L.A. Guns released the first single, ‘You Betray’, from their upcoming album ‘Black Diamonds’, on February 3rd. Tracii Guns took to twitter stating that music producer and session musician, Adam Hamilton had sent the drum tracks to him first.
Guns went on to tweet “…I wrote music to the drums and that’s a first for me. Has an obvious Immigrant Song rhythm which is a monster thing.” The strong ‘Immigrant Song’ influence is no surprise with Guns’ well known love for Led Zeppelin. Just like any experienced songwriter would be able to do, Guns perfectly melded the Viking like intensity of Immigrant Song with the signature LA Guns sleaze that seems to get heavier with each new album.
This song also showcases the ever increasing and extremely impressive vocal range of lead singer Phil Lewis. Lewis has kept his voice pristine and after 35 years can still hit and hold the same notes he did on their debut album. The addition of audio effects throughout the song perfectly complements and even amplifies Lewis’ voice and adds to the emotion and power behind the song.
Black Diamonds is set to be released on April 14th and following the exceedingly well received release of ‘Checkered Past’ in 2022, the fans are chomping at the bit to see what L.A. Guns still has up their sleeve. The announcement of the track listing was enough to spark even more excitement in fans. Along with the album release date, L.A. Guns has also revealed their plans for a 2023 tour with dates to be announced.
– Tanis Enos
‘Black Diamonds’ Track Listing: 1 You Betray 2 Wrong About You 3 Diamonds 4 Babylon 5 Shame 6 Shattered Glass 7 Gonna Lose 8 Got It Wrong 9 Lowlife 10 Crying 11 Like A Drug
EUROPE… 2023! Most dates on sale now. Poland, Estonia, Sweden & Czech Republic on-sale Friday, 3 February. France on-sale Thursday, 2 February. Tickets & info at megadeth.com/tour
Promo pic by Sami Hinkkanen. (From left to right: Rasmus Raassina, Harri Annala, Marko Loukamaa, Miika Erkkilä, Ari Lempinen, Esa Lempinen
Finnish progressive metal band Sum of Seven released a new single and music video ”The Monster…The King’. The track is released in collaboration with Inverse Records.
Ari Lempinen comments: “In the song The Monster…The King we wanted to give more room to the instruments to tell the story supporting the vocals. The song flows with tasty solos and tight riffs in synergy with Marko’s vocals and dances between succulent blasting and a relaxing respite. The music reflects the atmosphere of the lyrics, which dive deep into a dreamlike space where the monsters and kings within us are in juxtaposition. The music video features the skilled breakdancer Jose Granados aka Bboy Kalaco who interprets the mood and the message of the song with his skillful moves.“
Single cover by Ari Lempinen
The Monster…The King (single 2023)
Composed by Ari Lempinen Lyrics by Ari Lempinen, Esa Lempinen & Marko Loukamaa
Line-up: Ari Lempinen: Guitar, backing vocals Esa Lempinen: Keyborads Rasmus Raassina: Drums Harri Annala: Guitar Miika Erkkilä: Bass Marko Loukamaa: Vocals
Not many bands can say they are releasing their third album thirty-five years after their debut, but not many bands have the history that California rockers Roxanne have. Originally formed in the late 80’s, Roxanne garnered commercial success with their 1988 self-titled debut album which was well received with two songs charting on rock radio; “Cherry Bay” and “Sweet Maria”, as well as a cover of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.”
The band is back with their first album of new material in five years and second for Rat Pak Records. Stereo Typical features ten brand new songs from the quartet comprised of Jamie Brown (Vocals, Guitar), John Butler (Guitar), Joe Infante (Bass) and Dave Landry (Drums). The new album also features guest appearance from Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big, dUg Pinnick of King’s X and Jeff Scott Soto. Stereo Typicalis scheduled for release worldwide on February 24th.
