Today ROAR! Rock of Angels proudly announce the signing of a multi-album deal with PRIME CREATION and welcome the band to the label’s roster.
PRIME CREATION is a Swedish metal band that was formed in early 2015 and consists of skilled and experienced musicians, delivering modern hard-driving melodic heavy metal. The band rose from the ashes of the power metal band Morifade and consisted from the start of now ex-members Robin Arnell on lead guitar, Mathias Kamijo on rhythm guitar, Henrik Weimedal on bass guitar and Kim Arnell on drums. Esa Englund (Ex-$ilverdollar, Hellshaker) joined as vocalist soon after.
At the end of 2015 Prime Creation started to record the first songs and a release date was set for the album and after recording, mixing and mastering, the self-titled album was released in Sweden on May 20th 2016 through Silent Wall Productions and Rambo Music and worldwide on April 28th by Danish label Mighty Music. That same year Mathias Kamijo decided to leave the band due to lack of engagement and he felt that he would become a holdback for the band’s progress if he continued. Mathias was soon replaced with Rami Tainamo.
Robin started to write new material after the release and soon the band started to record again. In February 2019, the two singles “Lost in the Shades” and “Tears of Rage” was mixed in Studio Underground, owned and operated by Pelle Saether and then released in April and May respective that year. In June, it was again time to enter Studio Underground to mix the rest of the songs to the sequel “Tears of Rage” with release date September 27th 2019.
In the first half of 2020 Prime Creation was supposed to do one UK tour and one Baltic tour but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, both tours were cancelled and the band instead focused on writing new material for a third album.
Prime Creation: Esa Englund – Vocals Robin Arnell – Lead Guitar Rami Tainamo – Rhythm Guitar Henrik Weimedal – Bass Guitar Kim Arnell – Drums
Australian extreme metal vegans TO THE GRAVE have unveiled their powerful new single / video ‘Axe of Kindness’, the second taken from their new album, Director’s Cuts, out 24th February, 2023, via Unique Leader Records.
The band comment: “Axe is a tongue-in-cheek horror concept in the vein of The Purge, we had a little fun going ultra-violent on the idea of someone who’s had enough with a world full of apathy and plans to exact vengeance for animals by going door-to-door with a fire axe.”
‘Axe of Kindness’ continues the band’s strong vegan message, watch the video here:
Protest & Sever (feat. Sam Crocker – Antagonist AD)
Manhunt
Found Footage
Axe of Kindness
Reversing The Bear Trap (feat. Jess Christiansen – Bled Out)
Cut Off The Head
Die, Rise
One of Australia’s most uncompromising bands, To The Grave return with their heaviest album to date, both sonically and thematically. Since the release of their 2019 debut album Global Warning, the caustic five piece have garnered international success, with 2021’s follow-up Epilogue, a re-issue of Global Warning with bonus tracks, solidifying their position as “one of the country’s heaviest exports.” (Revolver).
To The Grave have steadily built an audience in the underground, accumulating more than 11 million Spotify streams, racking up over 5.4 million YouTube views, all whilst decimating live audiences alongside Parkway Drive, Polaris, CattleDecapitation, Thy Art Is Murder, Vulvodynia and Alpha Wolf.
Now, following a sold-out national headline tour in 2022 and revitalised by a new lineup, the band are more focused than ever, looking ahead to the release of their second album Director’s Cuts in February 2023.
The eleven tracks lyrically expose a societal and environmental hell on earth whilst pushing the boundaries of accessible extremity, full of barbed hooks, thick with atmosphere and drenched in groove. Razor-sharp guitars played with an exploratory approach – blending everything from whammy pedal squeaks and chiming cleans to death metal chainsaw tones – are entwined with live drums to give a level of dynamism that musically sets this band apart from the extreme metal pack, yet they maintain the weight of the heaviest bands today. Vocalist Dane Evans commands a multifaceted performance, bursting with vocal energy from throat-ripping dissonant screeches to low end gutturals.
At just over 44 minutes in length, Director’s Cuts is an album packed with ambition and conscience. To The Grave have never shied away from channeling the real horrors of animal cruelty and its impact into the violent, emotional intensity of their music. Songs such as ‘Red Dot Sight’, ‘Found Footage’ and ‘Cut Off The Head’ perfectly conjure images of a world gone astray.
