Lifeforce Records is proud to announce the signing of Italian gothic doom metal outfit THE FORESHADOWING to its roster!
The band’s Lifeforce Records debut is set to be released in November 2024! Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
Founded in 2005, THE FORESHADOWING gained popularity in the international gothic doom scene with four acclaimed albums released between 2007 and 2016: “Days of Nothing” (2007), “Oionos” (2010), “Second World” (2012) and “Seven Heads, Ten Horns” )2016).
During this time, the band toured all over the world and performed at some of the most important festivals, such as Summer Breeze, Rock Harz, Wave Gotik Treffen, Stoner Hand of Doom, Legacy, Mayday Rock Festival and Summer Darkness – alongside Lacuna Coil, Moonspell, Marduk, Inquisition, Katatonia, Saturnus, October Tide, Fields of the Nephilim, Tiamat, My Dying Bride and many others.
After a forced break of five years, the band resumed its activities in 2023 with the relea se of the “Forsaken Songs” EP and a recent European tour with Saturnus and In The Woods.
Alt Rock/Electronic force CHIRAL release their fifth single, ‘In The Company of Wolves’, merging the bridges of Punk-infused Rock and Alternative Metal. Dive into the sonic underworld with Chiral, the wicked 4-piece Irish renegades, boldly trespassing musical borders, concocting a potion of punk, metal, rock, and dance with a side of avant-garde.
Born in the shadows of early 2023, multi-instrumentalist, producer, Gary Duncan joined forces with vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Adam Brewer, birthing the RATM-inspired anthem ‘Digital Whispers‘ a haunting ode to the existential dread of AI’s influence on humanity. Duncan’s guitar sorcery seduced vocalist Adam Brewer into this dark alliance from the very start. Joining this musical séance to complete the unholy quartet and glue it all together. Eddie “Graveyard” Delaney bringing the thunder on drums, a long-time friend and musical conspirator of Duncans, and rounding out the grit and dirt of the low-end, the bass behemoth Al “Bluster Bhoy” Tierney.
Speaking of the new single, the band says; “”In The Company Of Wolves” is a dark, haunting song inspired by the initial call and response between the bass and guitar that set the tone for this song and shaped how the lyrics and story unfolded, as it had a very dark fairytale vibe. The lyrics tell the story of a vulnerable character navigating a perilous world, drawing on the symbolism of Little Red Riding Hood, with the wolves representing danger and deceit. Set in a mysterious forest of hidden threats and secrets, the narrative builds to a climax where the protagonist, pushed to her limits, seizes a moment of empowerment. The imagery of “50 seconds to shoot your shot” and “blood red revenge” underscores her reclaiming agency through violent retribution, ultimately ending her torment. The song encapsulates survival, resistance, and vengeance against predatory forces.”
Although ‘Digital Whispers‘ is where Chiral started, this was a song they had no plans to release, however this all changed after the release of ‘I Bring Chaos’ (click here), and how quickly interest in Chiral started to build.
From Chiral‘s genesis to the darker debut release of ‘I Bring Chaos‘ a song that dives headfirst into the drug-fuelled underworld, it’s music video a graffiti-stained descent into madness. Released exclusively on Chiral’s YouTube (click here) channel on January 27th, 2024, “it’s not just a song; it’s a macabre dance with the absurd”.
In a twist of fate, shortly after the I bring Chaos video shoot, ‘GraveYard Ed’ decided to exit Chiral, this left an opening at the drum stool. After auditioning some awesome drummers for the vacant position, Chiral’s chief axe wielder, Gary Duncan decided to move over to drums. This allowed the awesomely talented Chris Craig (Vendetta Love) to step into the role of Chiral guitarist. The newly reformed Chiral wasted no time, plotting their next move through the shadows.
With further releases like ‘Digital Whispers‘ and ‘Kubrick Odyssey’ exclusively on YouTube in early 2024, a dark pilgrimage through Germany in May, and accolades echoing from the farthest corners of the globe, the chaos of Chiral knows no bounds. Imagine this pandemonium through the prism of chirality, where rebellion intertwines with the symphony of skulls and spray cans. Chiral is not just a band; it is a carnival of sonic madness, where the darkness beckons you. Come join the dark parade.
Irish Hard Rockers, Mine Road have emerged with their first single, ‘Snowplough’, taken from their forthcoming debut album, ‘Tomorrow’s Sky’, out July 4th.
Bursting with high-energy, and powerhouse hard-rock anthems, Mine Road certainly know how to pen songs that were made to be played in arenas! Their new single, ‘Snowplough’ is testament to this as the song builds to a crescendo of colourful melodies that surge with undeniable power and presence.
Speaking of the new single, the band says; “This essence of the song is about loss. The feeling of being covered by a blanket of snow, with the negative aspect in life being the snow itself. We wanted to write a song to combat those negative emotions and try to get a positive take on the negative things in life, all the while finding strength to plough through to the other side.”