From the driving intro of album opener “Stereotypical” to the anthemic outro of “Without A Rope,” Roxanne is back with their signature sound of rock-n-roll that garnered them a legion of fans in the late 80’s and continue to support them today. Tracks like “Gotta Live,” “The Cost Of Living” and “Until They Do” are chock full of memorable hooks and melodies. Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert adds a blistering solo to the piano ballad “Looks Like Rain.” King’s X frontman dUg Pinnick offers his vocal talents to the catchy “Only A Call Away” and Jeff Scott Soto shines on the first single “Keep On Keepin’ On.
TRACK LISTING: 01 Stereo Typical 02 Looks Like Rain (ft Paul Gilbert) 03 Gotta Live (explicit) 04 Only A Call Away (ft dUg Pinnick) 05 The Cost Of Living 06 Open Book 07 Waiting For Laura 08 Keep On Keepin’ On (ft Jeff Scott Soto) 09 Until They Do 10 Without A Rope 11 Nothing To Lose (bonus track)
Helsinki’s longest serving gothic rock vampires THE 69 EYES will return to Western US stages this Spring! The week-long Gotta Rock US Tour will commence on May 5th in Phoenix, Arizona at The Nile Theater and run through May 13th in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sick New World Fest. Support will be provided by Pretty Boy Floyd on select dates. Alongside some classics, fans can expect to hear tracks taken from THE 69 EYES’ long-awaited new album, to be released later this year via Atomic Fire Records. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 27th. See all confirmed dates below.
THE 69 EYES w/ Pretty Boy Floyd:
5/05/2023 The Nile Theater – Phoenix, AZ [tickets]
5/13/2023 Sick New World Fest – Las Vegas, NV [tickets] *
* No Pretty Boy Floyd
Recently, THE 69 EYES released the single “Gotta Rock” – a cover from the famous Finnish hard rock band Boycott that released the rock anthem in the late ‘80s. Stream or download THE 69 EYES’ rendition of Boycott’s “Gotta Rock” at THIS LOCATION.
Further info on the new album from THE 69 EYES will follow in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out the band’s Drive EP HERE.
THE 69 EYES: Jyrki 69 – vocals Bazie – guitars Timo Timo – guitars Archzie – bass Jussi 69 – drums
Italy’s ADVERSOR will release their new studio album “Portrait Of A Wasteland” February 24th 2023 via Time To Kill Records, today unveiling the record’s cover art, track listing and stunning first single.
Portrait Of A Wasteland” represents a journey through some of the darkest moments a person can ever experience: suffering, anxiety, grief, frustration, barren dreams, denied future without forgetting a ferocious critic to a rotten society, clearly drowning into a spiral of extremisms. Ten raging tracks of pure metal that define a new chapter for the band, displaying a more mature sound mixing Thrash, Death, Black and classic Heavy. Vitriolic lyrics, razor-sharp riffs, neckwrecking parts are what “Portrait Of A Wasteland” is made of.
Formed in 2015, ADVERSOR released a demo and two full-length albums, “Rise to Survive” and “The End of Mankind”, in quick succession. Both records allowed them to play everywhere in Italy and Europe alongside acts such as Exciter, Protector, Nifelheim, Gama Bomb and many others.
Discography:
Beware of the Soothsayer (demo) – 2016 Rise to Survive – 2016 The End of Mankind – 2018
Line-up:
Dado – Vocals/Guitar Phil – Guitar Ale – Bass Ja – Drums
“You are invincible— it happens in your brain.” That’s the core message of the single “Invincible” by Swiss hard rockers SHAKRA, who kick off 2023 with this new anthem featuring powerful walls of guitars and haunting melodies. “As simple as this statement may sound, it stands for the essential in everyone’s life, the ability to have an unbreakable will and thereby achieve or create great things. But not only that. It can also mean being able to pull oneself out of the deepest swamp and be perceived in this society as a person steeled with self-confidence.” SHAKRA’s new song is a source of power to strengthen exactly this will. You can achieve anything, not if you believe in it, but if you know it… and that makes you invincible!
