Progressive rock trio BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE is now sharing a brand new single, “Glory to the King!” The song is taken from the band’s forthcoming full-length, ‘Tempus Veritas,’ due on April 14, 2023! The song can be heard at THIS LOCATION.
BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE comment on the song: “We’re super proud of this song – it’s one of the biggest choruses on ‘Tempus Veritas.’ The middle section also has some of our favourite vocal harmonic moments, with a crazy riff hitting straight after. The lyrical narrative explores the relationship between an early Meso-American emperor Montezuma and the explorer and conquistador Hernán Cortés. The story, told from the point of view of Montezuma, imagines that the new arrival was initially seen as a god – assumed to be the deity Quetzalcoatl. When Cortes cuts himself and is seen bleeding, the mirage is shattered and the Aztec ruler goes to war with the people he now realises are merely men.”
Pre-orders are now available HERE. The album can be pre-saved on various digital platforms HERE.
The cover artwork for ‘Tempus Veritas’ was created by BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE and Ines Hernandez.
Track-list:
1. Tempus Veritas (1:24) 2. Hydrogen (3:57) 3. The Raven (3:41) 4. Last Ronin (4:27) 5. Scarlet Haze (3:42) 6. Deny The Sun (3:15) [WATCH] 7. Glory To The King (3:37) [LISTEN] 8. Summit (3:07) 9. Weakness (2:49) 10. Vesuvius (3:44) 11. Latimer (3:43) Total: 37:26
Line-up: Paul Visser: Vocals | Guitar Dave Ferguson: Bass | Vocals Billy Freedom: Drums
THESE BEASTS unveil a tongue-in-cheek “making of” video for the track ‘Nervous Fingers’ as the second single takenfrom their forthcoming new album“Cares, Wills, Wants”. The crushing new full-length from the Chicago sludgy noise rock trio is slated for release on April 21, 2023 via Magnetic Eye Records. The album pre-sale is available at THIS LOCATION
THESE BEASTS comment: “One day at practice, Chris had some nervous fingers and this song popped out”, bass player and singer Todd Fabian writes on behalf of the trio. “The title makes sense as the song is pretty manic. It also happens to be the name of one of Chris’ previous bands, which meant we had to make sure that they were cool with us using the name for a song title. Thankfully, they were. The track also contains the best line, and most important question, on the whole record: “Who is drouth?”
Tracklist:
Code Name
Cocaine Footprints
Nervous Fingers
Pecking Order
Blind Eyes
Southpaw
$10 and Zero Effort
Trap Door
“Friends will be friends”, legendary QUEEN frontman Freddy Mercury sang and added: “When you’re in need of love they give you care and attention” and “When you’re through with life and all hope is lost”. These words ring true for Chicago’s THESE BEASTS.
The sludgy noise rock trio found themselves in a challenging situation while creating their debut album, “Cares, Wills, Wants.” The lockdowns, which transformed the city and the band’s rehearsal space into something akin to a ghost town, coupled with the loss of friends and family, resulted in a flood of powerful and dark emotions that inevitably found their way into the lyrics and music of “Cares, Wills, Wants”.
With “Cares, Wills, Wants”, THESE BEASTS deliver the massive debut full-length that their steadily growing following has awaited in the wake of the band’s promising first two EPs “Salvor” (2016) and “These Beasts” (2019). Founded by three friends in Chicago, the type of somewhat goofy guys that you might find in any bar or bowling alley across the windy town, it was their mutual love for hard and loud guitar music, and inspiration from such acts as local heroes THE JESUS LIZARD that set them apart from others and bound them firmly together.
Not content with just listening to music and having played in other formations before, singer and guitarist Chris Roo together with drummer Keith Anderson had already joined forces to create music when bass player and vocalist Todd Fabian moved to Chicago. He soon turned out to be the missing link on both a personal and musical level, and out of this friendship, THESE BEASTS came into being in 2015.