The band is made up of brothers Stuart Cash (guitar) and Steve Cash (drums), vocalist Ken Carthy, and guitarist Dave Flood.
The band released Satellite, a 4 track EP in 2012, followed by a hiatus as Stuart moved to Sydney, Australia soon after its release. Songwriting tentatively began again as the two brothers began to trade ideas between continents, Stuart living in Sydney with Steve basing himself in New York. A return to Dublin in 2019 for the brothers opened the possibility of a Mine Road revival as Carthy and Flood all returned to the fold.
After completing the writing process for their first full length album, the band decided to tour Ireland after Covid had shut down live performances for the previous two years. With a successful run of shows nationally under their belt, the band knuckled down to the task of recording debut album ‘Tomorrow’s Sky’ and it’s been well worth the wait!
Mine Road are: Stu Cash – Guitar / Backing Vox Ken Carthy – Lead Vocals Dave Flood – Guitars Steve Cash – Drums / Backing Vox *Bass performed by former member – Donnacha Neary
There’s no box that Replacire can’t break. The Boston tech-death band boasts multiple Berklee graduates, one hell of a voice actor and a competitive bodybuilder. But while writing and recording their upcoming third album, all too often, they felt trapped inside their own personal torture chamber. Hence why it’s called The Center That Cannot Hold. Still, these guys banged their heads together and pushed way beyond the finish line. On new single “The Helix Unravels”, they sound tighter than ever.
The Center That Cannot Hold comes out June 21, 2024 on Season of Mist.
Replacire are always thinking up ways to break metalhead brains. “The Helix Unravels” stems all the way back to 2017. The song’s opening frenzy was already drilled into Eric Alper’s skull when the band was still hot off their first headlining tour. But just as they were all set to enter Alper’s Ugly Duck Studio come March of 2020, the music industry hit a brick wall.
“The pandemic was hard on us”, says Alper. “To stay afloat financially, we had to sell our tour van and move out of our practice space. It felt like everything that we had built up to support the band was falling apart”.
As if that wasn’t enough weight on his shoulders, the mounting stress knocked Alper into a nasty bout of writer’s block. “There were days when all I could do was lay on the couch and hum a half-finished riff”, he says. Luckily, Poh Hock was right beside him to help pick up the slack. Hock twists and turns “The Helix Unravels” into a tight, three-minute burst that works all of tech-death’s core muscles: glitching fret bends, jazzy interludes and downpicked chugs that could break even the thickest of necks.
Still, it’s the band who tie “The Helix Unravels” together. Joey Feretti never takes his foot off the bass drum pedal while Zak Baskin holds down a stomach-churning groove. “Say that we will see this through”, James Dorton screams through clenched teeth before unleashing his mighty death growl.
“We poured all of our blood, sweat and tears into this album”, Alper says. “There were plenty of times where we felt like quitting. But I’m glad we didn’t. The Center That Cannot Hold is the album that Replacire has been striving for since the very beginning”.
With “The Helix Unravels”, Replacire prove their one of the tightest bands in tech-death.
Cover Art by Andrew Tremblay (@actremblayart)
Tracklist 1. Bloody Tongued And Screaming (4:26) 2. The Center That Cannot Hold (3:05) [LISTEN] 3. Living Hell (2:58) 4. A Fine Manipulation (4:21) [LISTEN] 5. The Helix Unravels (3:02) [LISTEN] 6. Drag Yourself Along The Earth (3:39) 7. Inglorious Impunity (3:32) 8. The Ghost In The Mirror (3:57) 9. Hoard The Trauma Like Wealth (4:20) 10. Transfixed On The Work (3:28) 11. Uncontrolled And Unfulfilled (6:41) Total runtime: 43:36
When Replacire started thinking about their third album, they gravitated around a simple idea. Write some caveman riffs to feed the mosh pit the next time they went out on tour. Of course, like any good technical death metal band that’s worth its weight in colored sands, these whiz kids deviated from their initial thought pattern. It wasn’t easy. Heck, they ended up crawling down a seven-year rabbit hole. But on The Center That Cannot Hold, the Boston band flex all their muscles
“This was a grueling process”, says guitarist Eric Alper. “But it was worth it in the end”.
On the surface, Replacire starts and ends with Alper. After all, the band is just his name spelled backward. Alper is a competitive bodybuilder with a mean and lean right rhythm hand, but don’t let those beefy credentials fool you. When it comes to the studio, his brain does all the heavy lifting. By day, Alper produces music for other artists, as well as TV and movies. He’s a proud alumnus of Berklee College of Music, which is where he formed Replacire with four classmates back in 2009.
