Power metallers GAMMA RAY have published the next interview via their official Facebook page with vocalist and guitarist Kai Hansen, the fourth in a series of seven promoting their upcoming album “Empire Of The Undead.” Check out the interview below:
Tracklistings and formats:
CD Jewelcase (Black cover)
1. Avalon
2. Hellbent
3. Pale Rider
4. Born To Fly
5. Master Of Confusion
6. Empire Of The Undead
7. Time For Deliverance
8. Demonseed
9. Seven
10. I Will Return
11. Built A World (European Bonus Track)
Artist: GUS G. Album: I Am The Fire Release Date: March 18th 2014 Label: Century Media Records
Tracklisting:
1. My Will Be Done (Feat. Mats Levén, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, THERION, CANDLEMASS) 2. Blame It On Me (Feat. Mats Levén) 3. I Am The Fire (Feat. Blake Allison, DEVOUR THE DAY) 4. Vengeance (Feat. David Ellefson, MEGADETH) 5. Long Way Down (Feat. Alexia Rodriguez, EYES SET TO KILL) 6. Just Can’t Let Go (Feat. Jacob Bunton, ADLER) 7. Terrified (Feat. Billy Sheehan, MR.BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) 8. Eyes Wide Open (Feat. Mats Levén) 9. Redemption (Feat. Michael Starr, STEEL PANTHER) 10. Summer Days (Feat. Jeff Scott Soto Ex- JOURNEY, Current TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) 11. Dreamkeeper (Feat. Tom S. Englund, EVERGREY) 12. End Of The Line (Feat. Mats Levén)
Guitar virtuoso Gus G. has worked extremely hard over the years to achieve his current status in the music world. He is the creating force behind Greek metallers FIREWIND and in 2009 was chosen by Ozzy Osbourne to be guitarist in his band, as well as being involved in various other projects along the way.
Now Gus has released his first ever solo album. He has spoken many times over the last year about it being different to his other work. As mentioned in his 2013 interview with Blackdiamond, Gus stated that “a lot of the stuff is a bit more mellow, a bit more classic rock-ish sounding.”
As well as playing guitar (of course!), Gus also handles the keyboards and some bass on this 12 track offering, as well as producing the album. Joining the already mentioned guest artists are drummers Jeff Friedl (A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUSCIFER, DEVO), Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY) and bass player Marty O’Brien (TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN).
“I Am The Fire” was released on March 18th and features quite a diverse selection of guests, as stated above. Cue vocalist Mats Levén on the storming intro track ‘My Will Be Done.’ It is full of catchy hooks and great melodies which are matched perfectly with Mats‘ gravelly tones. Already the album is oozing a classic rock vibe.
Even early on in the album, it’s obvious to see how well matched as a musical team Mats and Gus are, creating fantastically executed harmonies and layers of classic rock sounds on the second track ‘Blame It On Me.’
The selection of friends to appear as guests on this album has obviously been very carefully thought out by Gus, each one stamping their individuality on the songs. Even though there are two vocalists who aren’t really my ‘cup of tea’ (Blake Allison and Alexia Rodriguez), I can’t say anything bad about those songs, because they still sound great, especially the music.
Of course there are plenty of shredding solos to be heard on “I Am The Fire” by Gus, demonstrating his outstanding technical abilities, but always played with flair and feeling. The composition of the songs is first class; changes of pace, classic riffs and melodies, with a great production.
The two instrumental tracks, ‘Vengeance’ featuring David Ellefson and ‘Terrified,’ with Billy Sheehan are pure molten metal, the heaviest on the album. They’ve been on repeat at full blast since I first heard “I Am The Fire.” ‘Vengeance’ is over 4 minutes of paradise for fans of shredding and doesn’t let up whatsoever; this would be awesome to see live on stage. ‘Terrified’ is a little shorter, but no less of a metal onslaught to the eardrums, fantastic!
‘Redemption,’featuring Michael Starr of STEEL PANTHER makes a more than subtle change from his usual style and lyrical content, another classic rock style song.
Jeff Scott Soto’s contribution to “I Am The Fire” needs a huge highlighting mention. ‘Summer Days’ is a full-on ‘80’s nostalgia trip containing big rock sounds mixed with some softer moments. Again, a perfect blend of Jeff’s voice with the precision of Gus’s guitar riffs. A sure fire hit with fans of ’80’s rock, whether they were there at the time or not.
The whole album is like a breath of fresh air and it’s great to see Gus venturing into pastures new with “I Am The Fire.” Definitely a new favourite in my collection and I’m sure it will be for both fans of Gus G. and classic rock.
