-be and they play like they’ve been together forever. This entire album is a favorite for me, with each song blazing into the next in all of its Extreme and Blackened Metal glory.
Inroads is easily one of the very best among Metal albums of 2012, in my personal Metal opinion. This is an album you must hear and spread the Metal word about. Fans of Emperor, Dark Funeral, Scum and Zyklon know these guys are unreal at mastering their Metal craft. What’s important to know is – The Wretched End bestows Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal and all grand attributes of Extreme Metal, all wrapped into one.
The Wretched End blew my Metal mind with their 2010 debut Ominous; this follow-up titled Inroads has had the same, if not more of an effect on me; in turn, solidifying my highest level of recommendation of their Metal to all my fellow Metal brethren. The Wretched End is what Metal is all about. Metal be thy name.
If you’re a band or musician and would like your music reviewed or be interviewed by Stone, please click the link under the “ALBUM REVIEWS ARCHIVES” section below!
Metal Odyssey's Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame! These Are The Rock And METAL Legends Wrongfully Ignored By "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame"
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