As we wrote recently, it’s not just forays around Nassau or in the northern seas that can be crowned with success, sometimes you can find real treasures just by sailing along the Pegnitz.
VISIONATICA is the best example of this. The experienced symphonic metallers from the Nuremberg area have signed a worldwide deal with El Puerto Records. The upcoming album will be released in spring 2025.
The band in a nutshell: “We are very proud to be part of the El Puerto Family” Head of Promotion Matt. Bischof: “VISIONATICA have already proven that they can easily keep up with the big names in the genre. We at El Puerto Records are looking forward to an extremely creative band. Even after the first talks and the first audio samples, it was clear that this joint path is going to be a good one!”
Biography: Since 2016, the quartet around the enchanting frontwoman Tamara Amedov has been casting musical visions in steel. Melody meets heaviness, orchestra meets driving rhythm and the whole thing is always spiced up with a touch of oriental charm, a hint of sex appeal and rounded off with skillful playfulness.
If you like female fronted symphonic metal, you will love Visionatica. The virtues of well-known role models are skillfully and extremely independently packaged in a fresh guise that inspires and captivates.
Line-up: Tamara Amedov: Vocals Manuel Buhl: Guitar Gerhard Spanner: Drums Tim Zahn: Bass
Budapest’s own groove metal force, NEST OF PLAGUES presents the official music video for “Suffer Together,”a sonic assault from their critically acclaimed album “Hellsolation” (out now via Wormholdeath Records).
Have you ever felt lonely at a party even though your closest friends surrounded you? Have you ever felt completely isolated mentally, even though you were not alone and your family and friends were there to support you? ‘Suffer Together’ is the first song of Nest of Plagues’ third concept album. It deals with social loneliness, wearing a glittering robe in its music video – no matter if you have a bathtub of money and if the champagne is flowing in the party bus if your loneliness eats you up inside. Out in September, ‘Hellsolation’ tells a personal and honest story of how the band dealt with the feeling of isolation and mental health issues over the years.
Metal band from Budapest brings a strong message with a touch of glitter. With their lyrics, Nest of Plagues reflects on modern social diseases like social anxiety, depression, and the feeling of loneliness that people can collectively feel. Sharing this message, they encourage people to face their mental problems and connect. Bringing a fresh sound to the stage, they play groove metal with elements of alternative metal while adding a little core edge to the mix. Due to their eclectic image and powerful live performances, they bring a little joy and fun where it seems there is only darkness.
Immerse yourself in the sonic world of “Hellsolation” on all major streaming platforms, HERE!
Beth Hart has sold out her concerts at Poole, Lighthouse (November 28) and Brighton, Dome (November 30). Special guests are Wille & The Bandits (acoustic duo).
Tickets for her February 2025 concerts at Bristol Beacon (February 18), London EventimApollo (February 20), and Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre (February 22) are available from www.alttickets.com/beth-hart-tickets.
The announcement follows the release of Beth’s critically acclaimed new album “You Still Got Me.” Released by Provogue/Mascot Label Group the new album is available HERE.
Watch the video for her single “Savior With A Razor” (featuring Slash) on YouTube HERE.
With a career marked by critical acclaim and countless accolades, Beth Hart has solidified her place as one of the most influential and heartfelt voices in music today. Her journey, marked by triumphs and trials, reflects her relentless dedication to her craft and fans. Hart’s music, infused with her raw, soulful energy, has captivated audiences worldwide, earning her top spots on the Billboard Blues charts and performances at iconic venues like Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome and London’s Royal Albert Hall.
There is an electrifying connection between Beth and her fans, one that’s almost unrivalled. Her ability to touch people with her music and words that cut through straight to the heart means that she lives every word she sings, and fans hang on to each word, living it with her. You Still Got Me offers fans a chance to hold and comfort her as she continues to navigate her journey with grace and courage.
