Entering the last round before the release of their new studio album, Kingdemonium, this Friday, HAMMER KING returns with title track “Kingdemonium” – offering pure power from the first note with heavy riffs made of steel and dynamic vocals. The single comes with a cinematic official music video, showcasing the band in best shape!
HAMMER KING on “Kingdemonium”: “Hammerous Folks!
Here it finally is, the title track of our new album, Kingdemonium! And it is a truly big video! Once again, the great Mirko Witzki has made us go beyond the limits, creating a dark and intense short movie about the forces of light and darkness competing, starring the amazing Jakob Grobel in his claim for power.
“Kingdemonium is out Friday the 19th and HAMMER KING will play Summer Breeze on Saturday the 20th – Satan is coming home, it’s Kingdemonium!
God bless the King, may the King bless you.”
Only 14 months after the release of their self-titled album, which put them on the radar of each heavy metal fan with their first Top 50 chart entry, the Germans deliver another strong release while showcasing a different side of their self-curated fantasy world full of perfectly intonated tales and stories – a holy feast for fans of genre giants like Powerwolf, Manowar or HammerFall!
Kingdemonium highlights the core essence of HAMMER KING and fully reflects on the strengths of the band, kicking off with first track “Invisible King”. The title track, “Kingdemonium” then proves its pure power from the first note and goes all the way with thundering drums, riffs made of steel, and energetic vocals. Followed by “The Four Horsemen”, starting off slower, the track quickly picks up the pace mid-journey through the world of the Hammer King. “Guardians of the Realm (featuring Ross The Boss)”, stands out from the rest with the vigorous vocals riddled with acoustic guitar elements, while “Live Long, Die Nasty” is a future live hit that will have all crowds screaming along immediately. An album made of pure steel in the name of the Hammer King!
Kingdemonium Tracklisting: 1. Invisible King 2. Pariah Is my Name 3. We Shall Rise 4. Live Long, Die Nasty 5. The 7th of the 7 Kings 6. Kingdemonium 7. Other Kingdoms Fall 8. The Four Horsemen 9. Guardians of the Realm 10. Age of Urizen
Bonus Tracks: Mark of the Beast Ashes of My Oath Holy Is The Hammer Hammerschlag (Gerre version)
[Artwork by Péter Sallai]
HAMMER KING live: 20.08.22 DE – Dinkelsbühl / Summer Breeze 03.09.22 DE – Mannheim / 7er Club – Hammer King Open Air 17.09.22 DE – Rehau / Metal Masters Open Air
Emerging blackened death metal quartet BLACK LAVA will release its debut full-length, ‘Soul Furnace,’ on November 25, 2022 via Season of Mist! The album artwork, tracklisting, and additional info can be found below! The band is now unleashing its very first single along with and official music video! The title track and accompanying video can be found at THIS LOCATION.
BLACK LAVA comments: “‘Soul Furnace’ is the result of months of frustration and set backs. Four friends with a common goal have come together to unleash an inferno into the world. We are very proud to present ‘Soul Furnace’ to the masses, with a world class crew and production team – to deliver an organic and energetic record.”
Pre-orders for ‘Soul Furnace’ are now live HERE and can be saved on all digital streaming services HERE.
The cover artwork for ‘Soul Furnace’ was painted by Paolo Girardi.
Tracklisting: 01. Origins (02:50) 02. Aurora (03:35) 03. Black Blizzard (03:32) 04. Baptised in Ice (03:27) 05. Eye of the Moon (04:10) 06. Northern Dawn (04:30) 07. Necrocatacomb (03:23) 08. Nightshade (04:06) 09. Soul Furnace (04:31) [WATCH] Entire album duration: 34:02
During the turbulent and uncertain years of 2020-2021, perhaps none were plunged deeper into darkness than those from down under as Australia imposed some of the strictest, harshest, and most devastating lockdown measures in the world, forcing their civilians into years of isolation. However, through solitude and desolation, some of the greatest art is created, as is the case with BLACK LAVA, the emerging blackened death metal quartet from Melbourne (AU). Founded by drummer Dan Presland (Vipassi, AMDBL, ex-Ne Obliviscaris) and guitarist Ben Boyle (Vipassi, AMDBL, Hadal Maw), BLACK LAVA draws influence from old school death and black metal bands while injecting groove-laden melodies and progressive elements to create their own experimental sound.
