The French kings of Heavy Metallers SORTILÈGE are now releasing the brand new single, “Derrière les Portes de Babylone,” which is taken from the band’s upcoming album, ‘Apocalypso!’ The album will be released via Season of Mist worldwide (excluding France) on March 3! The new single can be streamed at THIS LOCATION.
SORTILÈGE made a comeback in 2021, with a renewed line-up around lead singer Christian « Zouille » Augustin. This album was created with the idea of keeping the band’s DNA while adding contemporary elements along with a powerful and outstanding hypnotic vibe. Long Live Apocalypso!
“The Garden” is the eighth studio album from Finland’s melodic, multi-metal outfit with female and male vocals, HANGING GARDEN. The album is set to be released on March 24th via Agonia Records.
HANGING GARDEN formed in 2004, starting out as a heavy, doom-oriented project. Roughly two decades, seven albums and a couple of line-up shuffles later, the band shifted to a more melodic, contemporary sound, surrounded by a veil of melancholy.
The compositions are dark, atmospheric & emotional, and concomitantly lean towards open-minded and playful musicality. While entrenched in metal’s doom, gothic and melodeath branches, HANGING GARDEN displays a versatile, many-layered style of playing, packs female & male vocals, and draws influence & inspiration from music and art, far and wide.
Artwork by Kalle Pyyhtinen
The new album – “The Garden” – dives deep into atmospheres both “tender and harsh, devilish and serene” and “embarks upon a journey to mankind’s spiritual roots, contemplating the fragility of our technological society” – as poetically described by the band. “There is a kind of energy in the songs that there wasn’t before,” introspects Toni Hatakka of HANGING GARDEN. “A feel of hope to contrast our old friend the despair, a strong notion of action against the familiar melancholy, or maybe a light amidst the comfortable gloom…” Read Toni‘s full comment below.
“After almost two decades of dwelling in the musical and lyrical thematics of despair, loss and melancholy, I had the feeling that our next release could have some room for hope and light as well – of course not forgetting our trademark-ish somber aesthetic. The approach we decided to take was to weave a story of how humanity would still thrive, still find meaning, after the world as we know it has finally met its end.”
“Exploring the rituals, belief systems, connection to nature, finding purpose in just being and surviving were the cornerstones of how The Garden came to be. Another strong theme is that of dreams; since childhood, I’ve had this recurring dream world with a silent feel of stagnation, colossal constructs of rust, the action of journeying to the unknown, and lush nature. This is where I also draw a lot of what ended up on the album. The lyrics written by Riikka also amalgamated into this aesthetic perfectly. Even the name was given to me in a dream. Back in spring, I had a dream where our keyboardist Nino and I had a talk about this being our Magnum Opus and that we should call it The Garden. Such a powerful notion could not be left unheeded, and so the album had its name. The Garden is at the same time familiar and atypical for us. There is a kind of energy in the songs that there wasn’t before, a feel of hope to contrast our old friend the despair, a strong notion of action against the familiar melancholy, or maybe a light amidst the comfortable gloom. But in the end, this is us.”
“The Garden”, the follow-up to “Skeleton Lake” (2021), was produced by Jussi Hämäläinen (vocals, guitars) and Jarno Hänninen. The album was mixed and mastered by the latter at D-studio (Beherit, Shape of Despair). Cover artwork and new band photos are by Finnish artist Kalle Pyyhtinen. “The Garden” marks the return of new-old drummer Antti Ruokola, last seen in HANGING GARDEN seven years ago.
HANGING GARDEN may appeal to fans of Swallow the Sun, Ghost Brigade, October Tide, Katatonia and Type 0 Negative.
Tracklisting: 1. The Garden 2. The Four Winds 3. The Construct 4. The Song of Spring 5. The Fire at First Dawn 6. The Nightfall 7. The Stolen Fire 8. The Journey 9. The Derelict Bay 10. The Fireside 11. The Resolute
ENTROPIA is a multifaceted, extreme metal band originating from Poland (Oleśnica in Lower Silesia), whose members perform under a joint moniker ULTRA. They combine a number of genres, from krautrock and electronic music, to sludge and black metal, filtered through a prism of metallic extremity.