BETH HART – BIOGRAPHY
Beth Hart is as real as it gets. In a music industry full of glossy production and airbrushed photoshoots, this is one artist who throws down her cards, shares her darkest secrets and invites you to join her for the ride.
New fans might know Beth as the all-conquering global icon, dubbed “extraordinary” by The Times and “daring, brooding and angry” by The Guardian. But to understand her rollercoaster backstory, you need only read the War In My Mind lyric sheet.
Hart is recognized as one of her generation’s most talented voices. She has sold out tours worldwide, including performances at historic venues such as Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, London’s Royal Albert Hall, and the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. She’s topped the Billboard charts six times, gone double platinum and had a string of Top 10 charting albums across Europe.
The Grammy-nominated powerhouse vocalist Beth Hart took on one of her most profound undertakings to date by channelling the legendary voice of Robert Plant on A Tribute To Led Zeppelin. The nine-track album highlights the incredible musical spectrum that Led Zeppelin operated in.
All that was left was the final piece of the puzzle… the voice. Things clicked into place when Cavallo was producing Hart’s previous album, War In My Mind (2019), and she did an impromptu version of “Whole Lotta Love” in the studio. He later asked about doing a whole record. Beth said, “I’m not doing this whole album. To do Zeppelin, you’ve got to be pissed off to hit that right. I can’t go there; I’ve worked years to put my rage away. “She continues, “then the pandemic and all the things around it hit. So now I’m pissed off. I called my manager and said, have Rob and Doug send me all the music because I am ready to do this. “If you were to rewind, you could say the story for a Led Zeppelin album started further back; in May 2004 Hart prowled the stage at the Paradiso in Amsterdam for an incendiary performance of “Whole Lotta Love”. The song became a semi-regular fixture in her setlist over the years, including a memorable performance with Slash.
At 51 – and proud of it – Beth is basking in a golden period. The success of her last original album, War In My Mind, followed by the incredible Led Zeppelin tribute, have garnered yet more critical acclaim, growing sales and sold-out shows. But as the singer reminds us, her life has always moved in cycles–”things get good then go to crap, get good then go to crap”–and it’s in these extremes that many of her best songs are born.
After an intense and extraordinary year, GÅTE is set to release their brand new song, “På Veg” (English: On Our Way).
2024 has undoubtedly been a year where Gåte has given it their all—a year of highs and lows, where the band has reached extraordinary new heights and won new hearts worldwide. Still, everything comes at a cost, and the longing for friends and family, for everyday life, and for all the small, yet vital things has never been more apparent.
Perhaps På Veg is a product of this duality—of the contrasts between the euphoria of achieving lofty goals and the sacrifices made to reach them.
Gåte comments: “På Veg is about encountering a lost love in a magical dream, then setting off to find that love again in waking life, fully aware that it’s an impossible pursuit.”
På Veg is an epic, grand, and beautiful tribute to everyone working tirelessly to achieve their goals, and to everyone who is missing someone. It serves as a poignant reminder that, no matter what your goals are or wherever the road takes you, life is what you encounter on your way—a journey with no end goal.
På Veg will be released on November 27, 2024, just under two weeks before the band embarks on their European tour. Six months after gracing the stage in Malmö, Gåte is set to meet Europe and discover where the road will lead them next.
Tour Dates: 12 Dec.- Dublin, IE 13 Dec.- London, UK 14 Dec.- Manchester, UK 16 Dec.- Utrecht, NL 17 Dec.- Hamburg, DE 18 Dec.- Berlin, DE 19 Dec.- Krakow, PL 20 Dec.- Warsaw, PL
About Gåte: Gåte’s music is a dark, mesmerizing and stunningly beautiful take on Nordic folk. Where they flirt with elements from traditional Norse and pagan music as well as from more modern genres like rock and industrial.
The band emerged in the early 2000s, seamlessly blending traditional Norwegian folk music with explosive rock, catapulting them from the confines of a practice space to grand stages in record time! With this unique take on folk/trad rock and their triumphant live shows the band has managed to captivate massive audience.