“The idea came about from just pure frustration of the situation at hand during 2020/2021,” explains Presland of the band’s formation. “Ben and I live locally together, and in the beginning of the pandemic, I built a working studio, so we got together to just initially jam to release some frustrations and vent some music around the second half of 2021. We had a pretty casual jam together and Ben came back with a few fleshed out ideas a few days later.” As the ideas started to come to fruition, the duo quickly realized that the project had more potential than just a jam session. “Both of us were really into the direction Ben pushed,” continues Presland, “and it was something pretty new to both of us – we have worked together quite extensively over the years within music, playing in several bands together (Vipassi, AMDBL, Aphotic Dawn and more) – so to go in a totally new direction was pretty refreshing.”
As the pair fleshed out more ideas, they turned to their good friend Rob Watkins of Blackhelm to fulfill vocal duties. “Within 10 minutes we had found a vocalist and the search for a bassist was on. Tim Anderson (Blackhelm) was found pretty quickly and was keen to jump on board the idea also, so within a very short time frame we had a full lineup, a record ready to go, and 4 guys full of enthusiasm to push something new.”
Sharing a diverse love for black metal, death metal, and progressive music, the quartet quickly found their sound and hit a stride. And thus, Soul Furnace was born – a searing 34-minute aural assault that conjures up nostalgia while still sounding fresh and current. While the record promises to usher in a new musical era of the 2020s with its forward-thinking and contemporary energy, the lyrics dwell somewhere between fantasy and the old world.
“In the world of Black Lava, the lyrics are set in a time and world long gone and forgotten, mostly made up of fantasy and a medieval theme, fitting for the realms of our style of music,” explains vocalist Rob Watkins of the album’s themes and inspirations. “We draw inspiration from the natural environment and mother nature, ancient witchcraft and the glory of warriors in battle. I picture Black Lava as visiting an ancient beast in a cave giving you a chance to escape the outside world through its tales and mythology.”
With a new deal with Season of Mist and a team of some of the music industry’s most revered artists, producers, engineers, and professionals behind them to help render their vision, Black Lava is ready to make its debut and unleash its fury upon the masses.
Lineup: Dan Presland (drums) Ben Boyle (guitar) Rob Watkins (Vocals) Tim Anderson (bass)
In recent times, everyone has wandered dark paths – death, doom and misery have no longer been exclusive to occult spheres and mythical surroundings, they have become a part of everyone’s reality. The more present strong and negatively connotated emotions are, the more important it is to canalize them – and let something powerful rise out of the ruins and shattered pieces of one’s mind.
The multinational band WOLF COUNSEL, based in the gloomy and ever tales-enriching heights of Ireland, are about to channel their anger and troubled senses on their 5th full-length album Initivm, garnished with heavy riffs and diversely vigorous vocals. They have definitely devoted their hearts and souls to give their fans yet again a true masterpiece of haunting harmonies and complex arrangements.
Wolf Counsel came into existence in 2014, when two veteran musicians merged their enthusiasm for monumental low-tuned music and great appreciation of ponderous bass lines into a new band. Primarily rooted in the style of late 70s and 80s prototype doom metal, their sound quickly developed a very unique and heavy signature, drawing in influences from everything that’s heavy and slow. The band members themselves name a few bands as their musical inspiration such as Solitude, Aeturnus and Cathedral.
In 2020, one of the two founding members moved to Ireland, which led to a nouveau and close creative collaboration with the new frontman Con Doyle. Wolf Counsel now lives on with the addition of new influences, a new voice and new inspiration to deliver more pure doom metal with an even heavier and more epic approach than ever before.
As the band thrives to go deep while still lyrically playing with the topic of death and mythical stories of days long gone, this approach heavily reflects on the album’s first single Farewell. When it comes to explaining the story behind the song more closely, bassist and backing vocalist Ralf W. Garcia, who is also the main songwriter, comments: “The song is about dying and how in certain ways we live through other people’s memories. It’s important to come to terms that none of this is permanent and everyone is going to die and it’s okay for people to move on.”
As the album was written during the lockdown, the fans are probably eager to see what was created behind closed doors. Live shows are definitely what everyone is waiting for – and Wolf Counsel promise to give a stripped down, true old school metal show. They don’t want any nonsense nor artificial images and no compromises. The band has played gigs all across Europe with bands like Procession (SE/CI), Epitaph (IT), The Order of Israfel (SE), Castle SF (US), Year of the Goat (SE), Obelyskkh (DE), Orange Goblin (UK), Dead Witches (UK), Iron Void (UK) and Ahab (DE) and will hopefully add new dates to their route very soon – because those songs just need to be heard live. They have the power to provide a mass catharsis for everyone attending.