After the five piece shared their latest single, “The Way It Is” by the end of last year, today, SHAKRA premiered a music video for their new song “Invincible”. Watch the clip HERE
Metal Odyssey is proud to present the newest video interview done by our very own Tanis Enos for her series “What Did You Just Ask Me?” Episode 2. This edition’s guest is axe slinger Sam Bam Koltun for the ultra acclaimed Faster Pussycat. He also plays for Dorothy and Budderside. Tanis once again gives us a fun and fact filled interview that we’re sure you’ll enjoy!
Finnish melodic death metal band Admire the Grim released their debut EP Rogue Five on January 13th 2023 via Inverse Records. Strictly limited CD version is released on February 3rd and pre-sale is available on Inverse Records Store.
The band comments on making of ‘Rogue Five’ EP:
“After our first single release in the spring of 2022 we soon started rehearsing on our debut EP to be ready for the studio recordings. We recorded everything in the summer of 2022 in our beautiful hometown Lappeenranta and we also filmed our first music video for the title track that summer. A lot of our friends participated in the making of the music video and some of them joined us in the studio to record gang shouts as well. In other words, the entire process went smoothly in good company and the energy was high! In our opinion we managed to capture that vibe for the record itself and we are very pleased about how it turned out. Huge thanks go to our friends, Saku Moilanen, Onni Lappalainen, Mikko Tirkkonen and Inverse Records for making it such a smooth sail.”
Admire the Grim is a melodic death metal band from Lappeenranta, Finland. The group was formed by five friends in early 2021. In May 2022 the band released its first single ‘Storm the Barricade’ and in September 2022 music video and single for ‘Rogue Five’ saw the daylight. In November 2022 the second single ‘The Flood’ from ‘Rogue Five’ -EP was released and the EP itself is published on January 2023 via Inverse Records.
Line-up: Katri Snellman (vocals) Jani Loikkanen (guitar) Sirja Ojaniemi (guitar) Kalle Raatikainen (bass) Tommi Vante (drums)
EP cover by Anssi Kuivalainen
Admire the Grim – Rogue Five (EP) (2023)
01. The Flood 02. Mad Queen of the Second Sun 03. Admire the Grim 04. Rogue Five
When it comes to defending the core values of timeless power metal and combining them with fresh stylistic variations and exciting stories, Swedish power metallers Bloodbound have always been fighting at the forefront. With nine studio albums in 16 years under their belt, the six-piece has proven their versatility and inventiveness countless times. Following the much acclaimed, latest record Creatures Of TheDark Realm (2021, AFM Records), Bloodbound have announced the release of their upcoming masterpiece, entitled Tales From The North!
“‘Tales From The North’ is very much a concept album about the viking era. About the lives of our ancestors up here in the dark, cold and unfriendly environments of the north,” explains lead guitarist Tomas Olsson and summarizes the content of their eleven songs: “Different legends and myths intertwine during the course of the songs, leading up to the epic battle of 1066, which marks the end of the viking era.” Those who already know the sound of Bloodbound can imagine the metallic force the band employs to evoke this story. Tales From The Northwill be released on July 7, 2023 via AFM/Soulfood as a 2-CD digipak including a live CD. As a special treat, it will also be released as a strictly limited box set as well as coloured vinyl LPs.
Give ear, as today, the band shared a lyric video for their first album single “Odin’s Prayer”! “Odin’s Prayer is a real banger of a song”, Fredrik Bergh comments. “It represents the new album well and I think it’s a great first taste of the new record. On Tales From The North we have gone back to the roots of bloodbound a bit and I think the bloodheads will like what they hear!“
Watch the Official Lyric Video for Odin’s Prayer HERE
Bloodbound have not only improved in terms of content, but also musically. Says Olsson: “The songs are more fast-paced and closer to some of our earlier stuff like ’Moria’ and ’Nosferatu’, but have more complex arrangements. Compared to the predecessor ‘Creatures Of The Dark Realm’ there are heavier guitars and some deeper sounding keyboards. We have also incorporated some traditional nordic folk music instruments to fit the concept of the album. It’s still pure power metal but we’re trying to take it to the next level.”
