The high speed power metallers from SCULFORGE are giving their fans a special pre-Christmas present. After the release of “Intergalactic Battle Tunes”, the quartet’s highly acclaimed debut, in June, a new, previously unreleased track, “Far Away From Home”, is out today as a single on all streaming platforms and video on the MDD YouTube channel!
The band comments on this track as follows: “The song hit it really hard on the head and not singing along is no longer possible after the first chorus at the latest. The gas pedal to the floor and all holes well sealed! The next ride goes backwards! Cheers! The song is about how Sculforge celebrate Christmas. They enter your place, drink all your beer and the pile you find in your litter box the next morning…. might be a bit too big for a cat.”
The 2024 7th Annual Metal Hall of Fame Gala “The most important night in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal” will take place on January 24, 2024, at the Marriott Delta Garden Grove, Anaheim, CA, and will be hosted by radio Icon / 2024 Metal Hall of Fame Inductee Eddie Trunk, and entertainment personality Cathy Rankin. The event will include a special 40th Anniversary Induction for Eddie Trunk, with surprise guests, live music performances, and an All-Star Jam.
2024 METAL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES: EDDIE TRUNK (Special 40th Anniversary Induction) MICK MARS (Special video induction) SEBASTIAN BACH (Inducted by WENDY DIO) TIM “RIPPER” OWENS (KK’s Priest, Judas Priest, Iced Earth) CARLOS CAVAZO (Quiet Riot) PENELOPE SPHEERIS (Producer/Director: Decline of Western Civilization, Wayne’s World) MIKEAL MAGLIERI – WHISKY a Go Go, Rainbow Bar & Grill CLEOPATRA RECORDS BIOHAZARD SURPRISE GUESTS, PERFORMANCES, & ALL STAR JAM!!
“The 2024 Annual Metal Hall of Fame Gala is going to be another exciting night, with some legendary artists performing and sharing some great stories,” says Metal Hall of Fame President Pat Gesualdo.
ABOUT THE METAL HALL OF FAME: The Metal Hall of Fame is a non profit, volunteer organization dedicated to forever enshrining the iconic musicians and music industry executives responsible for making Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music what it is today. Their contribution to the genre is invaluable, and they continue to inspire fans throughout the world, from generation to generation. 100% of proceeds from Metal Hall of Fame events go to preserving Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Music for future generations, and also bring free music programs to help special needs children and wounded veterans in health facilities and community centers.
HEARTS & HAND GRENADES are an explosive American NWOCR group from Buffalo, NY, bursting with an edgy sound for all generations of true rock addicts, and they just premiered a new music video and single entitled “I Just Want My Rock“. This is the third single & music video taken from their upcoming full-length album Where I Begin which is scheduled to be released on January 26, 2024 via Eclipse Records. The album was engineered by Justin Rose at GCR Audio, mixed & mastered by Jeremy Tabor at Triple Zero Music, and the music video was directed by Cole Rd.
“We thought it would be fun to make a song about different music genre cliché’s while poking a bit of fun at them” says lead vocalist & bassist Stephanie Wlosinski. “The different scenes in the video play on the lyrics as the video plays through. For instance, when the country section of the song is playing through, there is a cowboy and barn scene to depict what is happening with the lyrics and the video together.” Guitarist Mike Bress continues, “This was the first time we’ve done a music video that was animated. The whole process of bringing something like this to life was very different compared to any other video we’ve made in the past. The story needed to be mapped out all ahead of time and all the scenes described in as much detail as possible. Photos of all band members needed to be submitted so the characters would resemble each of us. Since we wanted to poke fun at some of today’s most popular genres of music, we had to plan it all out so it would make sense. For example, in a country song you would almost always hear about a tractor or a dog. In a pop song you get a lot of repeating lyrics in the hope of creating an earworm. In the video we tried to bring these types of things to life visually for the viewer to get the point across. We’re quite pleased with the animator Cole Rd and the final results thereof!”
