Influential heavy metal magazine Metal Forces finally has an official web site at this location.
Launched in the U.K. during the summer of 1983, Metal Forces quickly established itself internationally as one of the most influential publications in the promotion of heavy metal and hard rock. Totally independent, the ground-breaking magazine championed the early careers of artists like METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, PANTERA and SEPULTURA — bands who at the time were virtually ignored by the mainstream rock press — and although Metal Forces was never a thrash publication per se, its coverage of the genre was unrivalled during the 1980s. Metal Forces was also relentless in its exposure of unsigned metal and rock bands from across the globe, with appearances in the magazine’s popular demo tape review section, “Demolition”, leading to numerous recording contracts.
In 1990, Metal Forces began producing the content for Fotodisk‘s “Metal XS”video series, and also created a number of high-profile off-shoot magazines, including Access All Areas and Thrash ‘N Burn; the latter a monthly title dedicated to extreme metal that would eventually evolve into Xtreme Noize. A German language version of Metal Forces also appeared in 1992.
Due to a changing musical landscape within a saturated rock magazine market in the U.K., the printed version of Metal Forces ceased production in 1993 but continued to sell via Internet outlets and for nearly 30 years has remained an important source of information, with early issues of Metal Forces now commanding high prices on eBay.
The launch of the official Metal Forces magazine web site provides an online platform to peruse many of those vintage interviews and reviews, with additional archive material (including previously unpublished items) being added on a regular basis. The web site also delivers a daily dose of new content, which continues the Metal Forces policy of in-depth, informative articles and devotion to promoting quality metal of all genres, regardless of popularity or trends.
Metal fans can be kept informed of published material both newly written and lifted from archive issues by joining Metal Forces on Facebook and Twitter.
Artist – The Big Rough Album – Hang On EP Label – none Year – 2012
1. Thunder Guts
2. Sweet Little Dynamite
3. Burning Down In Flames
4. Double Ace To Hell
5. Gold Washerman
Italian Trio The Big Rough is a brainchild of Alex Cole, guitarist, composer and singer who fell under the spell of blues and rock n roll. In 2010 after months of searching he found the right musicians to realise his dream firstly he was joined Massimo Cavagnera on drums then later he was joined by Paolo Vendetti on bass. Immediately the trio hit it off and built a strong relationship and artistic feeling in April 2011, the unreleased track „Call of the Wild“ is included in the compilation of the monthly “Rock Hard“ (Italy) magazine, among many other important bands, such as Uriah Heep. Now the trio is serving us up with Hang On Tight EP which includes five new songs.
The first song on the EP is Thunder Guts it starts off with a slow clean little riff which then goes straight into the vocals and a good drum beat with the guitars giving it overall a really good feel. The chorus is really catchy and will get you singing it over and over. Which will put you in the mood for the rest of the EP. Sweet Little Dynamite starts with a little drum roll then straight into a good guitar riff with a rhythmic drum beat then shortly after the vocals come in which is clean and very punchy. The riff continues throughout the song with a little quality solo in the middle and a run down to end the song. Burning Down The Flames again starts with a clever little drum beat then the guitar comes in with a cracking little riff a little bit of vocals then a pause then that riff comes in again and all you can do is tap your feet.
Then you have some quality quick vocals through the rest of the song that really goes well with beat and the guitars this carry’s on for the rest of the song. Double Ace To Hell also starts with a good drum beat then the bass kicks in with a lovely little run down then the guitar kicks in with a rock n roll blues riff which I think really goes well. The vocals come again through clean & punchy got a bit of a surprise in this song they threw in a Harmonica which gave it a real blue’s rock n roll vibe which really worked together with the guitars a great song that will get you rocking around in no time. Gold Washerman starts of with the sound of the wind then cowbells chimes with a train in the distance the guitars come in slow and purposeful with the cowbell chiming away then the beat starts to quicken with a pounding drum beat. Then all of a sudden a rip roaring guitar riff blows the slow start right out of the water that really got my head a nodding. Through the song the tempo is a lot quicker the rest of the songs on the EP but then near the end it slows down a little with some talking vocals. Then it speeds up again, which then they give you a terrific guitar solo to end the song on. This song was probably my favourite song off the EP it had it all a great riff, speed as I said a terrific solo at the end.
Overall
If you like blues rock n roll sound you cannot go wrong with The Big Rough EP it is well worth listening to.