Gåte took a 12-year break before making a much-anticipated comeback in 2017, where they once again experienced enormous success with lauded live shows, two critically acclaimed studio albums, two EPs, and a mesmerizing live record.
In 2024 they were chosen to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contes, marking yet another milestone in the band’ career!
Unrelentlessly, PANZERCHRIST continues to unveil their next studio album, “Maleficium Part I”. This time they release the digital single (and lyric video) “Blood Leeches”, a full-on fast paced death metal assault with both old-school and modern influences about the ancient alchemistic practice of bloodletting. Vile and vicious!
Join the premiering here:
“Last Of A Kind” was, last year, more than just a “comeback album” for Panzerchrist. Right, it was a whole decade since the release of their previous record “7th Offensive”, but the Danes came back with a vengeance in their eighth offering. New blood joined the hardcore duo of the lineup (bassist and keyboardist Michael “Panzergeneral” Enevoldsen and guitarist Frederik O’Carroll), most notably vocalist Sonja Rosenlund Ahl, whose malicious tone fitted like a glove the newfound black/death metal style of the band.
“As a long-time fan of Panzerchrist it was a great honor to join the band”, Sonja offers, about her feelings about joining such a established name. “For “Last Of A Kind” all music was already recorded when I was asked to write witchy lyrics and vocal tracks for the album. Both musically and personally we instantly clicked and has felt meant to be. I’m so proud to contribute to the development and ongoing legacy of Panzerchrist”, she enthuses.
Not surprisingly, the critics loved “Last Of A Kind”, as well as the fans and, after the release, Panzerchrist played several festival shows in Denmark while Michael Enevoldsen began working on the following album. Enter “Maleficium Part I”, a set of material where the band made a conscious decision to steer the Panzerchrist sound towards a more death metal direction. When the group coincidentally bumped into Ove Lungskov (also of Rotten Ocean), they asked him to try out for the drummer position. Ove, a big fan of Panzerchrist’s previous work, initially thought they were joking, but it quickly became clear that he was the perfect fit. His playing style not only matched the band’s previous material but also aligned perfectly with their future vision. With Ove on board, the band leaned even further into death metal, amplifying the speed and brutality with fast blast beats and thunderous double kicks.
“Michael is the main songwriter”, Frederik O’Carroll says, about how the new members inject ideas in the Panzerchrist’s established sound on the new album. “That being said, especially Oves drumming, as well as Sonja’s lyrics, are essential parts of the sound of this incarnation of Panzerchrist. On the music side of things, we wanted to get back to a more double bass-driven sound. Ove has a fast, but also an incredibly heavy style of drumming which added an extra layer of heaviness in the studio”, he concludes.
With Ove on board, drums and vocals were recorded at Tue Madsen’s Antfarm Studios in early 2024, with Madsen also handling the mixing and mastering of the new album. “Maleficium Part I”, has a fast yet heavy approach, featuring atmospheric parts that perfectly complement Sonja’s medieval tales of witches, witchcraft, and all things evil. The record delves even deeper into esoteric themes, further developing the elements explored in their last release. The result is seven tracks that balance both blistering speed and slower, driving efforts with haunting soundscapes and melody, all crafted with Ove’s playing style in mind. The outcome is “Maleficium”, a blend of Panzerchrist’s signature intensity and a renewed focus on melody and atmosphere.
“I feel that “Maleficium Pt. 1” sort of connects the dots between the style of previous releases, but it also develops the atmosphere of our previous album”, Frederik offers. “Especially the lyrics add an extra dimension to the feel of the album”.