Initivm by Wolf Counsel will be released on September 30th, 2022; available on their website.
Following hot on the heels of his single Come On, TROY REDFERN is set to release the epic slide guitar blues rock anthem Gasoline, the second single from his upcoming highly anticipated album The Wings of Salvation.
The official music video for Gasoline premieres on YouTube on Wednesday August 17th. Watch the video HERE.
The Gasoline single, released Friday August 19th, is available to stream and buy HERE.
Featuring ten infectious slide guitar savvy tracks, The Wings of Salvation album is released Friday September 23rd. The album is available to pre-order from www.troyredfern.com/shop.
“With Gasoline I wanted to write a positive, uplifting, good-time rock ’n’ roll tune,” says Troy.
“Right now, we’re bombarded with a lot of negative news in the media. Lyrically, I wanted to put something out there that was the opposite to that. The groove of this tune is in 7/8, which isn’t a typical rock ’n’ roll rhythm, but I really love the flow and feel of riffing in this time signature, especially playing slide using the National resonator in a low tuning. The combination sounds huge.”
Produced by Dave Marks (Hans Zimmer) at the UK’s Dulcitone Studios, The Wings of Salvation is an exciting new chapter in Redfern’s trajectory, not only as a slide guitarist, but as a creative force in the recording studio.
“My goal was to make a record that was a true representation of where I am right now as an artist,” says Redfern. “I wanted to create something in the spirit of the old school classic rock albums that I grew up listening to.”
After releasing an unprecedented six albums in just under two years, Troy’s new album The Wings of Salvation, is his most compelling work to date. The album highlights Redfern’s powerfully edgy vocal delivery, condensed song writing skills, tight arrangements, complimented by his trademark “firebrand” slide guitar playing.
“I felt like the time was right to head back into the studio as the creative juices were flowing,” says Redfern. “On the new album, I wanted to approach the recording process by starting with a completely clean slate.”
I wrote the new album from scratch in just under five weeks, in the same way that the bands that I grew up listening to use to do. It makes everything fresh and immediate. It’s an accurate snapshot of where you are as an artist at that moment.”
Says Troy, “Dave Marks, my producer, and I also decided early on we wanted an old school aesthetic for this album, in that we wanted no studio fixes, no autotune, no drum editing or samples. It had to be real, with only complete takes, no chopping up parts in post-production to make them sound perfect. We wanted an album that authentically captured my sound. I feel satisfied in knowing that we achieved what we set out to accomplish, and I couldn’t be prouder of this album.”
“My 1935 Dobroresonator features heavily on the new album along with my MagnatoneTwilighter amplifier,” reflects Redfern. “I found this to be a killer combination. It’s such a huge tone without the need for layers and layers of guitar tracks.”
For drum duties Dave enlisted the skills of Paul Stewart, the drummer from chart toppers The Feeling. Troy says, “Dave felt that Paul was the perfect fit to play drums on this album. He connected with my new material and took it to another level.”
“It was important for me to get the right drum sound for this album as that’s the foundation everything else is built on,” recalls Redfern. “I wanted a more three-dimensional, ‘open’ sound for this record.”
We used Lee Russell’sDulcitone Studios in Kettering to track the drums, which is a beautifully converted church, and it has the most amazing natural reverb sound. The results are astounding. On the new album we’ve managed to take the production to the next level.”
“Mastering is an important part of making a great sounding record” explains Troy. “Abbey Road Studios was the only option. It has the gold-standard reputation for the best mastering facilities in the world. I decided that Sean Magee would be the perfect choice to master the new album. His credentials include the Beatles, Deep Purple, John Lennon, the Ramones, Tina Turner, Sex Pistols, Rush, and Iron Maiden. He turned out to be an excellent choice. He gave the album that gorgeous shine Abbey Road is renowned for.”
Album cover charcoal portrait by Troy Redfern
Album Track Listing 1. Gasoline (3:53) 2. Sweet Carolina (3:54) 3. Come On (3:50) 4. Navajo (3:24) 5. Mercy (4:06) 6. Can’t Let Go (4:21) 7. Dark Religion (3:20) 8. Profane (3:00) 9. Down (3:30) 10. Heart & Soul (3:47)
Production Credits
Troy Redfern: Lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals Dave Marks: Bass guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion, banjo, additional guitars, backing vocals Paul Stewart: Drums Produced by Dave Marks at Two Wolves Studios Engineered by Dave Marks and Troy Redfern Drums recorded by Lee Russell at Dulcitone Studios Mixed by Jo Webb at XXX Studios Mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios
Track By Track
Gasoline The album opens with a slice of pure 21st century southern rock. Delivered with Troy’s feral slide guitar playing, heavy low tuned resonator guitars, and a monster 7/8 groove. Positive vibes abound lyrically with themes of “good times up ahead,” and “nothing’s gonna stand in your way.” Gasoline is hi-octane, good-time rock n roll.
