January 27th, 2017 marks the release of “BIG ROCKS”, the brand new studio album of Switzerland’s legendary hard rock act KROKUS. On “BIG ROCKS” KROKUS are paying tribute to bands and artists like Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Who, Steppenwolf, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and many more by presenting their very own versions of classic tracks such as “My Generation”, “Tie Your Mother Down”, “Whole Lotta Love”, “Quinn The Eskimo”, “Born To Be Wild” and others. “BIG ROCKS” offers a total of 14 tracks: 13 cover songs and a re-recorded version of KROKUS’ hit “Backseat Rock N’ Roll”, all of them flawlessly executed, brilliantly interpreted and spiced up with the typical KROKUS edge.
As a first single KROKUS have chosen their very own rendition of Folk-Rock classic “The House Of The Rising Sun”. It is safe to say that the legendary Swiss hard rockers managed to breathe new life into the track by overhaulin’ it Krokus-style!
Bassist and producer Chris von Rohr describes his first encounter with the song as follows: “The first time I came across this song was in the wild sixties. I was lying on my bed and all of a sudden I heard the voices of a thousand angels sing.”
It was this exact feeling the band tried to capture with their own version of the song and the result speaks for itself: “The House of the Rising Sun” by KROKUS sounds raw and loud yet embodies the soulful sound of the original. “The House Of The Rising Sun” is available as of today at the download/streaming platform of your choice on Spotify, Amazon and iTunes.
Ever-raging metal institution, ACCEPT, are returning with a bang! After three studio albums and several tours around the globe since their reunion in 2010, the time has come for the band to unleash a brand-new live document titled “Restless And Live”. This package will include the entire show ACCEPT played at Bang Your Head!!! Festival 2015 on Blu-ray/DVD plus two CDs and be available in stores from January 13th, 2017 via Nuclear Blast.
Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann reminisced: “We didn’t know exactly what would happen back in 2010, what happens if… But this was six years ago and we’ve released three records since then. With »Blind Rage«, we had our first No. 1 chart record! There can be nothing nicer!”
The package’s title, chosen by the band couldn’t be more suitable: “»Restless And Live« simply fits what we experienced at BYH!!! and for what we stand for until today! It goes on and on and on! We’re already working on a new production. The thought of being on the road again soon gets our blood flowing: And it is possible to overcome everything that happened before.”
To give their fans a taster of what to expect from this forthcoming live release and to make the waiting more tolerable, the live clip for ‘Stampede’ has been launched today.
ACCEPT live: w/ SABATON, TWILIGHT FORCE
06.01. D Hamburg – Sporthalle
07.01. D Oberhausen – König Pilsener Arena
08.01. B Antwerp – Lotto Arena
10.01. IRL Dublin – Vicar Street
11.01. UK Glasgow – o2 Academy
13.01. UK Manchester – o2 Apollo
14.01. UK London – o2 Brixton Academy
15.01. F Lille – Aeronef
16.01. F Paris – Olympia
18.01. F Toulouse – Le Bikini
19.01. E Bilbao – Santana 27
20.01. P Porto – Coliseu Do Porto
21.01. E Madrid – Barclaycard Center
22.01. E Barcelona – Sant Jordi
24.01. F Lyon – Transbordeur
25.01. I Milan – Live Club
27.01. A Vienna – Gasometer
28.01. D Ludwigsburg – MHP Arena
29.01. NL Amsterdam – Heineken Music Hall
31.01. D Frankfurt – Jahrhunderthalle
01.02. D Saarbrucken – Saarlandhalle
03.02. CH Basel – St. Jakobshalle
04.02. D Bamberg – Brose Arena
05.02. D Munich – Zenith
24.02. FIN Helsinki – Icehall
25.02. EST Tallinn – Kultuurikatel
27.02. PL Gdansk – Ergo Arena
28.02. PL Wroclaw – Hala Stulecia
01.03. PL Warsaw – Torwar
03.03. PL Cracov – Wisla Hall
04.03. CZ Prague – Tip Sport Arena
05.03. H Budapest – Barba Negra
06.03. SRB Belgrade – Belexpo
08.03. GR Athens – Peiraios Academy
09.03. GR Thessaloniki – Fix Factory Of Sound
10.03. BG Sofia – Universiada Hall
11.03. RO Bucharest – Arenele Romane
13.03. HR Zagreb – Dom Sportova
14.03. SK Bratislava – Aegon Arena
15.03. D Berlin – Columbiahalle
17.03. S Norrköping – Himmelstalundshallen
18.03. S Sandviken – Göransson Arena
19.03. S Örebro – Conventum Arena
21.03. DK Copenhagen – Valby Hallen
22.03. S Lund – Sparbank Skane Arena
24.03. S Stockholm – Hovet
25.03. S Gothenburg – Frölundaborg
26.03. N Oslo – Sentrum Scene
27.03. N Haugesund – Byscenen
29.03. N Trondheim – Samfundet Storsalen