Cover Art by 119 Design
The new album by Hearts & Hand Grenades is entitled Where I Begin and the record is a blast of sass and attitude! The album takes us on a journey through the toxic politics of love and relations, tearing us up, rending us raw, leaving us burning to cinders. That’s when we rise from the ashes and drown the whole damn forest fire in a thunderous squall, the music and lyrics coursing through us like sonic rip currents in the bloodstream of a savage with a battle hatchet. Listen to the songs and you will walk taller, shout louder, drive faster, love harder. The hard groove of the guitar work and percussion is based on clever riffs and heavy, addictive hooks appealing to classic rockers, 80s metalheads, 90s grunge-lovers, and enthusiasts who reveled in the post 2000s’ resurgence of hard-ass rock meant for bars and arenas, rock rooms, saloons, theaters and festivals, rock ‘til you drop. Moreover, bassist and vocalist Stephanie Wlosinski puts on a clinic for instrumental groove-sense and glorious power-singing over an enormous guitar sound and drumming that is way more than satisfying. Where I Begin was produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jeremy Tabor at Triple Zero Music, and the art was created by 119 Design. Where I Begin will be released on January 26, 2024 by Eclipse Records.
After their amazing return to the live stage, on Friday, October 13th, PHEAR release the first video from their new studio album, SAVE OUR SOULS. The album is set for release in spring of 2024. Phear has been recording this album over the last three years, mostly due to Covid restrictions. But now it’s time for these Canuck Metal heads to unleash the heaviest tracks so far in the Phear Catalogue!!
2024 will be all about performing these new songs live. If you have ever seen Phear in concert, you know that they deliver an arena show in a club. As stated by the band; “You haven’t seen anything yet!”
Phear fans can stay up to date on SAVE OUR SOULS release details by joining the email list at https://m.bnds.us/f0Tlll
The new Phear album is expected to be nine songs:
Save Our Souls – all tracks completed
Snake – all tracks completed
Aftershock – All tracks completed
Lease On Life – All tracks completed
Narcosynthesis – All tracks completed
Bleed – All tracks completed
On Thin Ice – All tracks completed
New World Error – All tracks completed Bonus: Delusions (live) – Completed
Mixing and Mastering is now happening. Followed by Artwork and layout.
VLTIMAS have been legends since the dawn of metal. Rune Eriksen took hold of axe-wielding duties for the second coming of Mayhem. Flo Mounier has been drumming for Cryptopsy since their earliest exhumations of the Canadian underground. And who could forget David Vincent, the larger-than-life vocalist for Morbid Angel.
Having already made history, some metalheads may have stroked their beard and wondered if there could possibly be any new realms for this band to conquer. After all, their debut was voted Album of the Year by Zero Tolerance Magazine and BangerTV. But on their new album, VLTIMAS ascend to truly epic heights.
Tracklist 1. Volens Discordant (1:02) 2. EPIC (4:35) 3. Miserere (3:51) [WATCH] 4. Exercitus Irae (4:01) 5. Mephisto Manifesto (05:05) 6. Scorcher (03:21) 7. Invictus (5:30) 8. Nature’s Fangs (3:52) 9. Spoils of War (5:54) Total runtime: 37:16
Watch the video for lead single “Miserere”:
VLTIMAS have been making grand declarations of war for more than 30 years, but “Miserere” isn’t just another offering at the altar of madness. “I spread my misery, biblically evolved”, Vincent sings in a baritone that’s so monstrous it could summon an army of the dead. The drums speed ahead mercilessly, mowing down all onlookers under a barrage of surgical blast beats, as riffs hail from all directions with enough firepower to shatter bulletproof glass.
“The world throws us all trials and tribulations constantly,” says VLTIMAS. “We use this angst as a weapon in our art to score the apocalypse“.
Extreme metal powerhouse VLTIMAS (pronounced ‘uhl-tuh-mas’) assault metaldom once more with their highly-anticipated sophomore album, EPIC, through Season of Mist. Featuring Norwegian guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, Aura Noir), American vocalist David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), and Canadian drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), the multinational quintet, rounded out by Dutch bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and Portuguese guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii), continue to venture down their path. Moored by strength and integrity, VLTIMAS fortified their signature with wicked invention, as applauded by Decibel Magazine, BangerTV, Louder, and many others, on their debut, Something Wicked Marches In (2019). Singles “Miserere,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus” showcase a band of musicians at the top of their game, united in their pursuit of oneness.
