WHITE SKULL have released their new official video for their song “Hammer On Thin Ice”. The track is taken from the band’s new album “Metal Never Rusts” that was released on October 21, 2022 as digipack CD and digital streaming/download format and from December 16, 2022 as Curacao Vinyl edition that is limited to 500 copies worldwide!
Irish Symphonic Power Metallers RAVENLIGHT return stronger than ever with their long awaited second album “Immemorial”, set to be released on January 27th 2023.
Channelling their live energy into this new release, “Immemorial” features 10 tracks of hard hitting Power Metal showcasing a range of styles and themes, from the reflective “Spiral”, to the grandiose “Springtime Lament”, this album highlights the band’s evolution and determination from the past few years.
🎨 John Connor
TRACKS: 01. Masque Of Red Death (04:27) 📺 02. Reflections (04:22) 🎥 03. The Painters Dream (04:33) 04. Spirit Of Life (03:58) 05. Paper Ships (03:37) 06. Rain (03:46) 07. Spiral (04:22) 08. Left Behind (05:57) 09. The Maze (04:13) 10. Springtime Lament (08:40)
total: 47:58 min.
RAVENLIGHT comments on “Reflections“: “We chose ‘Reflections’ as the first single for ‘Immemorial’ as it was one of the early songs that set the tone for the rest of the album, it showcases a mix of emotional vocals and lyrics alongside heavy riffing and strong hooks, the contrast of light vs dark, heaviness vs beauty and hope vs fear runs throughout the whole release, and so it seemed like the perfect song and video to welcome the audience into that theme.”
Formed in 2018, RAVENLIGHT play an energetic brand of Progressive tinged SYMPHONIC POWER METAL which have gained them a reputation as one of the most exciting and unique bands to emerge from the Irish Metal scene in recent years.
Starting with their 2018 EP release “End Of The World”, RAVENLIGHT quickly made their mark on the local scene and further afield with a number of shows across Ireland, including an invite to support Progressive Metal legends Evergrey in Dublin in March 2019.
At the start of 2020, RAVENLIGHT went back to the studio and recorded their debut album, “Project Genesis”, which was released in June 2020 across Europe and Japan via Novus Records, gaining positive reviews and press across the continent.
Unfortunately due to the pandemic, live shows to promote the album were postponed indefinitely, however instead of resting on their laurels, RAVENLIGHT returned once again to the studio to record their 2021 covers EP, “Intermission” alongside a series of music videos shot over various lockdowns.
With restrictions easing, RAVENLIGHT made their long awaited return to the stage, with a delayed album launch show, a mere 21 months after the release of the album, an appearance at the Siege Of Limerick festival and shows supporting Firewind, Cruachan and Stormzone across Ireland.
LINE-UP: Rebecca Feeney • Vocals John Connor • Guitars, Keyboards Dean Kane • Bass Michał Bugajski • Drums
OTHERWISE have announced their new album GAWDZILLIONAIRE, to be released on March 10 via Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group. To coincide with the news, they’ve released the lyric video for the snarling monolithic new song, “New Way To Hate.” Watch the video HERE. The band starts a 12-date tour of the US with Drowning Pool tomorrow. Tickets HERE.
Whether you desire success or even just survival, the fight never stops. You start swinging at birth only to finally rest at death. If anybody knows how to fight, it’s OTHERWISE. “Honestly, we have lived every single note and each fucking lyric we’ve written,” exclaims Adrian Patrick. “We’re bringing some serious issues to light.”
The Las Vegas quartet—Adrian Patrick [vocals], Ryan Patrick [guitar], Nick Bedrosian [bass], and Joe Conner [drums]—have weathered personal tragedy and trauma, withstood the tides of the industry, and stood tall.
“Everybody is going through shit—whether macro and socio-economic or with their relationships. We needed to present it all in a bigger picture. At the same time, it’s fun—which is why we came up with this Gawdzillionaire character who’s present in us and all around us. Who controls us from within? Who plays the game we’re a part of? That’s the Gawdzillionaire. We are the type of people who will not give up on the message. It has been instilled in us by our immigrant parents. We’re not going to give up on fighting the good fight.”
Throughout 2022, they have staged over a hundred appearances, including shows with Godsmack and Buckcherry. They also managed to power through their fifth studio album, bringing in producer Matt Good [Asking Alexandria, Hollywood Undead]. They’ve already released three songs from the album; “Full Disclosure” is their “what you see is what you get” roar, whilst “Coffins” dives into capitalism. “Exit Wound” deals with the aftermath of depression as Adrian shares, “I’d be lying if I said I’ve never sat at the end of my bed with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a pistol in the other. The toll that life can take on you can be unbearable at times, but the beauty is in pushing through it.” Ryan reflects, “I’ve dealt with depression and doubt for many years. To me, ‘Exit Wound represents standing up, dusting the dirt off, and wearing my scars proudly. It is ok to not be ok.”