Swedish melodic death metallers ENGEL have revealed more information about their third album “Blood Of Saints”, which will come out on May 18 via Season Of Mist.
Track by track info about Engel’ upcoming album “Blood of Saints”. by Niclas Engelin
For the upcoming album, “Blood of Saints” we’ve taken the Engel sound/music some more steps further. We have always been a hybrid of Metal and Industry with a big crush on huge catchy choruses, and this is the next era in the history of Engel.
1. Question Your Place
The first video/single, and the opening track of the album, with probably the most down tuned guitars in Engel history, and with a groove that is a new approach for Engel. This mix makes it a super heavy song. The song is co-written by Pontus Hjelm (Dead By April), who in fact have been involved in the writing process on 3 of the 11 tracks on the album. I felt that after have written somewhat 120 songs for Engel, it would be fun and inspiring to write with a fellow musician and friend.
2. Frontline
Is one of my favorite songs on the album! A straight up heavy metal tune with keys that keeps the pace in the verses and is filled with cool guitar solos and melodies. Everything leads up to the super heavy chorus that calls out to the masses for joining up in an epic singalong! Magnus is doing an awesome job on the entire album, but especially on this song by expanding his register to the maximum.
SURRENDER NOW!!!
3. Feel Afraid
Engel goes A&R…ehhhh..NOT!! A&R might not be the case, but this song might be the big hit, with a chorus so big and catchy that even Simon Cowell will lose his front teeth! A nice groove runs through the entire song and contains a middle part that might draw your thoughts to Iron Maiden? As always there’s loops and keys that battles the riff in the verses, and this song is a must on the upcoming tours.
4. Numb
A very pushy song that calls for circle pits around the globe. Jimmy had already made the drum beat and I built the song around the beat and Jimmy’s thoughts about it, which resulted in maybe the hardest and most intense song on “Blood of Saints”, with a drive and energy that’s going to be a pure pleasure to perform live. Just talking about the fourth song on the album it already feels that we have some awesome live songs/classics in the mix.
5. Cashking
One of the faster songs on “Blood of Saints” with a catchy approach in both bridge and chorus, which might make people go around humming the song without even thinking about it. This song is all about shredding and melodies for the masses, which we’ve put focus on with this album without having to make the song longer just to add a cool solo. Everything has its place and have to be natural, so if anyone doubted Engel’s shredding skills; Think again!
6. One Good Thing
Once again we used the big axes to create a very epic and big song which makes the listener take to the chorus right away. While writing this song at Pontus Hjelm’s studio, a security guard suspected us of break in and entering. After explaining what was going on the guy said: “Guys, this song is absolutely awesome, and you need to finish it right away!” PS. Listen to the M. Schenker solo! 😉
7. The Blood of Saints
The entire album is an homage to our fans who we call Saints. It’s impossible to miss its message in the mighty chorus! This will also be a massive edition to Engel’s live catalogue. I mean, how wrong can it be with a 16/4 beat? In my book; NEVER!!! The notes and groove will for sure make you think of In Splendour, but it will never lose its own touch.
8. Down To Nothing
Guitars, guitars and GUITARS! That’s the word of the hour from the heavy start to the mighty end. This is a perfect balance between keys and guitars, with Magnus’s vocals slammed right in the middle. There’s a lot of melody and guitar hooks, but without losing the heavy sound that defines Engel.
9. Drama Queen
Maybe the most complicated song that Engel ever recorded on an album ever. Not because it’s sounding weird and complicated, but because of the fact that some parts of the song is weird to play. And as with basically the entire album this is a future whiplash injury because of all the headbanging that’s going to be delivered during the live shows. On this song Pontus Hjelm and I brought our minds together to create this down tuned monster. I can’t even remember if we tuned down to Z or Y here. 😉
10. In Darkness (feat. Hellmans Drengar)
A song written for the HELL project Engel did with Hellmans Drengar during the fall of 2011. We all loved doing the project and can strongly recommend it to everybody. To mix Metal with a choir? Will that work? It worked out absolutely perfect without losing the concept of the song, even with awesome solos and shreds. A bigger chorus will be hard to find this year, since we don’t know about anyone else being backed up by a 50 guys strong all male choir!!
11. Journey’s End
I love the idea of finishing with a huge epic song, as we did on “Threnody”. This time around it’s Journey’s End, and it is an epic story that is very dynamic and large in its performance, and that leaves your mind open on how the next album might sound. It’s like you have been watching the first season of Game Of Thrones and you just have to know how the next one will start! Magnus shows that he can deliver first class vocals and masters various different styles of singing on the song.