Director’s Cuts was recorded by bassist Matt Clarke, with drums recorded live at The Brain Studios in Sydney and mixed and mastered by Lance Prenc at Prenc Audio (Void of Vision, Alpha Wolf,Polaris) in Melbourne with album photography by Animals Uncovered.
The band comment on the new album: “This is the refinement of our combined musical tastes, fuelled by our sadness and anger at the state of the world. We made the music we wanted to make without really considering how it would fit into any little genre boxes, because we knew if we loved it completely then everyone else would too. These songs are hard and heavy without being technical just for the sake of it.”
Watch the video to their first single ‘Red Dot Sight’, a hard-hitting track about anti-vegan public figures and the media perception against vegan activists, here: https://youtu.be/_eVHPX18kPc
Catch To The Grave on tour in Europe throughout January 2023 with Shadow Of Intent, Enterprise Earth and Angelmaker.
06.01.23 Germany Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof 07.01.23 Germany Cologne @ Essigfabrik 08.01.23 The Netherlands Tilburg @ Poppodium 013 09.01.23 Belgium Antwerp @ Kavka 10.01.23 UK Bristol @ The Fleece 11.01.23 UK Birmingham @ Asylum 12.01.23 UK Manchester @ Rebellion 13.01.23 UK Glasgow @ Cathouse 14.01.23 UK London @ O2 Academy Islington 15.01.23 UK Southampton @ The Joiners 17.01.23 France Paris @ Glazart 18.01.23 France Lyon @ Rock N Eat 19.01.23 Italy Milan @ Legend Club 20.01.23 Switzerland Aarau @ KiFF 21.01.23 Germany Munich @ Backstage 22.01.23 Austria Vienna @ Flex Hall 24.01.23 Czech Republic Prague @ Futurum 25.01.23 Poland Wroclaw @ Akademia Club 26.01.23 Germany Leipzig @ Naumanns 27.01.23 Germany Hamburg @ Bahnhof Pauli 28.01.23 Sweden Gothenburg @ High 5ive Winter Fest 29.01.23 Denmark Copenhagen @ Hotel Cecil 30.01.23 Germany Berlin @ Hole44 31.01.23 Germany Nuremberg @ Z-Bau 01.02.23 Germany Karlsruhe @ Die Stadtmitte
To The Grave are: Dane Evans – Vocals Jack Simoni – Guitars, Programming Luke Ringin – Guitars, Vocals Matt Clarke – Bass, Vocals Simon O’Malley – Drums, Vocals
DJERV are finally back and deliver a dark and heavy track with an important message.
Djerv rose to fame back in 2010, after their self-titled debut album hit the charts in Norway. After multiple tours the band went under the radar, and it wasn’t before 2019 the Band returned to the live scene.
December 8th the single Enemy was unleashed, and with animportant message from vocalist Agnete Kjølsrud; «Enemy is about facing your own demons. About learning and accepting who you are. And eventually embracing it.”
Musically Djerv once again embraces their heavier side, and returns to their roots. Drummer Erlend Gjerde states: “It was a lot of fun to explore our more rock-ish side on Throne and WDHNM, but it feels great returning to the dark side. Enemy is a straight up metal song with a 90`s twist on top. Takes me back. It was so much fun writing and recording it”
ABOUT DJERV: Djerv entered the international rock and metal-scene in 2011, and their self titled debut album still impresses in 2022. Engineered by Daniel Bergstrand (Meshuggah, In Flames) and mixed by Matt Hyde (Deftones, No Doubt) the album received critical acclaim with 9/10 in Sweden Rock Magazine, and Rock Tribune.
The metal bible Metal Hammer UK gave it a solid 8/10 and said: “Agnete Kjølsrud’s the star of the show, her vocals could take paint off your dad’s car!”.
After only two days in sale, the debut album crashed into the official Norwegian sales charts at an impressive #8. They were also the highest newcomer and #3 on Norwegian Artist Charts.