Using the money that they savvily raised on Kickstarter, Replacire self-released their debut album by the end of 2012. A hybrid of thrash, prog and death metal, The Human Burden punched through the underground like a cyborg’s fist. “This is what would have happened if Chuck Schuldiner were still alive today and mixed up with the likes of Obscura and Opeth at the same time”, Metal Injection gushed. After tours with Hate Eternal and Beyond Creation and an unintentional private showcase for a certain label rep, Replacire signed with Season of Mist in 2016. The band wasted no time before making a quick first impression. While still head-spinning, their second album landed with the decisive force of a first-round knockout.
Indeed, Replacire were chugging along with a full head of steam. But there’s a reason why their new album is called The Center That Cannot Hold. After all, this is extreme metal. Things were bound to go flying off the rails at some point. Before they could even step out on their next headlining tour, the band’s lineup completely turned over. While their momentum stalled, Alper went searching for replacements.
Luckily, he didn’t have to go any further than his old stomping grounds. Alper linked up with Zak Baskin, who had filled in on bass for parts of Do Not Deviate. Alper then reconnected with Kee Poh Hock, a guitar whiz who’d lived with Baskin when all three were students at Berklee. Even though he graduated a few classes after them, Joey Feretti was so advanced behind the drum kit that he became Alper’s roommate. With mighty vocalist James Dorton joining fresh off Black Crown Initiate’s breakout, the new-and-improved Replacire were all set to hit Alper’s Ugly Duck Studio come March of 2020.
No one needs to be reminded of what happened next. Replacire always grind in the studio, taking their sweet time to fine tune every technical detail down to the last seventh string. “It never ceases to amaze me the way other metal bands just churn stuff out”, Alper says. “It doesn’t come easy for us. So many hours go into so few seconds of music”. But when the pandemic shut the world down, writing slowed to a crawl amidst the endless slog of Zoom sessions. With live music shut down for the foreseeable future, suddenly, their well-laid plan for pumping out an album of crowd killers seemed more and more like a flimsy proposition. To stay afloat, Alper sold the band’s van and moved out of their rehearsal space.
“Everything that I had built to support the band was falling apart”, Alper says.
The mounting stress would’ve left a lesser band bloody-tongued and screaming. But despite being stuck inside this perfect shit storm, Replacire banged their heads together and pushed through. “Living Hell” was inspired by a nasty spell of sleep paralysis that Dorton suffered after witnessing a traumatic event. “In the wake of suicide”, he groans, shrouded by eerie pangs of distortion. Alper was battling his own bouts with anxiety and depression that were brought on by a rather severe case of writer’s block, but even when all he could stand to do was lay on the couch while humming through a half-finished riff, Poh Hock would pick up his Strandberg and zip past the finish line. “The Helix Unravels” could twist all of Mensa into a pretzel with its interlocked chugs and squealing fret bends.
The Center That Cannot Hold is crammed full of mind-bending tech-death workouts. Baskin’s unfettered groove serves as the perfect springboard for another transcendent Hock solo halfway through “Hoard the Trauma Like Wealth”, though his reverberated bass echoes like a sea of voices trapped at the bottom of a well on “The Ghost in the Mirror”. The title track unspools under Feretti’s syncopated snare hits and precision blasting, though Alper was the real drill sergeant. “I wanted the vocals to sound like they do on Slipknot’s self-titled album, where Corey is gasping for air”. Dorton took the inspiration to heart, running through full takes, with no stops, for hours on end. Heck, his vocal chords were so tattered and torn that he narrowly avoided a trip to the hospital.
“We poured all of our blood, sweat and tears into this album”, Alper says. “It took years off my life. There were plenty of times where I wanted to quit. But I’m glad we didn’t, because this is our best album. Everything from the overall production down to the lead guitar parts took a step up. The tone is more serious The songs are still techy buy they’re also a lot heavier. I’m proud of us”.
On The Center That Cannot Hold, Replacire stand stronger than ever.
WORSHIPPER drop a psychdelic lyric video featuring the super heavy track ‘Heroic Dose’ as the next single taken from the Boston psychedelic hard rockers’ forthcoming third album “One Way Trip” which is scheduled for release on July 19, 2024 via Magnetic Eye Records.
“This is the final song that we wrote for the record, and probably the most personal for me“, guitarist and singer John Brookhouse reveals. “I lost my dad in 2022, and one of the last conversations that we had was about his time in Vietnam. As I was writing the lyrics for this song, I realized that I had all of these remarkable stories, which he had told me about that period of time. Essentially, he flunked out of college, and in the midst of a ‘spirit journey’ he realized that he needed to enroll in the Army to avoid being drafted. I cannot even imagine being faced with such a grave decision. I made a bunch of war sounds with a Moog and a theremin that my dad gave me and handed them over to our producer, Alec Rodriguez. Alec just nailed the sound design, especially when mixed with all the acid fuzz freakout stuff at the end over Jarvis’ excellent drum fills.“
Tracklist:
Heroic Dose
Keep This
Windowpane
Only Alive
Acid Burns
James Motel
The Spell
Onward
With their third full-length, “One Way Trip”, Boston, MA psychedelic hard rockers WORSHIPPER have perfected their grand balancing act between classic hard rock and old school heavy metal that is empowered to soar high with the injection of a healthy dose of psychedelia. Rock and metal are all about the hooks and riffs, and the American quartet serves out those catchy delicacies in more than generous helpings.