31.03. S Umea – Umea Energi Arena Vind
01.04. S Lulea – Lulea Energi Arena
Masterminds and epic creators of the symphonic metal scene, EPICA, have worked hard to pump the blood in the heart of metal music once more and are set to see the release of their newest album on September 30th. “The Holographic Principle” is another epical masterpiece from the band, which is a crossover between symphonic, progressive, power and thrash metal, as well as modern production meets old school elements.
The band will also hit the road and skies to support this album with a huge tour around the world. I recently had a chance to have an interview with guitar player and growl screamer, Mark Jansen, where we could talk about EPICA, “The Holographic Principle”, science fiction movies and much more. You can check out what he had to say on the audio player below, along with a few excerpts:
“The Holographic Principle” will be the band’s seventh studio album, which will be released via Nuclear Blast. But how is Mark feeling about the forthcoming album release?:
“I’m really excited and I cannot wait any more, because it was already finished by the end of May and then you have to do all the promo activities and also the video clip shoots and the label needs time for the preparation of the album.
And now finally we’re almost there, it’s just a matter of two weeks now, so getting really excited.”
EPICA‘s new album won’t only be a sacred number in their brilliant discography, but a record “bigger” and more complex than previous ones. I asked Mark about the difficulties during writing and producing this album, he answered:
“I must say everything went extremely smooth, so we had no real big things. The only thing that happened was basically in the end of the recordings when we were going to mix the album, we sent all the material to our mixer Jacob Hansen and we already prepared him that it would be quite some work, because we recorded so many instruments. Some songs were about a thousand tracks for just one song. So, we wrote him be prepared and start in time as it’s going to be a lot of work and he got the material and he was instantly sick one week! (laughs)
So, we were all the time on schedule, then maybe he got a very big shock when he received all that material and then he thought ‘shit I cannot handle this, I’m sick!’ But after one week he was recovered and he started to work and basically we managed to finish the album in time. We had some listening sessions that were not with the full album, but I think everything happens for a reason and the album turned out with different songs than we initially thought. So we are happy now with the songs we have on the album, this is the way it’s meant to be I think.”
Just like any other great album, this one is also accompanied with wonderful artwork, full of eye catching details and regarding that, Mark stated:
“It’s Stefan Heilemann, it’s a guy that we work already with for four albums now and he’s always amazing us with his work. He gets the lyrics upfront with a brief description of what the lyrics are about and then he starts working. With The Quantum Enigma already he came up with great artwork, this time with The Holographic Principle it took him a bit longer because he was looking how to start. But once he was on the right track, he started working for one week nonstop and presented us with this great piece of art.
You can find many nice little details and that’s the good thing about covers, when there are some details that you only notice when you look long enough at it and there’s a few of them on this cover as well.”
EPICA‘s tour for supporting “The Holographic Principle” will start soon and it is going to be a big tour around the world. From Brazil to the UK and from New York to their homeland, the Netherlands they are going to travel far and beyond to celebrate another year of being together. The journey will be long and probably with some difficulties which obviously won’t be unfamiliar to the band, but I asked Mark about it and he answered: “It’s sometimes hard, but it’s the way you look at it – there’s hard things with every job in life and easy things. The hardest thing for being on the road is the flights, because that’s very tiring and you have to go through security every time and it’s a hassle, it’s a pain in the ass, it’s stressy. It’s also boring because you have to wait often very long. But the good side of touring is that you get to see so many places in the world, you meet many different people, you play live shows, that’s last but not least.