Through three studio albums – “Vesper” (2013), “Ufonaut” (2016) and “Vacuum” (2018) – ENTROPIA pushed and evolved its base sound to develop a unique sonic perspective, drenched in psychedelia. The latter plays a major part in the band’s image and conceptual approach, and constitutes the new album, “Total”. The album is set to be released on March 17th via Agonia Records.
Artwork by Zbigniew Bielak
“Total” encapsulates all previous installments of ENTROPIA. Pushing aside the temptation to follow along the same lines as “Vacuum”, new ideas have sprout in favor of further musical growth. In this sense, “Total” stands as a brand new opening, and rests upon the sound of self-designed amplifiers and multi-layered electric guitar compositions.
“Total attempts to capture a glimpse of our ongoing and unending search,” comments ENTROPIA. “It consolidates the experiences and skills we’ve amassed throughout the years, and constitutes a standalone, complete and utter creation; a totality, which reflects of the band’s chaotic spirit.”
ENTROPIA recorded “Total” in April of 2022 at studio Monochrom, located in the mountains of Kotlina Kłodzka in Poland. Heinrich House Studio engineered, mixed and mastered the album. “Total” is replete with artwork from Zbigniew Bielak (Behemoth, Ghost, Mgła).
Growing interest from metal and non-metal community allowed ENTROPIA to make a mark; the band played a number of key festivals (inc. Roadburn Festival, Primavera Sound, OFF Festival, Mystic Festival) and embarked on a European tour with US black/folk act Wayfarer. ENTROPIA contributed to the video game Cyberpunk 2077, by having their song “Future Drugs” appear on the official soundtrack.
Tracklisting: 1. Retox 2. Mania 3. Orbit 4. Total 5. Final
Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to former lead singer of Thundermother Guernica Mancini. In the interview Guernica talks about her time in Thundermother, being fired, opening for the Scorpions and her new band and new music.
When asked if all the members before quitting were equally paid “Always. As far as I know, I mean I haven’t really seen any paperwork, so I never looked into it. But as far as I believe we always shared everything equally, the merchandise, I got royalties from that album that I played on. So all that stuff has been completely normal and fair since day one. But we did do a huge thing, when we joined the band we actually paid off a huge debt. It was about 90,000 Krona ($9000 USD) to the previous management because we were loyal and in solidarity. When we are part of a band we didn’t like to think twice about taking care of the baggage from before.”
When asked if she had a vibe that things were not going right in the band prior to being fired “It’s a tough question to answer, I would say it like this. It’s never been great for me. And it’s been a tough six years but regardless of that I don’t regret anything. I’ve still had amazing experiences with the band and yeah I wouldn’t take anything back because I’ve grown and I’ve become the singer that I am and there’s so many positives to that. So even though it has been a very bumpy ride, I still think that it’s been a beautiful ride.”
When asked after all that Thundermother momentum how come she is no longer in the band “Our statement said it all, really. I don’t think anyone will ever hear the real story ever. I mean unless I release a biography in 10 years or something. ”
When asked if she was called back to rejoin the band would she? “I don’t think I could. No. Not now. Emilee said in a previous interview the Betrayal is just beyond, I wouldn’t have never taken it this far. “
When asked who she felt when the other two Thundermother band mates quit to join her “It does make me feel (great) but I also felt really guilty because I knew the opportunities that they were giving up because of this but they had their own reasons. They did this completely on their own and the problems that we’ve had in the band they they’re not just something that is between her (Felippa Nassil) and I. It’s like something that’s been brewing and been there always. So when when this happened they (other bandmates) also felt that it was very disrespectful towards them being that they believed that we were a democracy and that we had a say in these things. She (Felippa) did more or less tell them I want to do this and I’ve already found a new singer and that’s when Emlee just said I don’t want to play with another singer and if you’re going to go ahead and do this I’m going to leave the band. And that’s what she did and Mona felt the same way. I love them and I’m forever grateful. I also feel like I’m so blessed and honestly I’m so incredibly grateful that they are my new band. They are the two that I enjoy working with and I have so much fun with them and we already had two songwriting days and we had just so much fun and it was drama free. It was a dream and it was just like this is what a band is supposed to be. I’m really grateful that we have something that we get to continue playing together. ”
When asked about her solo career and what’s next in her new band “Inception is my first single as a solo artist, it’s I guess more commercial Rock. I wrote it with Emlee Johansson (ex Thundermother drummer) and our friend Johan Brandian. It’s about the beginning, so it kind of feels like a fitting song. It’s just a single, I have my next single ready to go but I need to just set a date for it. I wrote this song (next single) before I got fired obviously and I didn’t know this shitstorm was gonna happen but I did write a song called MVP. If you listen to the lyrics it’s just about how you can be the best, it’s just like a motivational pump you know a happy song. (New band) We’re gonna be playing the songs that we wrote (In Thundermother) so of course we already have a lot of great material from the album ‘Black and Gold’ for example. So yeah I’m excited to to do that. “
Leipzig-based heavy psych and instrumental trance rock band GODZILLA IN THE KITCHEN announce the release of their live set at Break Out on digital edition, accompanied by the video of the full performance.