Terrorizer Magazine have presented the new ABHORRENT DECIMATION video and title track to their debut record ‘Infected Celestial Utopia’. Check it out below:
Directed by Doug Anderson of Visceral Video who’s worked with the likes of Eye Of Solitude, Acrania, Dichotomy and UnfathomableRuination ‘Infected Celestial Utopia’ was shot in an abandoned military barracks in Rochester, UK. “It was built to defend against Napoleon but by the time it was completed the war was over,” comments vocalist Ashley Scott (also of London death quartet Fleshrot) on the location.
Speaking of the shoot itself Ashley adds, “No one else was involved. Visually we gave a lot of freedom to Doug, we really enjoy working with him, but essentially his mandate was to go for something totally different to the ‘A Putrid Vision’ shoot, which was quite clear and polished. We wanted something a bit darker and eerie.”
“The video is essentially us getting down in a dark location, the narrative shots throughout the video show you one of the survivors of the ‘End Of Days’.
“The whole record lyrically is a set of explored metaphors about the earths journey through eradication. By the time we get to the last track ‘Infected Celestial Utopia’ we are following a single person, a religious survivor, they find safety underground with their bible. They are basically possessed by what they have seen and lose all faith. He goes on to destroy the bible and burn it as he realises the utopia he prayed for does not exist. He comes to the realisation that the infected celestial sphere we inhabit is both Heaven & Hell; there is no higher place and no divine power greater than earth itself. So we wanted to capture him throwing up, and acting all sketchy then destroying his bible and burning it.”
“We selected this track as it shows a relatively different side to us. The song is essentially more melodic, still with brutal parts and blast sections but with the weird lead guitar lick it creates a bit of an uncomfortable feeling and ‘off atmosphere’.”
Catch Abhorrent Decimation on tour supporting Italian death metal masters Hour Of Penance throughout the UK this April/May.
‘Infected Celestial Utopia’ is out now via Coldbirth Records.
British metal legends SAXON have posted a new interview with vocalist Biff Byford on their official Facebook page. Some excerpts can be read below.
The band recently announced its plans to release the ‘St. George’s Day Sacrifice – Live In Manchester’ live double CD. What was the motive behind a release of this nature, and what will it comprise of?
Biff: We have a lot of live recordings so it is good to let the fans hear them – this concert was a special one and the Patron Saint Day.
While Saxon has never truly strayed from their root sound, ‘Sacrifice’ certainly seemed like a return to the classic sonic values of the band à la the ‘Wheels of Steel’ era, albeit more crushing and bombastic. How did the band go about retaining the classic Saxon sound, while still incorporating memorable, propulsive hooks and catchy riffage without descending into a re-hash?
Biff: Well we are always trying to write great songs we don’t want just be just playing the hits. So, we spend time trying to be original within our genre and the team we have (Andy Sneap and Jackie Lehmann) are all on the same page as me.
The band was recently awarded the Metal Hammer Golden God award for best UK band over new age sensations such as Tesseract and Black Spiders. Even with a fall in album sales post-Destiny, Saxon is a brand of heavy metal that still stands tall and proud among the youth who recognize the band as one of the architects of the NWOBHM and heavy metal in general thus cementing your relevance in present day heavy metal culture. Do you think you survived because of the phenomenon of Youtube, Internet and digital media? What is your take on music being digitally available?
Biff: I think over the last ten years there has been a movement back to classic rock and our brand of heavy metal. Older fans are back, younger new fans are now with us, so a regeneration of our genre has took place. Also to continue to write great albums helps.
You were one of the few if not the only person who supported the (for a lack of a better word) canonization of heavy metal which is quite ironic considering the fact that heavy metal is all about freedom and vehemently opposes norms set by society and religion. According to you, what does the religion of heavy metal preach and what are its limitations?
Biff: I think to a lot of people music is a kind of religion and it is a bit of people power to get them to vote.
Did your childhood or the general social environment growing up affect your views, and in turn, the music of Saxon in any way? What was it like in the heart of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement?
Biff: It was like riding a bullet.
To read the interview in full, visit Indian metal news site Metal Wani.com here.
Metal Shock Finland‘s partners at ADL Management & Booking are very pleased to welcome on board British metal band DEF CON ONE.
In the last 2 years DEF CON ONE have become a prominent force in the British metal scene but have also spread their name through out Europe and America. The band signed to Scarlet Records in March of 2012 and released their debut album “Warface” in June of the same year. The album instantly struck a chord within the world of metal and the band starting receiving fantastic reviews from the off. The first few gigs after the release of Warface made it clear to the band that they had indeed wrote and released a stupendous debut album, with crowds at the gigs going insane and giving awesome feedback back to the band.
DEF CON ONE’s influences cover a wide variation of music from old school rock to modern metal and proper punk music,
Bloodstock Festival actually described the band as coming across like a bar fight between Machine Head, Slayer and Pantera so these guys are in good company. What Def-Con-One has tried and always will try to achieve is to write songs that they simply cannot buy. To fill the void of the unattainable, why copy something? It’s been done. This band only wants to sound like one band……their band! DEF CON ONE!
