The apocalypse is nigh and Finnish grindcore entity ROTTEN SOUND has crafted the perfect soundtrack to accompany humanity’s impending extinction. Aptly titled ‘Apocalypse,’ the band’s eighth studio album is dropping into 2023 with the same blistering speed and chaotic impetus as an asteroid searing through atmosphere and crushing everything upon impact.
Each song delivering abrupt yet violent aftershocks, delivering an auditory assault with its unstoppable, seismic force. The band is now sharing the official music video for the song “Digital Bliss,” which can be seen at THIS LOCATION.
ROTTEN SOUND comments on the clip, “Have you ever got sucked in YouTube cat videos, Instagram stories or other dopamine creators? Does it feel like this?”
‘Apocalypse’ is out now! Stream/order/download HERE.
ROTTEN SOUND have firmly established themselves as one of the leading acts of the grindcore scene. Expertly wielding the fierce brutality and massive aggression of their genre, the Finns add intelligent songwriting, effective arrangements, and musical proficiency as well as subtle death metal elements to their sound.
Their forthcoming album ‘Apocalypse’ embodies those aforementioned virtues to the point. The full length delivers eighteen short sharp chops that hit home perfectly.
ROTTEN SOUND was conceived in the city of Vaasa, Finland by guitarist Mika Aalto in 1993, who was soon joined by vocalist and word-smith Keijo Niinimaa. The duo still remains in place, while the original members in all other positions have been replaced several times until today.
The Finns can field an impressive catalogue of now eight highly acclaimed studio albums, eight EPs, three split singles, a single, and a live DVD. Furthermore, ROTTEN SOUND have already conquered the stages of all major metal and hardcore oriented festivals and also toured in regular intervals alongside such renowned acts as MALEVOLENT CREATION, PHOBIA, DISFEAR CARCASS, MUNICIPAL WASTE, EXHUMED, NAPALM DEATH, and PIG DESTROYER – among many others.
With ‘Apocalypse’, ROTTEN SOUND are gearing up their musical juggernaut just in time before crushing stages all over Asia and Europe this spring.
Recording Studio: Sound Supreme (drums and vocals) Nordic Audio Labs (guitars and bass)
Recording engineer: Janne Saksa Mix: Rain City Studios by Jesse Gander Master: Audio Siege by Brad Boatbright
Line-up: Mika Aalto – guitars Matti Raappana – bass and backing vocals Sami Latva – drums Keijo Niinimaa – lead vocals
Grammy-winning rock band GRETA VAN FLEET’s much anticipated third studio album Starcatcher is set for release July 21 on Lava/Republic Records; pre-save/pre-order HERE.
The album’s first single “Meeting The Master” debuts today; listen/share HERE.
The bands notes, “‘Meeting The Master’ peers into an esoteric world heeded by the word of a wise teacher. Sung in the voice of a devout believer, and eventual group exclamation, the song details the love these fervent followers have for their teacher and their firm belief in his vision. It’s an exotic spiritual journey. A dark comedy that inevitably ends in chaos.”
The album is written and recorded by the band—lead singer Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist/keyboardist Sam Kiszka and drummer Danny Wagner—alongside Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile). Recorded at the legendary RCA Studios in Nashville, the band utilized the large recording room to capture the pure energy of their world-renowned live performances.
“We didn’t really have to force or be intense about writing, because everything that happened was very instinctual,” Jake says. “If anything, the record is our perspective, and sums up where we are as a group and individually as musicians.
Throughout the ten-song collection the band explores the duality of fantasy versus reality and the contrast between light and darkness. “We had this idea that we wanted to tell these stories to build a universe,” says Wagner. “We wanted to introduce characters and motifs and these ideas that would come about here and there throughout our careers through this world.”
The band took multiple concepts from critically acclaimed sophomore album The Battle at Garden’s Gate and brought them into Starcatcher, although Sam’s take on the new record’s big ideas hint instead at new beginnings. “When I imagine the world of Starcatcher, I think of the cosmos,” he says. “It makes me ask a lot of questions, like ‘Where did we come from?’ or ‘What are we doing here?’ But it’s also questions like, ‘What is this consciousness that we have, and where did it come from?’”
The band is best known for their renowned live performances, selling over one million tickets worldwide. They sold out their entire 2022 arena tour, holding a special energy between them and their devoted fans. With Starcatcher the band aims to capture that energy in the recording studio.
Most recently, the band performed at the inaugural Lollapalooza Mumbai and completed an extensive U.S. arena tour in March. Greta Van Fleet returns to the road next month for the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta and Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis. See below for a complete tour itinerary.