Formed in 2011 in Jena, the German trio creates a vibrant mixture of melody and rhythmic complexity. GODZILLA IN THE KITCHEN recently released their latest album EXODUS which received high praise by the whole music community.
The band says: “It is with great pleasure that we can share with you today our first live album: Godzilla In The Kitchen – Live At Break Out. It was recorded on 04.11. at our gig at Breakout Asendorf (https://kulturhaus-bo.de), during our Exodus Release Tour. We are very excited about the recordings the club provided us with and for this reason we decided to share them with you. You can consume the whole thing as a stream on Bandcamp, Spotify and Co. or even as a live video on YouTube. Enjoy the experience, and we’ll see you in 2023 with even more songs and gigs”.
“Live at Break Out” will be out through ARGONAUTA Records on February 10th, 2023 via the label “Bandcamp live series” and available at this location. Also streaming on all digital platforms: https://ingrv.es/live-at-break-out-w2o-4
TRACKLIST: 1. Is 03:38 2. The Future of Mankind 08:51 3. Forced By 03:27 4. The King of Monsters 06:43 5. Dr Moth 06:55 6. Elis Speech 05:30 7. Because 07:18 8. Everything That Has Been Given 08:40 9. Will Be Taken Away 04:54 10. Stick to Your Daily Routine 13:25 11. Propagation of Violence 05:16
Dedicated to providing the world with laughter, NANOWAR OF STEEL is ready to prove their status as the genre’s most unconventional band with their brand new album, Dislike To False Metal, out March 10, 2023 via Napalm Records. Traversing the multi-faceted and much too often self-important universe of modern heavy metal, the Italian quintet explores entirely different metal subgenres on 10 disturbingly addictive songs. With featured guests like Sabaton singer Joakim Brodén, the fifth record comes around with an impressive dose of intelligently fresh comedic and highly-talented heavy metal.
Paying homage to the EDM club sound of the late 90s, “Disco Metal” is a metal techno rager for undead partygoers clamoring for a scary good time. With a catchy mix of techno and electro beats, the band gets everybody moving in their gigantic, neon-tinged music video. Based on the world-famous choreography of Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller”, the subtle demon dance will become the next TikTok trend and try-not-to-dance-challenge.
NANOWAR OF STEEL on “Disco Metal”: “”Disco Metal” is NANOWAR OF STEEL‘s latest attempt at deceiving their fans and listeners. Because it’s not Disco (it’s dance) and especially because it’s much less metal than the title would suggest. It should have been entitled “Dance music with distorted guitars” but “Disco Metal” sounded better.”
NANOWAR OF STEEL raises the curtains of Dislike To False Metal atop the seven seas with “Sober”, marauding as the world’s first health-conscious, mineral-water chugging pirate metal collective on the hunt for Bitcoin treasure! Keyboard warriors around the world will unfollow NANOWAR OF STEEL after being triggered by “Metal Boomer Battalion”, but only after powering through maritime metal masterclass “Pasadena 1994“, as combat-ready Sabaton frontman Joakim Brodén tells the harrowing tale of one of the most heroic battles ever fought in the infamous summer of 1994… when Italy faced Brazil in the World Cup soccer final, of course! These soon to be earworms are just a taste of the tear-jerking hilarity to be found on the album, as NANOWAR OF STEEL’s dual mastery of comprehensive, eclectic performance styles and quick-witted, satirical concepts makes Dislike To False Metal a sonic metal meme worth posting about – and then some!