The trio started playing locally and quickly gained a reputation as a fierce live act that led them across the United States and earned them a spot at the prestigious Day of Doom Fest in New York. With “Cares, Wills, Wants”, THESE BEASTS aim to continue their conquest of the Americas, but also have every intention to jump across the pond.
“Cares, Wills, Wants” is an emotional rollercoaster ride in the clever disguise of a sludgy noise rock album. THESE BEASTS invite all their friends, old and new, to join their cathartic experience and begin healing through hard music with a brain. Let this record roar!
Line-Up: Chris Roo – vocals, guitar Todd Fabian – vocals, bass Keith Anderson – drums
DEMONS BY DESIGN is the side project of Colin Emery (PERFECT NME). Drawing inspiration from earlier musical and conceptual influences, it seeks to recombine these various elements in a new way and to present them in a contemporary fashion.
This musical freedom allows for a lot of scopes to experiment with sounds and atmospheres, incorporating elements of industrial, goth, and metal, to name a few. The occasional collaboration with guest artists also helps to add an additional layer to a song’s atmosphere and impact.
The new single FEED ME LIKE A DRUG is a perfect example of that;
Says Colin: “Kirsten’s (Kirsten Jørgensen) beautiful and exceptional vocals really accentuate the diversity of the song and adds that extra dimension. The combination of our vocals brings out that haunted dualism the song required.”
FEED ME LIKE A DRUG is an atmospheric, gothic-inspired song, with a dual storyline. It’s a dark tale of two lives entwined, of passion and of fate.
Colin Emery is the lead singer of the Norwegian metal band PERFECT NME. Their debut album was released in 2020 (Wormholedeath Records) and are currently working on a follow-up.
Kirsten Jørgensen is one of the founding members of both EVIG NATT and REISM. EVIG NATT is currently in the studio working on their fourth album, which comes out later this year. EVIG NATT’S music is aggressive but subtle, noisy yet beautiful, a maelstrom of symphonic darkness.
Dark rock band DOL from Finland releases their second EP “Amor Brutale” later this spring. Now they have released second single “Hand Of Hate” from the upcoming mini album.
This song was originally written back in the late 2020 by Dol vocalist/ guitarist Eero “Mc” Veri, who wanted to find a new sound, that would define the musical direction for the new ep. The result was heavier and darker stuff, than the bands previous work. Song also features much more programmed synths and samples. Lyrically the song is a dark self reflection about how it can sometimes feel like you dont deserve happines and that all the happines you might have will just end in tears.
Australian doom cultists OCEANLORD release the eerie video clip for ‘2340’, the first track taken from their forthcoming new album“Kingdom Cold”. The unfathomable debut is slated for release on May 26, 2023 via Magnetic Eye Records. “Kingdom Cold” will be available as a translucent blue vinyl LP and on blue and white marble vinyl, and as Digisleeve CD, the album pre-sale is now available at THIS LOCATION
OCEANLORD comment: “The song ‘2340’ is our dirge of treachery named for the hour the Titanic hit the iceberg, written to capture the sense of unreal calm that comes before despair and darkness consumes all”, guitarist and vocalist Peter Willmott writes. “We follow a captain in the throes of occult ecstasy who sinks his ship and abandons its passengers to the depths.”
Tracklist
Kingdom
2340
Siren
Isle of the Dead
So Cold
Come Home
Behold! Hark! From the dark depths of the southern oceans, Australian doom trio OCEANLORD have conjured an eldritch monster of an album with their tentacled debut “Kingdom Cold”.
Frying guitars with an extra helping of thick fuzz and a crusty top deliver a tasty doom sound. Songs that range from very slow via slow to mid-tempo with occasional outbursts of energy also stand firmly on the rock solid ground of this classic metal genre. OCEANLORD display traces of the American, British and Swedish schools of thought with the clean vocals slightly tilting towards the latter.