The song subjects of Def-Con-One are wide spread:
“March of the Dead” is all about the mundane futile journey working the 9 till 5 lifestyle and seeing your dreams being crushed and simply settling to exist instead of living a life. The track march of the dead has a guest solo on it from Mike “Mykvs” Hickey, we called him up and said “hey do you fancy laying down a solo on a track for us” and he said “hell yes” straight away. We think its killer having a guy who has played with Venom, Cathedral, Carcass and Goatreign on our tune. And Mike has laid down a bad ass killer solo.
“Warface” confronts the age old subject of the bully, standing up for what you believe in and not backing down, not being defeated in the quest for being independent, for being different.
“Feeling Cold” is a dark, consuming song of loss, of deceit and later on in the song, of enlightenment and discovery of one’s self.
“Blood” confronts the subject of drug addiction and its effects on people’s lives.”
Def-Con-One pulls on their real life experiences to write their songs, to make the content of the lyrics believable, tangible and allowing the listener to relate to them.
There are no individual writers in Def-Con-One. Everything is written as a collective, taking into consideration everyone’s thought process and ideas and this exists in not only the music but also the lyrics. We feel being in a band is like being in a gang, a brotherhood if you like. We look out for one another, we have “each other’s backs”
There are no egos in Def-Con-One, (well, until we hit the stage and then the gloves are off) it’s all four of us contributing to make it what it is. We are fans writing metal for metallers, its as simple as that!
The recording of the album “WARFACE” was done in Def-Con-One’s very own studio The Room of Doom. We came to the conclusion that instead of trying to get our thought process over to a sound engineer and producer of how we wanted to sound, we would do it ourselves. This also gave us the time to experiment with songs and sounds in the recording process at no cost. (nothing worse than getting your songs back and it’s all wrong in the mix and you can’t afford to fix it) This, like the song writing, was done as a collective, bouncing idea’s off each other for the good of the song and not the individual which is what we are all about. Making sure everybody’s views are taken into consideration. It allowed us to play with the songs and it enabled us to harness the true power of what we had written. To harness the power of Def-Con-One!
Metal Hammer had this to say about Def Con One:
“the roaring groove of Pantera and the seismic fury of early Machine Head”, ”this lot open their salvo with ‘Never Look Back’ and carry on with a succession of unremittingly crushing tracks”…
Power metallers GAMMA RAY have published a new interview via their official Facebook page with vocalist and guitarist Kai Hansen. The interview is the third in a series of seven promoting their upcoming album “Empire Of The Undead.” Check out the interview below:
Tracklistings and formats:
CD Jewelcase (Black cover)
1. Avalon
2. Hellbent
3. Pale Rider
4. Born To Fly
5. Master Of Confusion
6. Empire Of The Undead
7. Time For Deliverance
8. Demonseed
9. Seven
10. I Will Return
11. Built A World (European Bonus Track)
CD/DVD Digipak (White cover)
CD
1. Avalon
2. Hellbent
3. Pale Rider
4. Born To Fly
5. Master Of Confusion
6. Empire Of The Undead
7. Time For Deliverance
8. Demonseed
9. Seven
10. I Will Return
11. Built A World (European Bonus Track)
12. Avalon (Live from the final studio sessions)
13. Master Of Confusion (Live from the final studio sessions)
14. The Spirit (Live from the final studio sessions)
DVD
4 Livesongs form the final studio sessions
Tour Of Hamburg with Gamma Ray
Generic Interview with Kai Hansen
To The Metal Video
2-3 Videos from Skeletons & Majesties LIVE
LP (inkl. Downloadcode) (Golden cover)
1. Avalon
2. Hellbent
3. Pale Rider
4. Born To Fly
5. Master Of Confusion
6. Empire Of The Undead
7. Time For Deliverance
8. Demonseed
9. Seven
10. I Will Return
11. Built A World (European Bonus Track)
Boxset contains:
CD/DVD Digipak
CD
1. Avalon
2. Hellbent
3. Pale Rider
4. Born To Fly
5. Master Of Confusion
6. Empire Of The Undead
7. Time For Deliverance
8. Demonseed
9. Seven
10. I Will Return
11. Built A World (European Bonus Track)
12. Avalon (Live from the final studio sessions)
13. Master Of Confusion (Live from the final studio sessions)
14. The Spirit (Live from the final studio sessions)
DVD
4 Livesongs form the final studio sessions
Tour Of Hamburg with Gamma Ray
Generic Interview with Kai Hansen
To The Metal Video
Videos from Skeletons & Majesties LIVE:
1. Gamma Ray
2. Wings Of Destiny
3. Send Me A Sign (Acoustic)
T-Shirt
7-inch Single
A. Someday (unreleased track from the EOTU sessions)
B. Demonseed (Live from the final studio sessions)
Poster
6 Photos
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
Artist: GUS G.