Gaining millions of views and streams with their famous hits “Norwegian Reggaeton” (ft. Charly Glamour & Gigatron), “Valhalleluja” (ft. Angus McFife) and the party song “Uranus” (ft. Michael Starr), NANOWAR OF STEEL are ready to prove their status as one of the genre’s most unconventional bands to watch. With their fifth studio album, Dislike To False Metal, the band arrives with a disturbingly addictive collection of entirely new tracks. Expertly exploring a mind-boggling amount of entirely different metal subgenres on 10 hilarious anthems, NANOWAR OF STEEL never cease to amaze with an equally-impressive dose of intelligently fresh comedic delivery that’ll have listeners rolling with laughter, and undeniable songwriting skill that’ll have their fellow genre-mates scheduling more practice sessions. Dislike To False Metal is beyond a comedy album – it’s a disconcertingly masterful showcase of above-the-bar musicianship, creative lyricism and boundless imagination.
Dislike To False Metal Tracklist:1. Sober 2. Winterstorm in the Night feat. Madeleine Liljestam (Eleine) 3. Disco Metal 4. Muscle Memories 5. Chupacabra Cadabra 6. Pasadena 1994 feat. Joakim Broden (Sabaton) 7. Metal Boomer Battalion 8. Dimmu Boogie 9. Protocols (of the elders of Zion) of love 10. The Power of Imodium
NANOWAR OF STEEL live 2023: After a hot 2022 summer tour and several festival appearances, NANOWAR OF STEEL are ready to play another stretch of shows in this brand new year! In case you missed the opportunity to see these mighty comedic heavy metal masters, here’s another chance to experience NANOWAR OF STEEL live on the band’s upcoming European tour, Death To False Tours, in Spring of 2023!
Death To False Tours 2023 w/ Tragedy 11.03.23 IT – Rome / Largo Venue 17.03.23 IT – Livorno / The Cage 18.02.23 IT – Genova / Crazy Bull 24.03.23 IT – Roncade (Treviso) / New Age 25.03.23 IT – Cesena / Vidia Club 31.03.23 DE – Geiselwind / Metal Franconia Fest 01.04.23 CH – Aarburg / Musigburg 02.04.23 DE – Munich / Backstage Club 03.04.23 AT – Vienna / Viper Room 04.04.23 HU – Budapest / Analog Music Hall 05.04.23 PL – Krakow / Zaścianek 06.04.23 PL – Warsaw / Hydrozagadka 08.04.23 DE – Hanover / Cafe Glocksee 09.04.23 DE – Hamburg / Logo 10.04.23 DK – Copenhagen / Stengade 12.04.23 NL – Rotterdam / Baroeg 13.04.23 DE – Frankfurt / Nachtleben 14.04.23 DE – Essen / Turock 15.04.23 DE – Trier / Mergener Hof 16.04.23 BE – Vosselaar / De Dreef 02.05.23 FR – Nantes / Ferrailleur 03.05.23 FR – Paris / Petit Bain 04.05.23 FR – Toulouse / Connexion Live 05.05.23 ES – Barcelona / Sala Bóveda 06.05.23 ES – Madrid / Sala Revi Live 07.05.23 PT – Lisbon / RCA Club 08.05.23 ES – Murcia / Sala Garage Beat Club 09.05.23 ES – Valencia / Sala Peter Rock 10.05.23 ES – Portugalete (Bilbao) / Sala Groove 11.05.23 FR – Lyon / Rock ’n’ Eat
21.10.23 IT – Milan / Alcatraz, 20 Years Of Steel Special Show
NANOWAR OF STEEL are: Gatto Panceri 666 – Bass Potowotominimak – Vocals Mr. Baffo – Vocals Mohammed Abdul – Guitar Uinona Raider – Drums
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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
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 