Swedish death metal masters DIABOLICAL have entered Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, UNANIMATED, DESTRÖYER 666) in Alvik, Sweden to begin recording their fifth album, “Neogenesis”. The CD is once again being produced by the band’s vocalist/guitarist Sverker Widgren. DIABOLICAL guitarist Carl Stjärnlöv explains the album title: “Apart from being a physiological term, the title ‘Neogenesis’ translates to ‘new beginning.’ The word originates from greek and latin and it marks a new beginning for DIABOLICAL in many ways. Furthermore the title has a much more profound significance to the theme and concept of this album.”
Regarding the recording process and musical direction of tne new material, he added, “The drum tracks laid down are amazing, and we are all very excited about continuing to work on ‘Neogenesis’. There are definitely some new flavors to our sound, and most importantly, the song material of ‘Neogenesis’ is by far the greatest we’ve done.”
“Neogenesis” track listing:
01. Into Oblivion
02. Metamorphosis
03. Oracle
04. Ex
05. World in Silence
06. Reincarnation of the Damned
07. Fields of Nihil
08. Dialogue with the Dead
09. Wolves’ Choir
10. The Age to Come
11. Humanitas
The second in a series of video reports featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of “Neogenesis” can be seen below.
Josh Rundquist (a.k.a. That Drummer Guy) conducted an interview with drummer Jon Larsen of Danish metal rock ‘n’ rollers VOLBEAT before the band’s June 26 concert at The Myth in Maplewood, Minnesota with ICED EARTH and HELLYEAH. You can now watch the chat below.
On May 25, Dani Buarque of the “Lokaos Rock Show” conducted an interview with former HANOI ROCKS frontman Michael Monroe at Inferno Club, São Paulo, Brazil. You can now watch the chat below.
Fifty-one concertgoers were hurt and nine sustained serious injuries when a single lightning bolt struck a mast at the eastern German festival With Full Force Saturday night.
According to Spiegel Online, the lightning strikes sent some music fans flying through the air — and left behind a wasteland of destroyed tents, panicked guests and a venue flooded with mud and deep puddles. “The first showers, heavy as they were, provided just an inkling of what was to come,” the site describes. “Just before 2 a.m., the next black cloud parked over the stage. And the lightning it unloaded resulted in 51 injuries, three of them landing in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital.”
Emergency services spent several hours at the scene treating those who had been sheltering in a cocktail bar near where the lightning struck, The Local reports.
With Full Force annually attracts tens of thousands of visitors in the town of Roitzschjora near Leipzig. This year, bands like SOULFLY, MADBALL, MACHINE HEAD, FLOGGING MOLLY and PENNYWISE performed at the event.
“Rauta” (English-language title: “The Steel”), the brand new Markku Kirves-directed video from Finnish traditional folk metal pioneers KORPIKLAANI, can be seen below. The track comes off the band’s eighth studio album, “Manala”, which will be released on August 3 via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover artwork was created by Finnish artist Jan Yrlund and can be seen below.
Commented KORPIKLAANI vocalist Jonne Järvelä: “On the album cover, our band mascot Vaari represents Väinämöinen, who is one of the main characters in the Finnish national epic ‘Kalevala’.
“As most of the lyrics on ‘Manala’ are based on the ‘Kalevala’, Jan Yrlund decided to draw his inspiration for the cover artwork from the beautiful but yet brutal depiction of the underworld in Finnish mythology.”
The limited digipack edition of “Manala” will come with a bonus CD containing the entire album with English lyrics.
01. Honor
02. At The Huts Of The Underworld
03. The Steel
04. Soil Of The Corpse
05. Predator’s Saliva
06. Dark Side
07. Ieva’s Polka
08. Husky-Sledge
09. Dolorous
10. Dream
11. Off To The Hunt
Jonne Järvelä previously stated about KORPIKLAANI‘s new album, “‘Manala’ is the realm of the dead — the underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously. This place is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic Kalevala, on which many of our new songs are based. In the 16th poem of Kalevala, Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero travels to Manala to seek for knowledge about the dead. On the journey he meets the ferrywoman (similar to Charon), a girl, Tuonen tytti, or Tuonen piika (Death’s maid), who takes him across the river of Tuoni. However, on the isle of Tuoni he is not given the spells he was originally looking for and he barely manages to escape the place. After his return he curses anyone trying to enter the place alive.”
“Metsälle”, a new song from KORPIKLAANI, can be downloaded for free at NuclearBlast.de (e-mail sign-up required).
“Metsälle” was originally recorded late last year when the band was competing to represent Finland in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. The track will appear on KORPIKLAANI‘s forthcoming eighth album.
Commented Jonne Järvelä: “‘Metsälle’ can be seen as kind of a prayer to the ancient gods to ask for luck for the tough hunt deep in the woods in cold winter time. Not only is the old man in the song praying for success but — even more importantly — for a safe way through the dangerous frostiness.”
KORPIKLAANI previously stated that “Metsälle” “is about the hunt on Hiisi’s magical moose in the Northland. He (Lemminkäinen) puts on his charmed ski’s and takes off for a prolonged hunt through forests and meadows, marshlands and woodlands, rapids and rivers. This song describes part of the Kalevala story, the national epic of Finland.”
“Manala” will mark the recording debut of the band’s new fiddler, Tuomas Rounakari.
KORPIKLAANI‘s latest CD, “Ukon Wacka”, was released in North America on February 25, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Finnish metal marauders FINNTROLL will enter Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki at the end of November to record their sixth full length album. The as-yet-untitled CD will be released in early 2013 through Century Media.
Commented FINNTROLL guitarist Mikael “Routa” Karlbom: “So far we have pretty much half of the material ready for the upcoming album, so there’s still a lot of work to do before we enter studio. We are very excited about new material and we believe fans will be too when they get their hands on this new stuff. And on this point we’re still talking only about the demo versions of the songs. Can’t wait to get to studio and hear how the songs takes their first breaths and actually come alive.”
FINNTROLL last September released a special tour edition of their latest album, “Nifelvind”. The digipak tour edition came with new artwork by the band’s guitarist, Skrymer, and an extra CD including three brand-new cover versions: “Insects” (OINGO BOINGO), “Can You Forgive Her?” (PET SHOP BOYS) and “The God That Failed” (METALLICA). The cover versions were recorded and mixed at Sonic Pump Studios between June 27, 2011 and July 4, 2011 by FINNTROLL and Nino Laurenne.
“Nifelvind” was released in North America on March 9, 2010 via Century Media Records.
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Fifty-one concertgoers were hurt and nine sustained serious injuries when a single lightning bolt struck a mast at the eastern German festival With Full Force Saturday night.
Limited digipak CD:
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 