Tales From The North was produced by Bloodbound, and was mixed and mastered by Jonas Kjellgren (Amorphis, Overkill, Sabaton) at the Swedish ‘Black Lounge Studios’. The cover artwork was done by Péter Sallai (Hammerfall, Powerwolf & many more).
Tales From The North track listing: 01. Tales From The North 02. Drink With The Gods 03. Odin´s Prayer 04. The Raven´s Cry 05. Mimir`s Crystal Eye 06. Between The Enemy Lines 07. Land Of Heroes 08. Sail Among The Dead 09. Stake My Claims 10.Sword And Axe 11. 1066
BLOODBOUND: Tomas Olsson – lead guitar Fredrik Bergh – keyboards Patrik Selleby – vocals Henrik Olsson – rhythm guitar Anders Broman – bass Daniel Hansfeldt – drums
In support of their upcoming album, Bloodbound has announced an extensive headliner tour and to appear at several festivals such as Karmoygeddon, RockHarz, Masters of Rock, among others. Make sure to catch them live at the following dates this year:
04.02.2023 (SWE) MORA Lilla Helfvetet 28.02.2023 (GER) BERLIN Hole 44* 01.03.2023 (GER) MUNICH Backstage Halle* 02.03.2023 (CH) PRATTELN Z7* 03.03.2023 (FR) COLMAR Le Grillen* 04.03.2023 (BE) VORSELAAR De Dreef* 05.03.2023 (GER) NUREMBERG Hirsch* 06.03.2023 (GER) MANNHEIM 7er Club* 07.03.2023 (GER) ASCHAFFENBURG Colos-Saal* 08.03.2023 (GER) HAMBURG Bahnhof Pauli* 09.03.2023 GER SIEGBURG Kubana* 10.03.2023 (GER) ESSEN Turock* 11.03.2023 (NL) ENSCHEDE Metropool* 12.03.2023 (GER) KASSEL Goldgrube* 04.05.2023 (NOR) KOPERVIK Karmoygeddon Festival 08.07.2023 (GER) BALLENSTEDT RockHarz Festival 16.07.2023 (CZE) VIZOVICE Masters of Rock Festival
Hatriot On Tour with Kings Of Thrash “The MEGA Years” featuring Dave Ellefson and Jeff Young!
List of dates below! 2/16 — Joliet, IL — The Forge 2/17 — Minneapolis, MN — Varsity Theater 2/19 — Madison, WI — Majestic Theatre 2/20 — Indianapolis, IN — The Vogue 2/21 — Columbia, MO — Blue Note 2/22 — Columbus, OH — King Of Clubs 2/24 — Flint, MI — The Machine Shop 2/25 — Cincinnati, OH — Legends Bar And Venue 2/27 — Cleveland, OH — Beachland Ballroom And Tavern 2/28 — Warrendale, PA — Jergels 3/1 — Buffalo, NY — Town Ballroom 3/3 — Poughkeepsie, NY — The Chance 3/4 — Sayreville, NJ — Starland Ballroom 3/5 — Harrisburg, PA — Midtown Arts Center 3/7 — Ardmore, PA — Ardmore Music Hall 3/8 — New York, NY — Gramercy Theatre 3/10 — Charlottesville, VA — Jefferson Theatre 3/11 — Greensboro, NC — Hangar 1819 3/12 — Asheville, NC — The Orange Peel 3/14 — Charleston, SC — Music Farm 3/15 — Atlanta, GA — The Masquerade (Hell)
HATRIOT: Cody Souza – Lead Vocals, Bass Kosta Varvatakis – Lead Guitar Kevin Paterson – Vocals, Guitar Nick Souza – Drums
HATRIOT DISCOGRAPHY: 2013 Heroes Of Origin 2014 Dawn Of The New Centurion 2019 From Days Unto Darkness 2022 The Vale Of Shadows
Sizzling, soulful and bewitching, WITCHROT is gearing up for their latest offering Witchrot: Livein the Hammer, due out for its international release March 10, 2023. All sleaze and psych, Live In The Hammer has the fuzz fueled quartet playing in the grease trap of Ontario. Smoky vocals overtop mesmeric psychedelic doom fill the room to the brim. Pre-orders for Live In The Hammer are available HERE.