“‘ New Way To Hate’ is confronting the divisiveness of our current socio-political landscape in the world,” Adrian says. “Largely in part to the slanted approach of mainstream media. Fear is the tactic, and unity is the enemy.” They collaborate with Las Vegas heart-hop artist Ekoh on “Gawdzillionaire” and Heidi Shepherd of groove-metallers Butcher Babies on “Paradise.” On “Failure”, they touch on a personal note, “Our dad is an immigrant who became a university regent,” explains Adrian. “The crazy old pit bull used to say ‘Failure is not an option to us’ all the time like a mantra. I want to instil it in my sons. It’s a message for them to never give up themselves.” Elsewhere on the album is the gothic-tinged jackhammer of “Exorcism” and the raucous cover of the Blind Melon classic “No Rain.”
“Gawdzillionaire” Track list
Full Disclosure
Exit Wound
New Way To Hate
Failure
Coffins
Hollywood Minute
Gawdzillionaire (feat. Ekoh)
La Familia
Paradise (feat. Heidi Shepherd)
Exorcism
Camouflage
No Rain
Over the past decade, they’ve clawed their way through the rock ‘n’ roll ranks with a catalog that includes True Love Never Dies [2012], Peace At All Costs [2014], and Sleeping Lions [2017]. The quartet have also previously enlisted high-profile friends in Ash Costello (New Years Day) on ‘Heaven’ (True Love Never Dies) and Jonathan Davis (Korn) on the self-titled track on 2017’s ‘Sleeping Lions’. Their signature anthem, “Soldiers,” has amassed 70 million Spotify streams. Meanwhile, 2019’s Defy kickstarted another chapter. “Crossfire” eclipsed 6 million Spotify streams, followed by “Lifted” with 4.5 million Spotify streams.
OTHERWISE are fighting to inspire change in the world at large. Ryan and Adrian lead the 501c3 Life By Music, which supplies music programs with instruments. They visit schools, initiated a partnership with Gibson Guitars, and created the Guitar Magic coloring book. “Hopefully, we’re creating an empowering environment where kids get the spark like I remember when music affected my soul,” Ryan goes on. “There’s nothing like seeing that. It’s cooler than anything we’ve done. It brings back the purity.”
“Now I’m losing my youth, Redefining the truth, Now I’m more than just one, I’m a father, a son, I’m just like you, I’m just trying to find what I’m leaving behind, Everything’s not what it seems, In this American dream, But I can tell you that it’s worth it just to hear ’em scream, Someday you’ll know what I mean, Living the lessons you’re learning from me, But I can tell you, boy, nothing in this life is free” – Full Disclosure, OTHERWISE.
EARTHSIDE return with their majestic new song, “We Who Lament,” ft. Keturah which is available now via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group. You can watch the visualizer here.They will also be joining Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA on their upcoming nine-date US and Canadian tour between 12 – 22 November. You can get tickets from HERE.
At just under 9-minutes long, the New England Cinematic rock collective has birthed another composition of torturous beauty. From a sweeping grandeur to a raging intensity, the song travels relentlessly along, and guest vocalist Keturah breathlessly entwines herself at the centre. Her stunning delivery from the opening salvo, “to be free or fearful? To believe in a past controlled, deciding what remembers,” sets the tone for the song, capturing innocence and fury, vulnerability and ruthless tenacity all at the same time on an incredible journey.
Musically and lyrically, the song is an awakening and a realization for the band. “We’re still the idealistic and emotionally candid individuals from A Dream In Static, but no longer being able to see the world and humankind through a more hopeful lens—no longer being able to overlook the cracks and broken promises in the narratives we’ve been fed from an early age.”
Keturah was crucial for the kind of song and impression the band wanted to create. “We immediately fell in love with the inimitable character of Keturah’s voice upon a progressive music fan messaging Jamie recommending her. We composed the “We Who Lament” vocal part for a very specific mode of expression, and we turned over innumerable stones before being gifted a link to her live show and having a visceral emotional reaction that she was the vocalist we’d been holding out for on this song if we could somehow connect with her.”
“We adore the performance and heart Keturah put into this song and cannot wait for you to hear her breathe fire over this track. ‘Here We Lie—Our Souls in Cinders.'”
