Time for a new single from the Swedish AOR band NIGHTHAWK, led by guitarist Rob Majd (Captain Black Beard, Metalite). After “Running Wild”, it’s now time for “Free Your Mind”, another killer song that foreshows just how good the new Nighthawk album will be.
“A cute uptempo pop’n’roll song which combines the energy that I always want present in Nighthawk with a great melody which had to be included when recording at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios”, Rob comments.
Metal Shock Finland has a pleasure to premiere their new single and official video ”Free Your Mind’, for Finland, enjoy it below.
With him on Abbey Road Studios, Rob had Björn “Speed” Strid (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra & Donna Cannone) on lead vocals, Magnus Ulfstedt (Ginevra) on drums, John Lönnmyr (NFO) on keyboards and Christan Ek (Captain Black Beard) on bass. With this line-up and the magical ambient where Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Oasis once recorded, there was no way Nighthawk would fail on making a superb album.
Nighthawk’s new album, “Prowler, will be released in the Spring.
Lineup: Robert Majd – guitar Björn Strid – vocals Magnus Ulfstedt – drums John Lönnmyr – keyboards Christian Ek – bass/backing vocals
VANDENBERG and Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group have premiered the lead video ‘House On Fire’ from the band’s upcoming new studio album titled SIN.
Adrian Vandenberg shares, “Like every other band or artist we were forced to ‘hold our horses’ when we found ourselves playing our part in one of those Hollywood ‘Outbreak’ style movies these past Covid years. Without having auditioned for a role. You’ll understand we were extremely eager to ‘break out of the stables’ with a loud bang, so we thought it’d be more than appropriate to ‘set the world on fire’ with this new track House On Fire’!”
Every album paints a picture. Instead of utilizing a brush and canvas, Vandenberg paints with towering vocals, earthquaking rhythms, and the iconic and instantly recognizable fretwork of guitarist and namesake Adrian Vandenberg. Joined by vocalist Mats Levén, drummer Koen Herfst, and bassist Randy van der Elsen, the influential axe-slinger delivers a vibrant, visceral, and vital vision on the group’s fifth full-length offering, SIN [Mascot Label Group], brought to life in broad strokes of anthemic hard rock and airtight metal and produced by Bob Marlette [Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie]
“For me, music is very much like a painting,” affirms Adrian. “You have your ups, downs, lights, and shades. One song might make you want to jump on the table and party your brains out. Another song will inspire you to think. Either way, you’re thrown into a landscape, which my favorite albums still do to me. You could be in your car or at home with your headphones plugged into a soundsystem, and you’re in a different world.”
Exploding out of The Netherlands and onto the global scene with 1982’s self-titled Vandenberg, the Dutch phenomenon notched an international hit in the form of “Burning Heart,” paving the way for seminal releases such as Heading For A Storm [1983] and Alibi [1985]. The band canvased the United States, Europe, and Japan alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Rush, Scorpions, Michael Schenker, and many others. Sought out to join Whitesnake, Adrian famously ripped the legendary lead on the 1987 recording of the #1 smash “Here I Go Again,” which adorned the 8x-platinum Whitesnake and ended up touring the world’s largest arenas for a year-and-a-half when the 1987 album went through the roof in terms of sales. He co-wrote the entirety of 1989’s platinum Slip of the Tongue and spent the ensuing tour sharing axe duties with none other than Steve Vai. In addition to playing guitar on and cowriting Restless Heart from David Coverdale & Whitesnake, he performed hundreds of shows as part of the band for some twelve years. Speaking to the breadth of his output, he notably penned and recorded “A Number One” as the theme for his hometown Dutch football team FC Twente. 2013 saw him launch the acclaimed Vandenberg’s MoonKings, releasing MoonKings [2014], MK II [2017], and Rugged and Unplugged [2018].
Vandenberg as a band roared back to life with the comeback LP, 2020. Among many highlights, “Freight Train” gathered 1.6 million Spotify streams, while the record attracted praise. Sonic Perspectives enthused, “The end result sounds like the missing link between Whitesnake and Rainbow, and updates the group’s sound to the new generation of hard rock fans.”
In its wake, Vandenberg welcomed Mats [Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Yngwie Malmsteen] to the fold.
“He’s an amazing singer,” notes Adrian. “I’d heard him online, and we got in touch. It’s funny because his mom brought the first two Vandenberg records back to Scandinavia from England when he was in his early twenties—and he was a fan. He’s a workaholic like me. We picked up after COVID and put the new album together. The spark is definitely there. On top of that, Koen and Randy lay down the most solid concrete, grooving foundation that I could ever wish for. I’d say it’s one notch heavier than 2020,” he smiles.
Recorded in Holland and Los Angeles with Marlette, Sin represents a natural evolution for Vandenberg. Scorching pinch harmonics light up the first single “House On Fire” as the groove underlines a chantable chorus from Mats.
“In one way, it’s a party song, because it keeps you tapping your foot,” Adrian exclaims. “Mats added a different darker twist with his lyrics. It also envisions a person who’s frustrated about the things other people have. This person can’t control their anger and sets the place on fire.”