That’s what makes it worth it, when you play the music in front of your fans and you see the happiness on their faces – that makes up for all the troubles facing travelling.”
After breaking the news about the release of their upcoming album HEAVEN SHALL BURN announce selected and intimate club shows following the release of “Wanderer” on September 16th, 2016.
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
“Wanderer Club Tour” 16.09.16 (DE) Berlin – Kesselhaus der Kulturbrennerei (Metal Hammer Awards 2016) 17.09.16 (DE) Chemnitz – AJZ 18.09.16 (DE) Essen – Zeche Carl 19.09.16 (DE) Cologne – Gebäude 9 20.09.16 (DE) Frankfurt – Zoom 21.09.16 (DE) Hamburg – Knust 22.09.16 (DE) Munich – Ampere 23.09.16 (AT) Vienna – Szene 24.09.16 (CH) Aarau – Kiff 25.09.16 (DE) Freiburg – Crash
Hardtickets will go on sale on Monday, July 25, 2016 (12:00CET)
The track listing of “Wanderer” is as follows:
1. The Loss Of Fury
2. Bring The War Home
3. Passage Of The Crane
4. They Shall Not Pass
5. Downshifter
6. Prey To God
7. Agent Orange (not available on the standard jewel-case and standard digital album)
8. My Heart Is My Compass
9. Save Me
10. Corium
11. Extermination Order
12. A River Of Crimson
13. The Cry Of Mankind
The following formats will be available:
Ltd. Deluxe 3CD Artbook
Ltd. 2CD Mediabook
Ltd. 2CD Digipak (North America only)
Standard CD Jewelcase
Gatefold 2LP+CD
Digital Album (Deluxe Edition)
Digital Album
The Ltd. 2CD Mediabook and Ltd. 2CD Digipak (North America only) both come with an extended 40-pages booklet.
For the “Too Good To Steal From” bonus CD the band compiled all cover versions they had ever recorded since initially signing with Century Media Records in 2003.
The luxurious coffee table Artbook comes with an extended 60-page booklet as well as the ”Too Good To Steal From“ CD. On top of all that, fans get an alternative mix, entitled the “Dark Purity Mix”, of all original songs done by Eike Freese at Chameleon Studios, Hamburg.
Swedish heavy metal heroes SABATON will release their brand-new, 8th studio album, “The Last Stand” on August 19th through Nuclear Blast. Today, the band have revealed the fourth trailer in support of this upcoming record., which can be seen below.
The story behind the lyrics:
1314, nine years after the execution of William Wallace, the Scottish laid siege upon Stirling Castle and an agreement was made that if it had not been relieved by mid-summer the English would surrender the castle to the Scottish. The English could of course not ignore that challenge, and sent a formidable force north towards Stirling to break the siege and relieve the troops inside. In the end Robert the Bruce and the Scottish defeated the English under Edward II‘s command with a force half the size and not nearly as well equipped of what the English had at their disposal.