Sweet Carolina Sweet Carolina is celebration of fiercely independent women everywhere and has a ‘Stones’ meets ‘Bolan’ feel that permeates this upbeat sunshine rocker. Despite the hat tip to the past this is a truly ‘Redfern’ tune with Troy’s trademark nicotine drenched vocals and slide guitar.
Come On This bombastic, high-energy blues boogie comes out of the gate like a tasered rodeo horse. A traditional blues beat, but on steroids with a dash of glam rock, Come On epitomises what Troy does best – fuzzed up slide guitar, big choruses, and raw slide guitar solos. Navajo Resonator guitars conjure up hazy images of the dust blown plains of the Wild West. Lyrically, it’s inspired by the 1864 Long Walk of the Navajo nation; used as an allegory of the loss of modern-day freedoms in all their forms.
Mercy Opening with a vintage vibe slide motif, Mercy bursts into a wall of uplifting guitars and Paul Stewart’s half time epic power groove. Dealing with themes of doomed love and moving on from bad situations, Mercy’s chorus opens-up like a break in the clouds leaving nothing but blue skies ahead.
Can’t Let Go Lyrically, Can’t Let Go explores the feelings of watching world events play out in the media. It’s about the desire to dislocate from the negativity that we’re all force fed daily, and the need to reconnect with what really matters in life.
Dark Religion This song is the prequel to The Line and Ghosts. Played on a vintage 1935 Dobro resonator in a 3/4 sea shanty vibe, it follows the story of a girl setting sail to a new land with her hopes and dreams, but she inevitably comes to the realisation that all that glitters isn’t gold.
Profane Like Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City meets the punk energy of The Damned, this high-octane psychobilly car chase soundtrack roars through the noir cityscape at breakneck speed. Revenge, retribution and finally redemption. Redfern lets it rip by with tasty guitar licks courtesy of his vintage 1962 Silvertone Jupiter guitar.
Down Underpinned with a tribal voodoo beat and brooding rhythm guitars, Down’s verse simmers with tension before exploding headlong into its supercharged chorus. The harmonised vocals of middle eight almost feel ethereal, before it jumps into a slash and burn guitar solo.
Heart & Soul Heart & Soul strips things right back to the essentials with guitar, voice, and kick drum. Having the vibe and intensity of one of Troy’s solo performances, the raw energy is evident, especially in the extended guitar solo where the guitar sounds like it’s crying out in anguish.
DARE OCTOBER 2022 UK TOUR SPECIAL GUEST: TROY REDFERN TICKETS AVAILBLE FROM WWW.THEGIGCARTEL.COM
Leeds, Brudenell Social Club Thursday 6 October 2022
Newcastle, The Cluny Friday 7 October 2022
Glasgow, The Garage Saturday 8 October 2022
Bury St Edmunds, The Apex Thursday 13 October 2022
Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Friday 14 October 2022
Bilston, The Robin Saturday 15 October 2022
Shoreham Ropetackle, Brighton Friday 21 October 2022
Southampton, 1865 Saturday 22 October 2022
Bristol, Fleece Sunday 23 October 2022
London, O2 Academy Islington Thursday 27 October 2022
Manchester, Academy Friday 28 October 2022
Newbury, Arlington Arts Centre Saturday 29 October 2022
Lethbridge, AB, Canada’s HELL DIABLO are coming at you fast like a bat out of hell with a brand new rock n roll single “Push Comes To Shove” that serves to tempt listeners in advance of their upcoming album “Bad News Travels Fast”. This will be the second album, following 2021’s “Blood Is The New Black” and the greasy, dirty, bluesy garage rock will get you moving.
As the first single, “Push Comes To Shove” encompasses all the fury that the album provides! It is raw, yet full of the Hell Diablo sound, all contained in a succinct two minutes. The band shares their enthusiasm for the release:
“This song has a lot going on for a song less than 3 minutes in length! It is in your face, but still has a melodic nature. The lyrics are dark and tell a bit of a sadistic story. It is an in-your-face rock and roll machine! Loud, greasy, and lots of fun! We don’t really like to be restricted to a specific sound/genre, so this album shows that side. Musically it is a bit more metal than the previous release, and lyrically, it is angry/contemplative and sarcastic.”