The band members in Djerv spawned out of Trelldom, Animal Alpha and Stonegard, and they pulled strings from their previous bands, but still added something new. The sound is different, and can be described as dangerously catchy aggressive rock wrapped in a blackmetal veil.
During the next years, the band toured heavily, with Ministry amongst others, and established themselves in the European rock and metal scene. Djerv performed at festivals like Hellfest (FR), Wacken (DE), Eurosonic (NL), Tons of Rock (NO) Rock Hartz (DE) and Inferno (NO) to name a few.
Combined with heavy touring and music releases Djerv also work with some memoroble collaborations. In 2010, vocalist Agnete Kjølsrud did vocals on Dimmu Borgirs “Gateways”, a track that in 2022 has over 12 million streams. In 2013 Djerv released the track “Get Jinxed” together with League of Legends / Riot games, and in 2022 this track has over 200 million streams across platforms.
The band went under the radar for some years after this, and in 2019 they had their long awaited comeback at the Tons of Rock festival in Norway. In 2020, they released new music after nine long years, and in 2021/22 they have toured with Vreid and played at festivals like Inferno Metal Meeting (NO) and Summer Breeze Open Air (DE) to mention some.
UPCOMING LIVE DATES 2022: December 10th: Eindhoven metal meeting December 15th: Oslo, Norway with Smash into Pieces and Fixation December 16th: Bergen, Norway with Smash into Pieces and Fixation December 17th: Trondheim, Norway with Smash into Pieces and Fixation
Finnish melodic metal band DARK THE SUNS is set to release their yet unnamed fifth studio album later in 2023 via Inverse Records. A new single, Aurora, taken from the upcoming album is released today and music video is available below.
Mikko & Inka Ojala commets:
“Aurora is the second single from our fifth album. At this moment we have recorded seven songs for the next album. We will record three songs more for the album in the beginning of year 2023.” Mikko
“Aurora-single is melancholic and atmospheric song, with lots of emotions of living among the northern nature. The song includes beautiful piano melodies, heavy guitars, whispering voices and dark vocals.” Inka
In 2005 Dark the Suns was founded by Mikko Ojala. In 2006 the band grew when three new members (bass player Inka, Juha on the keyboards and drummer Markus) joined the band, which signed with Firebox Records that same year.
During 2007-2010 Firebox Records released the band’s three full-length albums (In Darkness Comes Beauty, All Ends in Silence and Sleepwalking in a Nightmare). The band performed many live shows during these years.
There have been some changes in the line-up over the years, but Mikko and Inka have been continuously together, making music. The band was inactive for 2013-2020 but in 2020 Mikko and Inka decided to resume making music together. It was a really natural way to continue the band as a duo, because they have written almost all the band’s music and lyrics during all these years.
In 2020 and 2021 Inverse Records released four singles from the band’s 4th album Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä. The album includes ten songs of melancholic and melodic Finnish metal music. The band has always described their music as ”Beautiful piano melodies and dark vocals”.
Fifth studio album is set to be released later in 2023 via Inverse Records.
Solo black metal project BIZARREKULT is now sharing a brand new single, “Midt I Stormen,” along with a thought-provoking music video! The track is taken from the project’s upcoming sophomore full-length, ‘Den Tapte Krigen,’ which will be released via Season of MistonJanuary 27, 2023, making it BIZARREKULT‘s debut to the label! The song and video can now be found via Metal Sucks at THIS LOCATION.
BIZARREKULT mastermind Roman V. comments:“‘Midt i stormen’ (In the middle of the storm) is a desperate hymn of a loss. As we age, we lose our dear ones. Sometimes, these messages are like a lightning that hits the only tall tree standing in an open field. And there we are, burned and broken, on the ruins of our memories.”
‘Den Tapte Krigen’ can be pre-ordered HERE and the album can be pre-saved on all digital streaming services HERE
The cover artwork for ‘Den Tapte Krigen’was created by Ivan Gladkikh.