“The Last Stand” – Tracklisting + Formats:
CD+DVD-DIGI
CD
01. Sparta
02. Last Dying Breath
03. Blood Of Bannockburn
04. Diary Of An Unknown Soldier
05. The Lost Battalion
06. Rorke’s Drift
07. The Last Stand
08. Hill 3234
09. Shiroyama
10. Winged Hussars
11. The Last Battle Bonus:
12. Camouflage
13. All Guns Blazing
DVD – Live @ Stereolux, Nantes (France)
01. Intro (The March To War)
02. Ghost Division
03. Far From The Fame
04. Uprising
05. Midway
06. Gott Mit Uns
07. Resist And Bite
08. Wolfpack
09. Dominium Maris Baltici
10. Carolus Rex
11. Swedish Pagans
12. Soldier Of 3 Armies
13. Attero Dominatus
14. The Art Of War
15. Wind Of Change
16. To Hell And Back
17. Night Witches
18. Primo Victoria
19. Metal Crüe
CD
01. Sparta
02. Last Dying Breath
03. Blood Of Bannockburn
04. Diary Of An Unknown Soldier
05. The Lost Battalion
06. Rorke’s Drift
07. The Last Stand
08. Hill 3234
09. Shiroyama
10. Winged Hussars
11. The Last Battle
EARBOOK
CD
01. Sparta
02. Last Dying Breath
03. Blood Of Bannockburn
04. Diary Of An Unknown Soldier
05. The Lost Battalion
06. Rorke’s Drift
07. The Last Stand
08. Hill 3234
09. Shiroyama
10. Winged Hussars
11. The Last Battle Bonus:
12. Camouflage
13. All Guns Blazing
14. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
DVD – Live @ Stereolux, Nantes (France)
01. Intro (The March To War)
02. Ghost Division
03. Far From The Fame
04. Uprising
05. Midway
06. Gott Mit Uns
07. Resist And Bite
08. Wolfpack
09. Dominium Maris Baltici
10. Carolus Rex
11. Swedish Pagans
12. Soldier Of 3 Armies
13. Attero Dominatus
14. The Art Of War
15. Wind Of Change
16. To Hell And Back
17. Night Witches
18. Primo Victoria
19. Metal Crüe
Live CD – Live @ Stereolux, Nantes (France)
01. Intro (The March To War)
02. Ghost Division
03. Far From The Fame
04. Uprising
05. Midway
06. Gott Mit Uns
07. Resist And Bite
08. Wolfpack
09. Dominium Maris Baltici
10. Carolus Rex
11. Swedish Pagans
12. Soldier Of 3 Armies
13. Attero Dominatus
14. The Art Of War
15. Wind Of Change
16. To Hell And Back
17. Night Witches
18. Primo Victoria
19. Metal Crüe
2LP – 45 RPM
Side A
01. Sparta
02. Last Dying Breath
03. Blood Of Bannockburn
04. Diary Of An Unknown Soldier
05. The Lost Battalion Side B
01. Rorke’s Drift
02. The Last Stand
03. Hill 3234
04. Shiroyama Side C
01. Winged Hussars
02. The Last Battle Side D (Bonus)
01. Camouflage
02. All Guns Blazing
SABATON live:
29.06. FIN Hämeenlinna – Kantola Event Park (w/ IRON MAIDEN)
30.06. E Bilbao – Bilbao Arena Miribilla (w/ SCORPIONS)
02.07. E Córdoba – Plaza De Toros (w/ SCORPIONS)
03.07. E Madrid – Barclaycard Center (w/ SCORPIONS)
06.07. SK Zilina – Zilina Airport (w/ IRON MAIDEN)
08.07. FIN Kuusisaari – Jalometalli
10.07. TR Istanbul – Rock Off
24.07. I Rome – Sonisphere Italy (w/ IRON MAIDEN)
26.07. AL Mariehamn – Rockoff
03.08. DK Skandeborg – Smukfest
06.08. CDN Montreal – Heavy Montréal
18.08. D Dinkelsbühl – Summer Breeze
19.08. D Hamburg – Elb-Riot
20.08. S Falun – Sabaton Open Air
28.08. PL Straszecin – Czad Festival
29.08. PL Wroclaw – Rock For Freedom
31.08. IL Tel Aviv – Reading 3 (w/ DESERT)
25.09. USA San Bernardino, CA – Knotfest
02.10. USA Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life Festival
“The Last Tour” – Europe 2017 w/ ACCEPT
07.01. D Oberhausen – König Pilsener Arena
08.01. B Antwerp – Lotto Arena
10.01. IRL Dublin – Vicar Street
11.01. UK Glasgow – o2 Academy
13.01. UK Manchester – o2 Apollo
14.01. UK London – o2 Brixton Academy
15.01. F Lille – Aeronef
16.01. F Paris – Olympia
18.01. F Toulouse – Le Bikini
24.01. F Lyon – Transbordeur
27.01. A Vienna – Gasometer
28.01. D Ludwigsburg – MHP Arena
29.01. NL Amsterdam – Heineken Music Hall
31.01. D Frankfurt – Jahrhunderthalle
01.02. D Saarbrücken – Saarlandhalle
03.02. CH Basel – St. Jakobshalle
04.02. D Bamberg – Brose Arena
05.02. D München – Zenith
04.03. CZ Prague – Tip Sport Arena
05.03. H Budapest – Barba Negra
08.03. GR Athens – Peiraios Academy
09.03. GR Thessaloniki – Fix Factory Of Sound
10.03. BG Sofia – Universiada Hall
11.03. RO Bucharest – Arenele Romane
15.03. D Berlin – Columbiahalle
More dates to come…
Swedish heavy metal Vikings AMON AMARTH have announced the remaining dates of their massive European “Jomsviking” tour with new shows added in Sweden, Spain, Czech Republic & Hungary.