Sonja also elaborates on this full-circle theory. Not only for part one of the “Maleficium” two-part concept but for the whole work. “From “Last Of A Kind”, “Maleficium” is a return to a faster, more intense death metal sound with both old school and modern influences”, she says. “A deeper viciousness in both the sound and lyrics ties knots to earlier Panzerchrist releases and both new and dedicated fans will recognize Michael Enevoldsens distinct style of composing that he has taken to a new level on this album. “Maleficium” is a manifestation of the musical depth and diversity Panzerchrist is: fast and furious old school death metal with layers of icy black metal riffs and dark doomy passages”.
“Maleficium Part I” will be released on LP (black vinyl, limited to 300 copies), CD and digital on December 6th, 2024 via Emanzipation Productions.
Lineup: Michael Enevoldsen – bass, keyboards Frederik O’Carroll – guitars Sonja Rosenlund Ahl – vocals Danny Bo – guitars Ove Lungskov – drums
Behold the den of misery and emptiness which will eat your soul from inside! With a fast melodic yet aggressive opening riff this new MACERATION digital single and lyric video, from their upcoming album “Serpent Devourment”, is a very fast and heavy song, keeping the trademark of the Danish band in the genre.
Join the premiering here:
In November 2022, Danish band Maceration released their new album “It Never Ends…” with death metal legend Dan Swanö – Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath etc. – on vocals. This was 30 years after their 1992 album “A Serenade Of Agony” was released. Also with Dan Swanö on vocals and members from Invocator. The Danish band played a central role in the Danish death metal scene and were among the pioneers of the style in Denmark.
With a comeback album 30 years after the debut, there has been great interest in the resurrected band. Maceration has received massive press coverage in the largest media within the metal genre both in Denmark and abroad. With the great success of the comeback album, it is now time for a new Maceration album.
The band’s third album “Serpent Devourment” will be released on 31 January 2025. Again, Dan Swanö has played an important role in the creation as producer and the man behind the mix in his Unisound studio.
But this time he has not recorded the vocals. Maceration’s regular lead singer Jan Bergmann Jepsen (ex. Cor Vacante) has done the recording duties and he leaves no doubt after he has taken over the vocals on the new recordings. Jan Bergmann has been with Maceration live since the resurrection in 2022 and on some tracks on “It Never Ends” in a duet with Swanö, but now he is alone at the front. With a deep, growling and brutal vocal style, he is the perfect successor to Swanö and he carves this into stone on the new album.
Ten brand new tracks are what will be served on “Serpent Devourment”. Brutality, speed and heaviness are the key words for all tracks, but also melody and catchy riffs and choruses characterize Maceration’s tracks as always. This applies to the heavy riffs in the title track and “Where Leeches Thrive” and the fast easily recognizable themes in “The Den of Misery” or the triplet based aggressive main riff in “A Corrosive Heart Fell Below”.
The whole new album is a varied creature, with fast death metal attacks like “The Suffering” and “For The End Alone” over heavy “Revolt The Tyrant Dream”, “In Rot Unleashed” or “Emptiness Embraced”. Fans of Maceration will nod in recognition to the band’s hallmarks and style, while new listeners will be embraced by stylish, brutal and aggressive old school death metal that has references back to the forefathers of death metal and also from the members’ previous bands such as Invocator, Spectral Mortuary and Corpus Mortale.
In addition to singer Jan Bergmann Jepsen, the band consists of Jakob Schultz – guitarist and main composer and only original member who was also previously in the renowned Danish band Invocator. Rune Koldby is a bass player with years of experience in Danish metal bands such as Exmortem and Spectral Mortuary, while the drums are handled by Nicolai Kaltoft (ex. Corpus Mortale) and Robert Tengs is the rhythm guitarist.
“Serpent Devourment” will be released on LP (black vinyl limited to 300 copies and light blue vinyl, limited to 200), CD and digital on January 31st, 2025 via Emanzipation Productions.
Lineup: Jan Bergmann Jepsen – vocals Nicolai Kaltoft – drums Rune Koldby – bass Robert Tengs – guitar Jakob Schultz – lead guitar
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 )