TRACKLIST 1. Du Lovet Meg (You promised me) [05:11] [WATCH] 2. Kongen (The King) [04:23] [WATCH] 3. Den Tapte Krigen (The Lost War) [04:40] 4. Hvis Jeg Bare Kunne… (If I Could Only…) [06:42] 5. Midt I Stormen (In the Middle of the Storm) [05:12] [WATCH] 6. Kjære Barn (Dear Child) [05:28] 7. Løslatt (Released/Set Free) [04:12] 8. Himmelen er Utilgjengelig (Heaven is not Available) [06:39]
Since the genre’s inception, black metal has been ruled by lone wolves. Individuals who blur the lines between “masterminds” and “madmen,” creating in solitude and willful confinement. From first and second wave purveyors such as BATHORY and BURZUM to this century’s revivalists like SAOR and PANOPTICON, these anomic souls have made incomparable contributions to the dark arts. And in 2022, BIZARREKULT paves a new yet familiar path, establishing itself as one of the cult visionaries of this decade.
Before finding his way to music, multi-instrumentalist Roman V was first a poet. Since childhood, Roman found an outlet in writing and by 2006, he created BIZARREKULT as an auditory accompaniment to his verbal expressions. “BIZARREKULT since the beginning was a quest of identity and philosophical search for answers on the questions that bother the mind at night and day,” explains Roman.
Despite the project’s inception 16 years ago, BIZARREKULT’s music did not make its debut until the release of ‘Vi Overlevde’ in 2021. As he started feeling challenged by the declining state of the world, Roman pursued a new path and decided to go straight to the environment that incubated and birthed the genre that he loves. As he relocated from Siberia to his current home of Norway, his new surroundings had its intended purpose and greatly impacted his musical journey. “After some initial recordings the project was set aside in order to deal with increasing mass challenges from the surrounding world. And then it ended up getting a spark a decade later in a different environment, nature, language and culture. So distant, but so close. Norway has become my second home and the last few years that led to revitalization of BIZARREKULT were spent on reflecting on myself, meaning, purpose and reuniting with the things that were important – art and creativity.”
Meaning “We Survived,” ‘Vi Overlevde’ was a very intimate, vulnerable, and personal offering. Roman describes the record as “a testament to survival through personal crisis” and notes that it is “filled with reflections on childhood, family and societal relations.” The musician took care to ensure that the record delivered a comprehensive package, aligning the music, artwork, and lyrics with exact precision.
As the world was collectively reckoning with the turmoil of year two of a global pandemic, the album’s message gave many hope. Fans started to emerge, reacting to the record with their own artistic interpretations as a way to pay tribute. The album also won the hearts of the media, appearing on a handful of “album of the year” lists, including scoring a third place position from Sweden’s biggest newspaper, Aftonbladet.
Now, BIZARREKULT is ready to enter a new chapter, forging a new union with Season of Mist and completing the work on its sophomore full-length, ‘Den Tapte Krigen.’ Meaning “The Lost War,” ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ thematically picks up the thread from where ‘Vi Overlevde” left off, but sees a musical evolution as BIZARREKULT continues to find and establish its identity. “The main message of ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ is about a constant war inside our lives, war with ourselves, our closest ones, our societies,” says Roman. “It’s a war in which we can lose everything, including our personality, faith, honour and dignity. However, similar to ‘Vi Overlevde’ that ends on a rather positive note, ‘Den Tapte Krigen’ contains a message of hope and reconnection, of necessity to make a peace with yourself, accept what you are, your identity, and share forgiveness and love. This is the only way out of the vicious circle.”
Line up: Roman V.: music, lyrics, vocals
Studio line up: Roman V.: vocals Ignat P.: guitar, bass Alexander P.: drums Dina: vocals
Mixing + Mastering: Miguel Tereso – Demigod Recordings Artwork: Ivan Gladkikh
STEVE VAI and Favored Nations / Mascot Label Group will release VAI / GASH digitally and on CD January 27, 2023. The vinyl album will follow on February 24. Today, they present “Busted” which can be heard here: https://youtu.be/O2U5pSbFSIg. Vai shares, “This song, ‘Busted’ is basically about the incessant and nefarious activities of a corrupt and skanky mistress against her biker boyfriend. But she got ‘Busted’. The entire track was recorded in one day and Gash slammed the vocal out in 2 takes.” The initial recording presented, “In The Wind,” has been received with a tremendous reception globally, and can be heard here: https://youtu.be/AkbnEj2yDw0 . At the time of the reveal, Vai offered, “’In The Wind’ was the first track that was recorded for this record. It captures the spirit of the open road freedom we felt while riding our Harley’s on bike rallies and interstate road trips. The track has the exhilaration of having that kind of power under you while kissing the wind.” In three weeks, the song has reached almost 250 000 streams on Spotify, YouTube and Apple.