Formed in Toronto in 2018, WITCHROT was founded by Lea Reto (vocals) & Peter Turik (Guitar). After some international press over band disputes, betrayals, and a temporary break up, the band recruited Lea’s boyfriend Nick Kervin (Drums) and Cam Alford (Bass). Together they recorded the band’s debut full-length Hollow (2021) and most recently Live In the Hammer. Currently, Nick “Nido” Dolphin has joined the band on bass.
Pulling from the lost psychedelic masterpieces with fuzz erupting like a volcano and the ethereal shoegaze music of the late 80s and 90s, WITCHROT has carved their own haunting path. The all-consuming wave of divine music that is terrifying by its sheer velocity and force rather than dissonance.
Simultaneously beautiful and putrid, Live In The Hammer pays homage to the grime of the past, paved over by the glitz of the present. Live In The Hammer was recorded at Boxcar Sound in Hamilton, and mastered by Tony Reed at Heavy Head Recording.
Live At The Hammer Track Listing: 1. Medley – Druid Smoke Part 1 (The Keeper) / Crypt Reaper / Burn Me Down 2. Dug Your Grave / Strega 3. Acedia 4. Who Scared You 5. Colder Hands 6. Million Shattered Swords
The bubbling cauldron that is Live In the Hammer, serves as a bridge between Hollow and the band’s forthcoming next album, currently in the works. There’s no escaping the strange web of WITCHROT. Fall into the chasm and embrace the dark.
WITCHROT:
Lea Reto – Vocals Peter Turik – Guitar Nick Kervin – Drums Nick “Nido” Dolphin – Bass
Golden Robot Records have released remastered Rose Tattoo album Beats from a Single Drum, available to stream everywhere and on limited edition vinyl.
Beats from a Single Drum features 10 remastered songs from the 1986 album including ‘Calling,‘ ‘Michael Oreilly‘ and ‘Suddenly’ with the latter track featured as the wedding song for Scott (Jason Donovan) and Charlene (Kylie Minogue) on Neighbours. ‘Suddenly’ was alsofeatured in a wedding scene for the hit UK show Gavin and Stacey.
This era was defining for Rose Tattoo with a changed line up, new members in the fold and Beats from a Single Drum released for the first time to great eagerness from fans and critics alike. The main contributing members of this album were Angry Anderson (vocals), Tim Gaze (guitar), Andy Cichon (keyboard/backing vocals) and Scott Johnston (drums/backing vocals). This pivotal time in Tatts history cemented the band as an established name and a force within the Australian music landscape.
This is not the first Rose Tattoo release Golden Robot has been involved with, previously releasing Tatts: Live in Brunswick (2017), Blood Brothers (2018) and Scarred for Live 1980-1982 (2018). The label was also home to the Tatts when they supported Guns N’ Roses on their 2017 Australian stadium tour.
“We are truly excited to remaster what was the most commercially successful album for Rose Tattooand Angry [Anderson]. Tatts will always be a rock n’ roll institution with Angry being one of the most notable Australian front men of all time.” says Golden Robot Records CEO & President, Mark Alexander-Erber.
Led by front man Angry Anderson, Beats from a Single Drum takes on a new life form to deliver a clear and familiar sound to Rose Tattoo fans. Beats from a Single Drum will be made available on vinyl in 2023, a must have for any serious record collector.