Where their debut was an introspective record, “We Who Lament” continues in the vein of “All We Knew And Ever Loved” in looking beyond their individual selves in confronting a tragic state of humanity and the planet which we inhabit. “Growing up in a world where cold practicality and stubborn resistance to change rule the day. At every turn, it can feel that people like us, with emotional and idealistic wiring, are treated with disdain and pushed to accept things the way they are. Comply, be complacent—”be realistic,” they say. “We’re taught to live our lives with certain core values and that doing the right thing will be rewarded, only to see the most exploitative and coercive figures become the titans of modern society.”
“These attitudes and this status quo have gotten us to this point and kicked the can far enough. In the face of this inertia and the dire problems before us, we need to resist hardening ourselves and use our hearts and minds to expand our connections and bring about the change we yearn for, no matter how much time it takes or how much resistance we face. In a sense, it’s a call to arms—albeit in the most peaceful but urgent of senses.”
Following the release of the stunning video for “All We Knew And Ever Loved” last summer, this is the second song from their forthcoming album. “We Who Lament” was mastered by Ted Jensen (Mastodon, Gojira, Bring Me The Horizon) and mixed by Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Animals As Leaders). This was the first song the band started writing for the new record, having been partially written alongside the A Dream In Static songs and then finished with the new album material and serves as a natural bridge between the band’s two eras.
Earthside is Jamie Van Dyck Ben Shanbrom Frank Sacramone Ryan Griffin
Canada’s The Metal Voice interviewed fellow Canadian band Sword at ‘The House of Rock’.
In the interview the band talks about the making of their new album SWORD III, recalls stories about touring with Motorhead in the 80’s and how Metallica’s Lars Ulrich became a fan of the band and brought them on tour.
Singer Rick Hughes explains the Metallica story, “Kerrang magazine editor was doing an interview with Lars Ulrich (around 1986) and he (editor) had his Walkman at the time (with the cassette). Just before he (editor) left the interview, Lars asked him what are you listening to, I’m curious to know what’s in your Walkman? Oh it’s a band from Montreal (Sword) and he gave him (Lars) the tape.” Off camera Rick Hughes explained the story a bit more. ” Lars took the tape and not too long after we got a call from Metallica’s management to open for the band in Canada on the Master of Puppets tour in 1986. Lars told me this Kerrang story backstage, in his dressing room on the first night of the Sword / Metallica tour.”
Canada’s Sword consists of the classic line-up of lead vocalist Rick Hughes, drummer Dan Hughes, guitarist Mike Plant and bassist Mike Larock. They will be releasing their third studio album III via Massacre Records on November 25, 2022.
After years of silence, the guys from SWORD never thought that a box of demos and company rejects from the late 80’s would light a fire under their asses, hot enough to want to revisit this (new old stock) in order to actualize it with the vengeance it deserved.
Originally formed in 1980, the band has since released two well-received studio albums, and got the chance to open for bands such as Metallica, Alice Cooper, Motörhead in the past, among others.
After “Live My Dream”, Norwegian heavy rockers STARGAZER return with the second digital single from their upcoming album. “Live Today” is a heartfelt ballad where Tore André Helgemo shows all his vocal range and potential until the amazing guitar solo takes over. On their take on classic hard rock and heavy metal crossover, the Norwegians also confirm that the heavy bands surely know how to make the best ballads.
STARGAZER have teamed up with Metal Shock Finland to premiere “Live Today” for Finnish territory, enjoy it here:
After their previous release “The Sky is the Limit”, connoisseurs of the hard rocking world have started noticing Stargazer as one to watch. They received a lot of great reviews all over the western world and were then in late 2019 ready to take on the world for serious touring. Serious touring saw an abrupt end due to Covid for almost every band in 2020-21, Stargazer being one of them.
So now, with the new album, plus the unfinished touring of the previous album, Stargazer is stronger than ever and ready to take on the world; coming alive, literally! Following up the success of their sound of “The Sky is The Limit”, the band is ready to take 2023 by the horns and make it their year.
The five-piece powerhouse hammers on with Scandinavian vibes that consist of virtuosity and a vintage sound with a modern twist. Firing on all cylinders in combination with the sense of good melodies, great riffs, soloes and songwriting handcraft. With one of rock’s best voices and one of the best blues-based hard rock guitar players around today. All this on top of a rock steady hard groove with killer rock songs, or down to the most tender and heartfelt tunes with emotions worn on their sleeves.
The new Stargazer album will be released in the first quarter of 2023 via Mighty Music.
Lineup: Tore André Helgemo – vocals, rhythm guitar William Ernstsen – lead & rhythm guitars Sondre Bjerkset – keybards Jomar Johansen – bass Svend Skogheim – drums
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