As Vai shares, “This record was written and recorded in somewhat of a stream of consciousness in 1991 within perhaps a 2-week period as an answer to my desire to have a particular kind of music to listen to when I was riding my Harley Davison Motorcycle with my friends. It’s reminiscent of a certain type of rock music I enjoyed as a teenager in the 1970’s. These recordings sat on the shelf for over 30 years and are being released now in 2023. Here’s the story…”
An abbreviated synopsis of the anecdotal history and fond remembrances as articulated by Vai in the liner notes offer detail on singer Gash and his deep connection to Vai. From his teenage years on Long Island, to today, he has openly shared his love of motorcycles. Gash shared that passion.
Vai reflects, “Around 1990, I was overcome with a desire to rip out what I thought would be a straight-ahead type of rock record that contained the kind of music I wish I had to listen to when I was that teenager ensconced in the biker culture. And then I met Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto.”
John was born in Queens, New York and as a youth was an avid motorcycle enthusiast. In 1977 at the age of 21, he endured a serious accident that caused his body to catch fire while plunging 30 feet onto a barbed wire fence. Vai wrote in the liner notes, “The doctors told his family that he had third degree burns over 60% of his body, and that if he even survived, there was a strong possibility that he would lose his right arm and left leg. While in the Burn Unit, he endured excruciating pain, especially when given the intense daily cycle of hot baths for his burns. He soldiered on, and after a month he was finally discharged from the hospital. Luckily, no limbs were amputated. He was, however, left with a partial left ear and layers of skin grafts over his neck, arms, legs, and entire chest. The stories he told about his recovery and the excruciating pain involved were crushingly gut wrenching. But he survived, and eventually thrived again. He made his way out to Los Angeles in 1982 and got right back up on his motorcycle.”
Vai met John through a mutual friend, Mark Cimino. They bonded over biker culture, and he choose the name “Gash” as a nickname. Vai wrote, “…I’ve observed many people interacting with him on our numerous motorcycle road trips and other adventures. At first sight, many people could be taken by his bald head, scarred neck and burnt-off ear. Looking as he did and riding a Harley it was easy to assume he was perhaps a tough, menacing biker with a nefarious attitude, but after engaging with him for even a minute, his charm and magnetic charisma had them laughing in their shoes and completely enjoying his uplifting presence. He endeared people with his wit, warmth, and sparkle. John hit it off instantly with the most unlikely of people of every age, color, size, political or sexual persuasions. He was non superficial and never judged people. This allowed his engaging personality and intoxicating charm to draw you in. Under all those scars was a bold and fearlessly warm heart that can be seen in his disarming and big soft blue eyes.”
He continues, “…something in me wanted to get him in the studio and see how he would belt over these biker type songs I had demoed, but nothing could have prepared me for the voice that came out of his mouth. I had to think, off course he sounds like that because that’s him, confident, authentic, fearless but with a lighthearted intention. This was the voice I wanted to hear wailing over these slamming rock tracks. I was stunned. Around that timeframe I was also starting to launch work on ‘Sex and Religion’ and was hoping to eventually record more than the 8 songs I had laid down with John for an alternative project, but that was proven impossible. On September 7th, 1998, two days after my father had passed away, the phone rang, and it was John’s beloved girlfriend Nancy. Her voice was quaking, and I somehow knew what she was going to tell me. ‘John was in a bike accident and was killed’.”
After three decades, Steve Vai has finally shared this master with The World. In his opinion, “He would have absolutely been the greatest rock lead singer you would ever want to know. All the elements were in place, but he was gone. Disheartened, I put the entire project on the shelf, and would listen to it at least once a year for the past 30 years, especially around the anniversary of his passing. Then recently something compelled me to want to put it out now. I wish you would have had a chance to get to know John. I believe you would have loved him just as we all did. For now, he is ‘In the Wind’.”
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 