Although the album title “One Way Trip” and some of the record’s songs could be interpreted as relating to drug culture, things aren’t so literal here, as WORSHIPPERtake a more kaleidoscopic view of the human condition through a psychedelic lens. During the making of the album, three band members suffered personal loss. The opening track, ‘Heroic Dose’ for example revolves around the choice of a father who had realised in a ‘psychedelic epiphany’ that he faced a choice between either enlisting or being drafted and sent to the front lines of the Vietnam war. This is also reflected in the order of the tracks being influenced by the psychological horror thriller “Jacob’s Ladder” in which a Vietnam veteran is plagued by flashbacks and monstrous visions, and which added a loose circular concept to the entire album.
That a band from Boston takes inspiration from the dark side of art is probably no coincidence as New England is home to such grandmasters of horror as H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. Coincidentally, the rebellious city that sparked the American War of Independence and the region are also sizzling hotspots of the East Coast rock scene.
When WORSHIPPER were founded in 2014, it was clear to singer and guitarist John Brookhouse, drummer Dave Jarvis, bass player and backing vocalist Bob Maloney, and guitarist Alejandro Necochea that their new band had to stand out given the high concentration of like-minded and talented local peers. With the mission statement of bringing something exciting and fresh to the table, the still intact original line-up has cranked out impeccable heady and heavy stuff with an emphatic focus on real songs with hooky melodies, creepy vocal harmonies, and twin guitar heroics from the moment of inception.
WORSHIPPER‘s gift for catchy epic songwriting did not go unnoticed, and soon a record deal established the band globally with the albums “Shadow Hymns” (2016) and “Light in the Wire” (2019) receiving worldwide praise. Their quick success also opened doors for heading out on the road, and WORSHIPPER gladly accepted offers to tour with WEEDEATER in the US and THE SKULL in Europe as well as sharing stages with kindred spirits and heroes such as ELDER, LUCIFER, ACE FREHLEY, and MONSTER MAGNET among many others.
With “One Way Trip”, WORSHIPPER not only fulfil the high expectations their third full-length was saddled with, but the Americans are obviously enjoying doing exactly what they’re best at: writing damn great songs for an album that has only killers and no fillers!
Line-up: John Brookhouse – vocals, guitar, synth Dave Jarvis – drums Bob Maloney – bass, backing vocals Alejandro Necochea – guitar, synth
Combining angry and furious death metal and grindcore, I, Cursed is the brutal band of Eero Haula and Ville-Veikko Laaksonen, who are known from Atlases, Marto and Oceanwake, among others.
After releasing their first EP and double single in late 2023, the new “Blades” single and lyric video from the Pori-based I, Cursed will be out on Wednesday May 22nd 2024.
The “Blades” single is part of the new “Death Holograms” EP to be released later in July 2024. The upcoming EP is produced by I, Cursed and Jerkka Perälä of Soft Neon Audiovisual, whose handprint can be heard and seen in the mixing, mastering, cover art and lyric video for the “Death Holograms” EP. The release of the “Blades” single and the “Death Holograms” EP is handled in cooperation by Finnish record labels Inverse Records and Meara Music which is also an agency and event producer based in Ulvila.
Mixed and mastered by Jerkka Perälä (Soft Neon Audiovisual)
Single cover by Jerkka Perälä
The band comments Blades single: “Blades was chosen as the first calling card for the forthcoming Death Holograms EP by being an angry, furious, snappy and blunt image of what is to come. Blades is part of the seven-track modern and raw Death Holograms EP, which brings an expected boost to the generic mass of the domestic metal scene.”
Combining angry and furious death metal and grindcore, I, Cursed, from the Pori / Ulvila area, is a brutal dredging of Ville-Veikko Laaksonen and Eero Haula, known from Atlases, Marto and Oceanwake, among others, which is fed to the Finnish metal scene in an atonal coldness. Operating as a duo outside the performance stages, I, Cursed’s music is a mix of something old and familiar, the HM-2 sound of Swedish grind, and somewhat more modern and crushing production. The live line-up is filled by guitarist Nico Brander from Marto and drummer Arttu Leppänen from Atlases and Marto. FFO Coldworker, Gadget, Nasum & Rotten Sound.
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 ) 