Starcatcher follows their acclaimed sophomore album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, released in 2021 to extensive chart and critical success. The album debuted at #1 Billboard Rock Album, #1 Billboard Hard Rock Album, #1 Billboard Vinyl Album, #2 Billboard Top Album Sales and in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The debut LP from the band, Anthem of the Peaceful Army was released in 2018 to countless accolades including #1 Billboard Rock Album and Top 3 on the Billboard 200. Their From The Fires EP, released in 2017, won Best Rock Album at the 61st Grammy Awards.
Forming in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 2012, Greta Van Fleet consists of three brothers—vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka and bassist/keyboardist Sam Kiszka—as well as drummer Danny Wagner. Together they have performed across multiple continents, sold over 3.5 million records worldwide and performed on late night television shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
STARCATCHER tracklist
Fate Of The Faithful
Waited All Your Life
The Falling Sky
Sacred The Thread
Runway Blues
The Indigo Streak
Frozen Light
The Archer
Meeting The Master
Farewell For Now
GRETA VAN FLEET LIVE May 5-7—Atlanta, GA—Shaky Knees Festival May 5-7—Memphis, TN— Beale Street Music Festival September 16-17—Asbury Park, NJ—Sea Hear Now 2023 September 20, 2024—Mexico City, CDMX—Foro Sol September 27, 2024—Mexico City, CDMX—Foro Sol
In 2021, Danish heavy prog rock luminaries TIMECHILD entered the scene with a bang, operating an impressive mix of the right influences, raw talent, and an unusual bold personality for a new band.
Now, “The Dying Tide Part III” is the first single and official from Timechild’s upcoming second album “Blossom & Plague”. The track, which is the last part of a longer trilogy that will open the album, shows the band from a darker and more progressive side than on previous releases. The sound is heavy and dynamic and the lyrics deal with man’s relationship with our nature, which we both exploit, but at the same time are forced to submit to.
Today Metal Shock Finland has a pleasure to premiere for Finland TIMECHILD’s “The Dying Tide, Part III” Official Video, enjoy the premiering below.
Timechild is a Danish progressive, heavy rock band formed in 2020 in Copenhagen. Their sound consists of a mixture of progressive rock and heavy metal, dominated by a powerful lead vocal and characteristic twin guitars, which together create their unique Scandinavian expression.
Since Timechild released their debut album “And Yet It Moves” at the end of 2021, things have moved fast for the new Danish band. Top reviews from both Danish and international media, Danish tours with Jesper Binzer (DAD), Thundermother and Artillery, concerts at some of the biggest club venues and rock and metal festivals in Denmark. And in 2023, the band will cross the country’s borders for the first time to go on their first EU and UK tours.
A new Timechild album, titled “Blossom & Plague”, will be released later this year.
Lineup: Anders Folden Brink – lead vocals, rhythm/lead guitar Birk – lead/rhythm guitar, backing vocals Martin Haumann – drums Daniel Bach – bass, backing vocals
Welcome to the “Sabbath Of The Rat”. Armed with their most crushing lineup in ages, Danish cult extremists PANZERCHRIST release their first new music and official video in a decade. And the final result is a convincing one: the black-inspired death metal that is the trademark of the band (hell, they helped forge the style back in the mid-90s) with a renewed, fresh malignity that suits them like a coffin.
Produced by Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studios, “Sabbath Of The Rat” kicks off a new era for Panzerchrist. Expect nothing but sheer domination and merciless intensity, both on stage and on the upcoming new album.
PANZERCHRIST have teamed up with Metal Shock Finland to premiere “Sabbath Of The Rat” official video for Finnish territory, enjoy it here:
Panzerchrist was formed in 1993 by Michael Enevoldsen, which by that time was leaving his role as Illdisposed drummer. Precise as a clock, the band released their first two albums every three years- in 1996 and 1999 – until they hit gold with a record deal signed with Mighty Music and two of their most successful albums ever: “Soul Collector” in 2000 and “Room Service” in 2003.
Amidst a constant lineup change (which saw Enevoldsen himself switch from drums to keyboards and later to bass) and which transformed Panzerchrist in a global stage for the best musicians in the Danish metal scene, the band released their fifth opus, “Batallion Bwast”, in 2006, before singing to French label Listenable Records, through which they released the latest two studio albums.