FIREWING has revealed their new vocalist, Jota Fortinho, in a haunting, new single entitled “Last Gasp”. The US-based band has Brazilian and North American musicians trained at the renowned Berklee College of Music, and is a musical universe conceptualized in mythological and cultural stories of the Armenian people. Caio Kehyayan, guitarist and founder of the band, joins forces with outstanding musicians around the world.
Following the band’s much acclaimed debut album, Resurrection (2021, Massacre Records), their new single “Last Gasp” (get the song on all digital platforms HERE) is an ultra immersive conceptual song based on Armenian and Greek mythologies, which creates an allegory that immortalizes the memories of the Armenian ancestors.
Caio comments: “Composing FireWing songs is a journey in search of becoming eternal on earth and leaving the legacy of the Armenian people immortalized in this plan. My intention with this song is to send a strong message to the entire Armenian Diaspora. Since the genocide, thousands of Armenians have fled to different corners of the world, and currently there are more Armenians outside of Armenia than in the country itself, which is located in the Caucasus region.”
The band’s proposal is to unite the historical concepts in its cinematic universe with its musical compositions. FIREWING unites sounds, rhythms, historical and mythological facts from different cultures to contextualize the plot and create a musical experience that will bring a new color to progressive symphonic metal.
Tomorrow, February 24, 2023 sees pagan folk metal masters HEIDEVOLK release their brand new, seventh studio album WEDERKEER via Napalm Records.
In a world of myths, nature and legends of the Veluwe region of the Netherlands, the band’s upcoming concept album – based on the interpretations of the runes – is a powerful odyssey, deeply rooted in metal and folklore. With dual clean vocals, irresistibly catchy songs, traditional instruments and fast metal riffing all fueled by their folkloric fire and pagan pride, HEIDEVOLK delivers an uncompromising sound and musical adventure. WEDERKEER (meaning to “return” or “revive”), makes no exception, and proves why the Arnhem-based six-piece is one of the best, unrivaled and most exciting bands of their genre and beyond.
“De Strijd Duurt Voort” is the final single ahead of HEIDEVOLK’s upcoming record release, and merges folkloric soundscapes, fast-paced riffs and huge choirs. This is folk metal power at its best!
“As the release day approaches, we release our fourth and final single from our new album WEDERKEER“, the band comments. “’De Strijd Duurt Voort’ is an epic narrative of a soldier’s battle against himself in a war that is not his own. And as fitting today as it ever was and ever will be: The battle rages on and on. Let the fury of this song captivate you as we are gearing up for the release of WEDERKEER!“
Since their impressive 2005 debut, De strijdlust is geboren, HEIDEVOLK have taken the heavy music scene by storm, conquering stages throughout the world with their very own brand of pagan folk metal. Following their latest offering, the much-acclaimed, VUUR VAN VERZET (2015), this Friday, the band will celebrate the release of their new masterpiece in glorious style, with a series of live dates listed below!
WEDERKEER was recorded at Sandlane Recording Facilities, mixed by Joost van den Broek and mastered by Darius van Helfteren. HEIDEVOLK knows how to perfectly release proud hymns and direct, in-your-face metal songs, and the addition of broad choirs and various folk musicians on vocals, violins, cello, bukkehorns and more traditional medieval instruments, make WEDERKEER not only a bombastic folk and pagan metal record, but a glorious album return for HEIDEVOLK!
GRANDE ROYALE launch the digital single and music video ”Stark Raving Mad”. Mixed by Robert Pehrsson (Death Breath, Dundertåget, Imperial State Electric, to name a few) in Studio Humbucker, ”Stark Raving Mad” is the third and final single leading up to the Swedish garage rock band’s sixth studio album ”Welcome to Grime Town”, set for release in late March via The Sign Records.
Listen to the single through your favorite streaming platform or watch the video here:
Grande Royale on ”Stark Raving Mad”: The idea of the song began with the kind of catchy melody that we thought had a hit quality about it. While jamming with the raw material,the song finally turned out to be harder and faster than the original idea.In the end, what you hear is à fast punk song with a lot of grit, seasoned with a catchy chorus. The lyrics evolved from the title, stark-raving mad,taken from a Monty Python-ish universe, which we thought created an interesting and kind of twisted approach to the songs main theme about mental illness.
Grande Royale’s album ”Welcome to Grime Town” will be released on the 24th of March, 2023. The album will be released on CD (Digipack), transparent yellow vinyl, transparent red vinyl, and all streaming platforms. The physical album is now available as pre-order on BANDCAMP or at THIS LOCATION
Grande Royale are: Johan Häll – Drums and vocals Samuel Georgsson – Bass and vocals Calle Rydberg – Guitar and vocals Gustav Wremer – Guitar and vocals
MARTYR have released their new video for the song “La Diabla”! The track is taken from the band’s album “Planet Metalhead” that will be reissued on February 24, 2023 on 180gram transparent green vinyl, limited to 300 copies worldwide!
Shots are taken during different live shows from the last tour Planet Metalhead Lowlands Clubtour and also from previous live shows. Filmed and edited by Marvin Wassink.
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