“We wrote every bit of EPIC together at my ranch in Dime Box, Texas,” offers Vincent. “The writing sessions were as organic as they could be. There were times when, at the end of the night, Rune would take his guitar and play something ridiculous. Flo would play something even more ridiculous on top of it. I’d say to the guys, ‘I need to capture this.’ So, the magic [of VLTIMAS] is being in the same room together, discussing, playing, and recording music and everything else we’re doing together. We have unbelievable camaraderie.”
While the members of VLTIMAS are not atavists, their preferred creative methods are time-tested and battle-hardened. Technology has its place, but the group thrive when they’re together, not separated by the world. Eriksen, renowned as a riff innovator, is more effective when he’s got a highly capable sideman like Vincent or Mounier, whose drumming in Cryptopsy and his celebrated instructional Extreme Metal Drumming 101 DVD has proven to be a no-limits player, by his side. Whether it’s the moody, angular attack of “Miserere,” the wicked groove of “Mephisto Manifesto,” or the dark fury of “Nature’s Fangs,” the chemistry and enterprise of VLTIMAS is undeniable.
“The main goal [of VLTIMAS] is to be real,” Eriksen reveals. “To channel the very moment, to let true inspiration out. I don’t believe I ever set myself a goal on what an album should or needs to sound like before I or we write it because that means I have to compromise during the process. For EPIC, we focused on more direct songs, trimming the fat, as opposed to Something Wicked Marches In, which had a progressive and ‘playful’ flair.”
VLTIMAS was a profane concept—a constellation of riffs against a modest frame—when formed by Eriksen in 2015. After departing Mayhem in 2008 and putting his gothic doom outfit Ava Inferi to rest in 2013, the Norwegian’s fingers still itched with infernal fury. VLTIMAS was his vent, and when Mounier and Vincent joined, he finally had the cadre of professionals to make it a reality. Together, they devised complementary schemes and themes rooted in rightness. In a world gone mad, VLTIMAS had a vision. On Something Wicked Marches In, they commanded attention with metaphors about the apocalypse, the ancient goddess Lilith, and truth. Lyrically, EPIC spears into the very nucleus of strength through Vincent’s brio of double entendre and clever wordsmithing. The songs are designed to be heard, read, and interpreted—there are no shortcuts.
“Everything we’re doing and messaging is about strength and honor,” says Vincent. “These are the fundamentals that I incorporate into my life, which I believe in. I want to share with others, hoping they’ll incorporate strength and honor into their lives. I wouldn’t say I like spelling lyrics out. I use a lot of double meanings on purpose because I want to inspire the listener to think. I’m not a short attention span guy, and I don’t appreciate it. EPIC is holistic and meant to be experienced that way.”
EPIC was recorded by producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Grave Miasma) with engineer Jonathan Mazzeo (First Fragment, Sickening) at Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. VLTIMAS tracked the album throughout May 2023. Arellano also handled the mix and master. Like everything the band does, the main goal was to be honest. The maxim of no sample replacement or re-amping—EPIC was captured on outboard gear—was adhered to and enjoyed by the team. The result is a sonic expression that sounds like nothing else. From the crushing title track to the epic musicality of closer “Spoils of War,” EPIC is an absolute beast.
“Stress, long walks, too much alcohol, yet very focused once in the recording mode,” Eriksen says of the sessions. “We booked a month, but somehow, that flew by instantly. We worked up until the very end. I even added a few solos at my local Soundscape Studio in Almada, Portugal. Art unfolds, and once you think you are done, there’s always another idea popping up.”
VLTIMAS brought Italian artist Daniele Valeriani (Mayhem, Unanimated) to visualize EPIC. The aesthetic, as illuminated by music and message, was iconic boldness. The three-eagle head crest with three different crowns, accompanied by transfigured symbols of the Passion and the “impossible triangle,” projects effortlessly. In EPIC, the group will dominate. There’s no escape from “Miserere,” “Mephisto Manifesto,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus.” Together, they thrust, by resolve and inventiveness, VLTIMAS into the uppermost echelons of extreme metal.