ENGEL filmed a video for the new song “Question Your Place” on February 10 at Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg.
A trailer for the CD can be seen below.
ENGEL features guitarists Niclas Engelin (IN FLAMES, PASSENGER, ex-GARDENIAN) and Marcus Sunesson (THE CROWN), vocalist Mangan Klavborn, drummer Jimmy Olausson (ex-MARIONETTE) and bassist Steve Drennan (LOCUS).
ENGEL is confirmed for 3 more festivals this summer! First off we have ROCKHARZ OPEN AIR in Germany on July 12-14, followed by SKOGSRÖJET FESTIVAL in Sweden on August 10-11 and last but not least for this update, NEUBORN OPEN AIR in Germany on August 24-25.
Click HERE to go to the Gigs section for more info and to get your tickets!
ENGEL Store is up and Running! Follow the link to go get your ENGEL stuff!
Progressive-metallers TESSERACT have announced additional details to their upcoming EP “Perspective”. The album se for release on May 21 in Europe via Century Media Records. “Perspective” will be available digitally, while a physical version will be available through the band’s webshop.
The five song EP features “Eden 2.0”, acoustic versions of three tracks from the band’s debut album, “One”, plus a cover of Jeff Buckley’s classic, “Dream Brother”. As a special bonus, the iTunes version will contain instrumentals of all the tracks.
“Perspective” EP track listing:
Perfection
April
Origin
Dream Brother
Eden 2.0
The band has recently released a trailer for “Perspective” featuring audio clips from all the songs on the EP. The trailer can be seen below:
Hi to all,
today is a great and very important day for our band. We are finally proud to present the new singer of RHAPSODY to the world, the person who, thanks to his unique vocal talent, will contribute to the artistic perspectives of the band in the years to come.
The secret is finally revealed: the new singer is Italian and his name is ALESSANDRO CONTI.
“Alessandro is the singer of our band since many months already but we wanted to present him in the way he deserves, and this means: through his voice!” says Luca Turilli, and adds: “We wanted to find a singer able to sing in different ways and offering different “colors”. Such ability is fundamental for me as in every RHAPSODY album I like to compose different styles of songs, passing from the most cinematic and epic impact of some songs to the operatic majesty of other ones, from celestial voices to more aggressive tones. Alessandro was just the best choice in this sense as, in between the multitude of all his vocal colors, he has a great high tone but also an operatic approach that makes the difference. He studied at the “Corale Lirica Rossini” of Modena as first tenor, the same school attended by the great and unforgettable Luciano Pavarotti”.
The first official statement of Alessandro as member of RHAPSODY:
“I am very enthusiastic to be the new voice of RHAPSODY and the person the band was searching for. ASCENDING TO INFINITY is just an amazing piece of art and maybe not even the word “epic” is enough to describe its emotional power… what is sure is that I am really proud to be part of it. Now I am looking forward to meeting all the existing and new RHAPSODY fans around the world. See you soon!”.
The new album is entitled ASCENDING TO INFINITY and will be released on JUNE 22 by NUCLEAR BLAST.
LINK TO THE EXCLUSIVE TRAILER AND TO LISTEN TO SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE UPCOMING RELEASE:
Extreme Progressive metallers DE PROFUNDIS (London, UK) have been confirmed for this year’s edition of the ROCKHARZ OPEN AIR festival, set to take place July 12-14, 2012 in Ballenstedt, Germany. Acts already confirmed for the festival include BLIND GUARDIAN, SEPULTURA, PARADISE LOST and many others. For more information visit: http://www.rockharz-festival.com
The band’s upcoming 3rd album, entitled ‘The Emptiness Within’, is scheduled for release through Kolony Records on 7th May 2012 in the UK and 11th May 2012 in Europe.
The artwork was created by the renowned artist Costin Chioreanu (www.twilight13media.com), who has previously worked with ULVER, DARKTHRONE and ABSU to name a few.
‘The Emptiness Within’ track listing:
01. From The Depths… (intro) 02. Delirium
03. Silent Gods
04. This Wretched Plague
05. Twisted Landscapes
06. Release
07. Dead Inside
08. Parallel Existence (instrumental)
09. Unbroken (A Morbid Embrace)
The track ‘This Wretched Plague’ from the new album can be heard here:
Chief Shock Video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 