The vinyl will be available in 4 colours with a limited edition blue vinyl available for pre-order now. A further limited edition red vinyl will be made available in January, with black to follow in February and a limited edition USA exclusive green vinyl to be made available for pre-order in March.
You can pre-order Beats from a Single Drum limited editionblue vinyl HERE
Time To Kill Records is happy to announce that they have signed Italian thrashers ADVERSOR.
The band is putting the finishing touches on the new album “Portrait Of A Wasteland”, which will be released sometime in 2023.
Formed in 2015, ADVERSOR released a demo and two full-length albums, “Rise to Survive” and “The End of Mankind”, in quick succession: both records allowed them to play everywhere in Italy and Europe alongside acts such as Exciter, Protector, Nifelheim, Gama Bomb and many others.
Stay tuned to Time To Kill Records and the band’s socials for more details on the upcoming release and other activities in 2023.
Discography:
Beware of the Soothsayer (demo) – 2016 Rise to Survive – 2016 The End of Mankind – 2018
Line up:
Dado – Vocals/Guitar Phil – Guitar Ale – Bass Ja – Drums
Vancouver (BC) – Dissonant Death Metal duo CROWN OF MADNESS are set to release their sophomore EP, Elemental Binding, on February 23, 2023.
The EP’s first single and opening track, “Immortal Eyes” (featuring a guest guitar solo from Matthew Pancoust of Truent) is available now at the following links:
With their second EP, CROWN OF MADNESS brings you a penetrating mix of the technical and the dissonant, as well as devastating lyrical themes that will leave you sorrowful. Elemental Binding is the second and final EP on the road to the duo’s full-length debut album. The EP serves as a representative sample of the direction CROWN OF MADNESS will take on their future full-length release. Their debut EP The Void released on March 25, 2022.
2022 proved to be another stellar year for Metal album releases. I’ve paired down my list to the 10 Metal albums that bestowed upon my Metal soul the best of Metal euphoria. What are your favorite Metal albums of 2022?
It’s never a perfect science in making a “best of” list and my deliberations are genuinely thought out over and over. I thank each band below for their incredible Metal creations. Feel free to comment! Happy Holidays and… Metal Be Thy Name! -Stone
1. DARKTHRONE – Astral Fortress2. QUEENSRYCHE – Digital Noise Alliance3. STRYPER – The Final Battle4. CORPSEGRINDER – S/T5. VENOM INC. – There’s Only Black6. INCITE – Wake Up Dead7. GOATWHORE – Angels Hung From the Arches ofHeaven8. HAMMERFALL – Hammer Of Dawn9. IRON KINGDOM – The Blood Of Creation10. DEMIRICOUS – III: Chaotic Lethal
Time To Kill Records is proud to announce the signing of Italian death metallers SEPOLCRAL.
The band is currently putting the finishing touches to the new album “Scourge”, which will be released in 2023.
Formed in 1993, Italy’s SEPOLCRAL have lurked in the underground across a handful of demos and a couple of albums (including the infamous debut album “Victims”, recorded in 1996 but released only in 2017).
SEPOLCRAL’s vision of death metal is as relentless as it gets: sinister and raw, often influenced by grind and hardcore and always sharp, full of barbed hooks, thick with atmosphere and drenched in groove.
Stay tuned to Time To Kill Records and the band’s socials for more details on the upcoming release and other activities in 2023.
Line up:
Daniele – Vocals Cristian – Guitars Kevin – Bass Aleksandar – Drums
Discography:
Witness Of Lies (demo) 1994 Victims (full-length, originally to be released for Nosferatu Records but never printed) 1996 Promo ’90 (demo) 1998 Reborn6 (split) SG Records 2015 Victims (full-length from 1996, digitally self-released) 2017 Broken Armour (single) 2018
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!
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