When Hell Diablo first started out, rising from the ashes of another band, The Phantom Creeps, there was definitely a rockabilly/dirty blues element to the start of the sound and it has since evolved with a bit more stoner rock vibe working its way in. This upcoming album is a bit more aggressive than the first, but according to the band, the overall sound they have carries over. The nine-track release will provide an energetic, raw performance, with in-your-face loud rock and roll!
Through their sound, Hell Diablo is trying to capture what rock and roll used to be – an exciting, energetic feeling, but also kind of dirty and raw. They are recommended for fans of Supersuckers, Nashville Pussy, and The Nomads.
About: Hell Diablo is a greasy, dirty blues-infused Garage Rock Machine, hailing from the wind-swept prairies of Southern Alberta, Canada. Rising from the ashes of the Canadian Psychobilly group, The Phantom Creeps, singer/songwriter Tyler Brownfield found himself at the crossroads once again and searching his Rock and Roll roots for new inspiration. Having many influences in Rock & Roll, Punk, Rockabilly, Outlaw Country, and Stoner Rock, it was time to blend them together. In early 2021, Taylor Ackerman (Global Acid Rest, Shaela Miller) joined in the role of Guitarist, as well as recording the first album, ‘Blood is the New Black’. Since then, Shawn Worden (Bass) and Eric Hamilton (Drums) have rounded out the lineup.
IMMORTAL GUARDIAN have released “Southern Rain,” the latest new song and music video this year from the progressive/power metal band. The digital single can be heard at all streaming/download platforms or watch the video, below.
“For several moments in our history, we have doubted the humane side of humanity. Now, this is the moment we arise to say: ENOUGH! No matter how hard things get, no matter how south things go, we will never back down,” states singer Carlos Zema. “We will not race against the races. We will not stand as victims anymore. We will unite and persevere against all the bullets that our families dodge every day. Together as one, we stand against the next bloodstain in our history, at all costs.”
“Southern Rain” is the third new song the talented and hard-working quartet has released since the spring highlighting their efforts in creating the follow-up to the successful 2021 ‘Psychosomatic’ album behind “Ozona” and “Echoes” forming a basis for their next conceptual piece.
‘Psychosomatic’ has been lauded by Metal Temple for its “melody and power, two things displayed in a smashing way throughout this album” and led Metal Rules to call the group “one of the most interesting bands that have emerged in recent years on the international power metal scene.” Video clips for the title track,“Candlelight,” and “Phobia,” the latter of which featured a guest appearance by Angra guitarist Marcelo Barbosa, have captured the ears of heavy metal fans worldwide, while their videos for “Clocks,” “Lockdown” and “Read Between The Lines” have earned praise from the likes of MetalSucks, Metal Injection and Gear Gods. CD and digital editions of “Psychosomatic” are still available for purchase at https://www.smarturl.com/immortalguardian.
After making a splash via their 2018 full-length debut “Age of Revolution” – which featured its own fair share of creative music videos, including the “Armageddon”-meets-telenovela clip for “Stardust” – and through tours with the likes of Marty Friedman and Exmortus, IMMORTAL GUARDIAN gathered in Las Vegas at the beginning of 2020 to record their second album. As the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic began to ensue, shutdowns around the world began being enforced, resulting in the band completely scrapping the record that they had been working on and writing and creating a new thematic record about their emotions surrounding current events. The resulting “Psychosomatic” was a truly multi-national record, with guitarist/keyboardist Gabriel Guardian – known for his uncanny ability to play the two instruments simultaneously – remaining in Las Vegas, singer Carlos Zema recording his vocals from his home in Brazil, drummer Justin Piedimonte tracking from Montreal and bassist Joshua Lopez recording from IMMORTAL GUARDIAN‘s native Texas.
The newly-released music videos and singles are just a small taste of the new territory that IMMORTAL GUARDIAN plans to take their sound in 2022. More information on additional new music and touring in 2022 will be revealed in the months to come by M-Theory Audio and at https://www.facebook.com/igmetal/.
IMMORTAL GUARDIAN is: Gabriel Guardian – guitars/keyboards Carlos Zema – vocals Justin Piedimonte – drums Joshua Lopez – bass
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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
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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
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