In the Autumn of 2021, the band re-released the cult album “Soul Collector” on CD and – for the first time ever – on vinyl, in a limited collectors edition. Three different vinyls colours – red, yellow and black – each limited to 100 units. The sound was remastered at Angioni Studios. In 2023, the band welcomed back guitar player Frederik O’Carroll (he was in the band between 2022 and 2006) and presented a new vocalist: Sonja Rosenlund Ahl (ex-Arsenic Addict). Later on, ex-Arsenic Addict guitar player Danny Bo Pedersen was also added to the fold. With this revamped lineup, the band recorded a new album in Antfarm Studios, produced by Tue Madsen, and plans to release it in the Summer of 2023 via Emanzipation Productions.
Lineup: Panzergeneral – bass, keyboards Frederik O’Carroll – guitars Simon “Bloodhammer” Schilling – drums Sonja Rosenlund Ahl – vocals Danny Bo Pedersen – guitars
Symphonic death metallers SEPTICFLESH have announced a new digital EP titled Reconstruction, that will feature three reimagined versions of songs from their latest album Modern Primitive. The new versions of these songs were recorded with an orchestra and a choir to achieve an entirely symphonic sound.
The band comments “We are excited to present you with Reconstruction, a digital EP that consists of the bonus songs from Modern Primitive, now making them available to all our fans. The title is very representative, as the release encapsulates a variety of musical ideas from Modern Primitive, reconstructed with additional orchestral elements. Check it out in the digital music platform of your choice.”
Stream Reconstruction on all platforms now at this location.
“Reconstruction” Tracklisting:
1. Salvation 2. The 14th Part 3. Coming Storm
About SEPTICFLESH
SEPTICFLESH was formed as ‘Septic Flesh’ in Greece in the early ’90s by Spyridon Antoniou (a.k.a. Seth Siro Anton): vocals/bass, Christos Antoniou: guitar and Sotirios Vagenas (a.k.a. Sotiris Anunnaki V.): guitar/ clean vocals. A debut EP was released in 1991, entitled Temple of The Lost Race. Their first full-length album Mystic Places of Dawn was released in 1994, followed by EΣΟΠΤΡΟΝ that was released in 1995. With the release of Ophidian Wheel in 1997, a female soprano vocalist (Natalie Rassoulis) was introduced, as the band moved towards a more symphonic style. A Fallen Temple (1998) continued in the same musical direction. In 1999, Revolution DNA was released, followed by Sumerian Daemons in 2003, both albums produced by Fredrik Nordström (At The Gates, Opeth, In Flames). Although the band’s popularity was growing, the band members decided to disband, in order to focus on other personal projects and goals. But that was not the end of the story… After a reunion, the band returned with the album Communion in 2008, again with Fredrik Nordström at the helm of production. From that point onwards, the symphonic element (composed by Christos Antoniou, that has a Master Degree in Concert Music) was fully implemented in the structure of the songs, with the collaboration of Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague. The Great Mass (2011) followed with Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) producing, Titan (2014) with Logan Mader (ex-Machine Head) as producer and Codex Omega (2017) which started the group’s collaboration with Jens Bogren that continues to the very day. In 2020, the recording of the epic and fully orchestrated Live in Mexico entitled Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX was released on CD/LP/DVD/Blu-Ray.
Chart-storming power metal warriors GLORYHAMMER are back and proudly announcing their highly anticipated upcoming fourth album, Return to the Kingdom of Fife, out June 2, 2023 via Napalm Records! Wasting no time, the band has released the epic first single, “Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy”, cut from the upcoming masterpiece. The track features a relentless blast of hyper-catchy laser-choruses that assault your ears on a non-stop voyage through space and time, and is not to be missed! A guaranteed singer-pipe ear-trumpet for all future live shows!
“Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy” is accompanied by a high quality animated music video, with which GLORYHAMMER exceeds all expectations! The exciting, action-packed music video – directed and animated by Alex Henderson – reveals the origin tale of the evil sorcerer Zargothrax, and shows the visual world of GLORYHAMMER the way it was always meant to be seen!
GLORYHAMMER about “Keeper Of The Celestial Flame Of Abernethy”: “This tale begins long in the past, 1000 years before even Angus McFife was born. A simple peasant by the name of Zargothrax lived a peaceful existence weaving baskets in a village called Auchtermuchty, until the legendary hero Dundax decided to build a new Kingdom in his lands…the Kingdom of Fife. Follow the rise of Zargothrax into a twisted sorcerer of chaos and evil, as he seeks the ultimate revenge on the Prince of Fife and all his descendants!”
In the not-so-distant Kingdom of Fife, there lies a band like no other. GLORYHAMMER embodies the very essence of power metal and epic fantasy, with a sound so majestic and grandiose that it could only be the work of the gods themselves. Led by the manifestation of extreme trumpet-chaos in battle-mode, GLORYHAMMER has been waging a never-ending fight against the forces of Zargothrax since their formation in 2010.