Yet below the surface of all the time-honoured elements traditionally associated with doom, there is an extra layer of darkness lurking in these tracks. A foreboding sense of dread, madness, and unspeakable horrors is creeping in to replace the well-worn theme of melancholia usually accompanying the style. This sets OCEANLORD clearly apart from most of their peers. This is no accident, as the Australians are very openly inspired by the horror genre and the writings of New England author Howard Phillips Lovecraft in particular.
OCEANLORD came into being in Melbourne in 2019 when bass-player Jason Ker joined guitarist and singer Peter Willmott for a serious drink to ponder work, family, mortality, and the hellscape of corporate existence. When the conversation turned to music, the connoisseur of black, death, and progressive metal, Peter, found common ground with Jason, an acolyte of alt-rock and grunge in early heavy metal and doom. Jon May, with his history of punk and rockabilly in Perth followed by country-folk and swamp-blues in Melbourne, did not appear the most obvious choice for the drum-stool, but he brought a secret passion for everything slow and heavy, not to mention a van and good gear.
In the rehearsal room, the initial sound was primal and ponderous, with a glimpse of melody under thick, sludgy riffs. Stoner doom was the answer to save their souls from the slow soul-death of the modern corporate drone. Basement writing sessions began, riffs started flowing, and in 2020, the trio released a demo that caused a stir throughout the doom-underground.
During Melbourne’s dramatic 263 days of pandemic lockdown, Peter built a home studio and in 2022, OCEANLORD tracked their debut release. So beware of this monstrous record: “Kingdom Cold” takes doom to even darker depths than ever explored before!
OCEANLORD is: Peter Willmott – guitar, vocals Jason Ker – bass Jon May – drums
Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to Motorhead Drummer Mikkey Dee about the re-issue of the Motorhead album Bad Magic, now Serious Bad Magic box set, with two new tracks, a live album and an interview with Lemmy.
Serious Bad Magic box set was released Feb 24 2023 via Silver Lining Music.
Mikkey Dee also spoke about playing with the Scorpions as well as if he would reunite with the King Diamond band.
Mikkey Dee was asked if he and Phil ever tour as Motorhead replacing Lemmy like so many other bands today, he replied,” I really don’t think they (fans) want us to do that. That’s to me is stepping over the the line. We will never ever ever tour with Motorhead as a name, ever and bring someone else in. That will never happen. But what we are doing is some shows here and there. I just did two shows Saturday and Sunday here in Sweden with two younger guys and did 10 Motorhead songs and this show sold out in less than two weeks. I mean Bam Bam we have to add that Sunday and it’s so great to play the old classics again and and perform. But it has nothing to do with trying to be Motorhead and this is not advertised as Motorhead, it’s advertised Mickey Dee with friends yeah for instance, so there’s a definitely a a line there.”
Bad Magic: SERIOUSLY BAD MAGIC will be released on Double 12” Vinyl, CD Digipak with Bonus Disc, Limited Edition Boxset, Digital Download and Streaming. The Limited Edition Boxset will contain the CD Digipak with Bonus Disc, Double 12” Vinyl.
Which was released Feb 24 2023 via Silver Lining Music.
Motörhead, the iconic Godfathers of heavy metal, released their 23rd (and final) studio album Bad Magic in 2015. Instantly hailed as one of the best the beloved trio had recorded in many years, Bad Magic: SERIOUSLY BAD MAGIC enjoys a bonus-packed refresh, adding two previously unreleased tracks from those furious sessions:
“Bullet in Your Brain” and “Greedy Bastards” as well as a snarling, fangs-out live performance from that subsequent tour at the giant Mt Fuji Festival in Japan in 2015. Fans will also get “War, Love, Death and Injustice”, an audio interview with Lemmy conducted by Motörhead expert Robert Kiewik during the tour, and should the desire to have a chat with Lem or anyone beyond this mortal coil arise, the box-set will exclusively contain a MURDER ONE ouija board (complete with the Ace of Spades planchette to spell out the conversation).
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 