Joining AMON AMARTH as Special Guest in the UK, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal is the legendary Bay Area thrash titans TESTAMENT. TESTAMENT’sEric Peterson follows up: “With a heart of steel and rippling distant thunder, we are honoured to board the AA Viking ship and get ready to feast and plunder with them across Europe! Thor’s hammering strikes shall lead the way! Skol!”
Poland’s finest BEHEMOTH will be joining AMON AMARTH as Special Guest for dates in Norway, Sweden, Finland & Denmark. BEHEMOTH’sNergal comments, “The last and only time we toured with AMON AMARTH was over a decade ago when both our bands were conquering North America in a small shitty van. We are in a different place now and we are more then honoured to be sharing the stage with those Norse men again! Scandinavia, you have been warned!”
Also joining AMON AMARTH as support on all shows is Sweden’s epic GRAND MAGUS. JB from GRAND MAGUS declares, “Warriors of the north Atlantic! We are proud and excited to be part of this tour. Earth-shattering metal is coming your way. Amon Amarth, Testament/Behemoth, and Grand Magus on the same night! There will be headbanging, thrashing, and all around heaviness to fill all needs. Join us! Rejoice!”
AMON AMARTH “Jomsviking” EUROPEAN TOUR 2016: 30/10/16 Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National* 31/10/16 Manchester, England @ Academy* 01/11/16 Glasgow, Scotland @ ABC* 02/11/16 Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street* 04/11/16 London, England @ Roundhouse* 05/11/16 Birmingham, England @ Academy* 06/11/16 Tilburg, Netherlands @ O13* 09/11/16 Bilbao, Spain @ Santana 27* 10/11/16 Porto, Portugal @ Coliseu do Porto* 11/11/16 Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera* 12/11/16 Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz* 15/11/16 Lausanne, Switzerland @ Metropole* 16/11/16 Zurich, Switzerland @ Komplex 457* 22/11/16 Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer* 25/11/16 Prague, Czech Republic @ Forum Karlin* 28/11/16 Bratislava, Slovakia @ Refinery Gallery** 29/11/16 Zagreb, Croatia @ Tvornica** 01/12/16 Athens, Greece @ Piraeus Academy** 02/12/16 Thessaloniki, Greece @ Fix Factory of Sound** 03/12/16 Sofia, Bulgaria @Hristo Botev Hall** 04/12/16 Bucharest, Romania @ Arenele Romane** 06/12/16 Budapest, Hungary @ Barba Negra** 07/12/16 Cracow, Poland @ Fabryka** 08/12/16 Gdansk, Poland @ B90** 09/12/16 Warsaw, Poland @ Progresja** 10/12/16 Vilnius, Lithuania @ Loftas** 12/12/16 Tallinn, Estonia @ Rock Café** 13/12/16 Helsinki, Finland @ Black Box*** 15/12/16 Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene*** 16/12/16 Gothenburg, Sweden @ Liseberghallen*** 17/12/16 Stockholm, Sweden @ Arenan*** 18/12/16 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Store Vega***
*= TESTAMENT + GRAND MAGUS **= GRAND MAGUS ***=BEHEMOTH + GRAND MAGUS
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 ) 