“[EPIC is] old meets contemporary, a symbiosis of all the great things we love about extreme metal,” offers Eriksen. “All combined into one album.”
“I want to be as emotional and honest [with VLTIMAS],” Vincent adds. “I want to tell stories; I want to have the themes that appeal to me; I want to have some messaging that someone can take away, in this case, strength. EPIC is strength.”
Lineup David Vincent – Vocals Rune Blasphemer Eriksen – Guitars Flo Mounier – Drums Ype TVS – Bass João Duarte – Guitars
Recording studio – ARDA Recorders Producer – Jamie Gomez Arellano Sound engineer – Jonathan Mazzeo Mixing and mastering engineer – Jaime Gomez Arellano Mixing and mastering studio – Arda Recorders, Orgone Studio
Cover art – Daniele Valeriani Additional artwork and layout – Adrien Bousson Biography – Chris Dick
January 12, 2024 will see iconic heavy metal trio THE RODS release its forthcoming studio offering, entitled “Rattle The Cage”! The album will be coming out as CD Digipak, Ltd. Vinyl LP and Digital formats via Massacre Records , the pre-sale is available at: https://therods.bfan.link/rattlethecage
Following previously-released, first songs such as “Shockwave” and the thunderous album title track, today, THE RODS are premiering a music video for their new single “Play It Loud”! Guitarist and singer David “Rock” Feinstein reveals:“This is a song from my catalog. For all the years that I have performed, playing loud was always there. Of course growing up with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and all the bands of that era, they were all loud. Rock ‘n’ Roll is supposed to be loud. If I had a dollar for every time I was told to “turn down”, I would be a multi millionaire, ha! The lyrics tell it all. It’s just something you do that makes you feel good. I guess that’s what it’s all about.”
THE RODS are a storied heavy metal band that rocked their way through the ‘80s with a powerful, raw energy that had fans and critics alike calling them “The American Motörhead”. Once the go-to opening act for some of the biggest metal bands in the world, THE RODS toured throughout the ‘80s with the likes of Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden, among others. Along with contemporaries like Anvil and Raven, THE RODS are an integral part of what is commonly recognized today as Heavy Metal’s “golden age,” and emerged during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
Heavy, dark, deep, insightful, and maybe even a bit more inciteful than ever before:Their upcoming album, “Rattle The Cage”, is THE RODS at their incendiary best! Lyrically, they’ve taken a cue from David “Rock” Feinstein’s cousin, Ronnie James Dio, providing the listener with a similar sense of hope and resiliency in the face of an ever-changing world. Musically, the band is tighter than ever! Founding members David “Rock” Feinstein and Carl Canedy are joined by new bassist Freddy Villano (Quiet Riot, Widowmaker), and the results are simply sublime: The songs are rhythmically tighter, yet more musically unbound, the grooves heavier, and the melodies more dynamic.
Mixed and mastered by Chris Collier, “Rattle The Cage” benefits from his masterful, modern touch, with the kind of sound that will simultaneously appeal to core fans as well as new generations of listeners! THE RODS epitomize the term power-trio, and the word “power” has never been more evident in their music than it is now. 2024 will mark THE RODS’ 45th anniversary, in support, they will be playing many special dates and performances to commemorate 45 years together. With such an impressive history firmly notched in their collective belt, THE RODS are still firing on all cylinders, and as eager as ever to crank it up, louder than loud!
“Rattle The Cage” track listing:
Now And Forever
Wolves At The Door
Cry Out Loud
Rattle The Cage
Can’t Slow Down
Metal Highways
Hell Or High Water
Play It Loud
Shockwave
Hearts Of Steel
THE RODS Live: 06.03.2024 AU Hindmarsh (Adelaide) – The Gov * 07.03.2024 AU Brisbane – The Zoo, Brisbane * 08.03.2024 AU Sydney – Manning Bar * 09.03.2024 AU Melbourne – Northcote Theatre * *Metal Forces w/ Ross The Boss, Anvil & Butterfly
THE RODS are: David “Rock” Feinstein – Vocals, Guitars Freddy Villano – Bass Carl Canedy – Drums
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 ) 