With their soaring hyper-melodies, multitudinous orchestra-explosions and thunderous nano-guitar riffs, they have become the undisputed champions of the power metal scene, drawing in legions of fans from across the galaxy with their epic tales of intergalactic warfare, cosmic sorcery, and heroic deeds. It has been four years since the band’s last release, but the wait is finally over for another massive onslaught of power metal greatness.
With the journey back to Fife, Return to the Kingdom of Fife starts with trumpeting horns to lead them into battle, before jumping straight into “Holy Flaming Hammer of the Unholy Cosmic Frost”, telling the tale of reclaiming the lost Kingdom with the use of the mighty and majestic Holy Flaming Hammer. But the evil wizard has laid waste all over the Kingdom after the devastating war of Dundee, forming the nuclear wasteland of “Imperium Dundaxia”. Crossing through the diseased Kingdom, the mighty Hootsman and his warriors ride on nuclear motorbikes as the “Wasteland Warrior Hoots Patrol” fights goblins and controls the law of the land. The Grandmaster Proletius leads his “Brothers of Crail” to fight together and defeat the evil wizard Zargothrax. Rising to the occasion, the brave prince Angus McFife brings together warriors from across the land to fight in the name of “Fife Eternal”! Onwards on their journey, the mighty heroes must cross through the Dwarven Caverns and defeat the “Sword Lord of the Goblin Horde” to ignite the path to retrieve the legendary weapon known as the “Vorpal Laserblaster of the Pittenweem”…but our heroes are too late, for the weapon has been stolen by a great force of evil! The great journey comes to its climax as the evil sorcerer and master of nightmares, Zargothrax, wields ungodly power as the “Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy”, and the group of mighty warriors come together in one final attempt vanquish the evil double wizards from the Kingdom of Fife in “Maleficus Geminus (Colossus Matrix 38B – Ultimate Invocation of the Binary Thaumaturge)”.
This is an album for the ages – power metal shines brighter than ever on the thrilling and action-packed Return to the Kingdom of Fife!”
GLORYHAMMER on the album: “Hoots! We are proud to teleport you all to as-of-yet unknown mountaintops of extreme-trumpet-confoundry with this new opus! Several orchestras were maimed during the production process, which we think reflects adequately in the hyper-sonic nano-recordings we have inscribed on disc for you to peruse. Many battles await!”
Maleficus Geminus (Colossus Matrix 38B – Ultimate Invocation of the Binary Thaumaturge)
CD 2 contains the orchestral version of Return To The Kingdom Of Fife.
Make sure to catch GLORYHAMMER live in 2023:
ALESTORM & GLORYHAMMER 05.05.23 US – Charlotte, NC / The Fillmore 06.05.23 US – North Myrtle Beach, SC / House of Blues 07.05.23 US – St. Petersburg, FL / Jannus Live 09.05.23 US – Dallas, TX / The Granada 10.05.23 US – San Antonio, TX / The Aztec Theatre 12.05.23 US – Tempe, AZ / Marquee Theatre 13.05.23 US – San Diego, CA / The Observatory North Park 14.05.23 US – Los Angeles, CA / The Wiltern 15.05.23 US – San Francisco, CA / The Regency Ballroom 17.05.23 US – Seattle, WA / Showbox Market 18.05.23 US – Portland, OR / Roseland Theater 20.05.23 US – Salt Lake City, UT / The Depot 21.05.23 US – Denver, CO / The Oriental Theater 23.05.23 US – Minneapolis, MN / The Lyric 24.05.23 US – Chicago, IL / The Vic 26.05.23 US – Worcester, MA / The Palladium 27.05.23 US – New York, NY / Irving Plaza 28.05.23 US – Silver Spring, MD / The Fillmore
Summer & Festival Dates: 10.06.23 ES – Z! Live Rock Fest / Zamora 13.08.23 BE – Alcatraz / Kortrijk 17.08.23 CZ – Rock Castle / Moravsky Kumlov 18.08.23 DE – Koblenz / Festung Ehrenbreitstein 19.08.23 NL – Dynamo Metalfest / Eindhoven 20.08.23 CH – Rock The Lakes / Lake Morat 15.09.23 Baltic Sea – Full Metal Cruise / Kiel
GLORYHAMMER is: Sozos Michael (Angus McFife) – Vocals Paul Templing (Ser Proletius) – Guitars James Cartwright (The Hootsman) – Bass Michael Barber (Zargothrax) – Keyboards Ben Turk (Ralathor) – Drums
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 )