Maryland’s YATRA yesterday premiered their new single, Death Cantation, and its accompanying visualizer via Decibel. Death Cantation is the second single to be taken from the band’s upcoming fourth full-length, Born into Chaos, set for release on June 10. The new track further showcases the trio’s bold evolution away from their doom and sludge origins into brutish death metal.
Speaking on the premiere, Dana Helmuth (guitar / vocals) comments: “Death Cantation is a battle thrash seek and destroy mission into a burning Gygaxian mindscape of blood and fire. This was the last song written before we recorded Born into Chaos and it’s become one of our favorites in the live set.”
Written during the pandemic, Born into Chaos combines the uncertainty of the times and the desire to push forward at all costs. The group often jammed, while Helmuth constantly wrote, always looking to up his game. Riffs were hammered out via voice recorder and exchanged with drummer Lafferty and bassist Geisbert to keep the collaboration between members alive and productive. All eight songs were birthed frenzied and combative. Clearly, YATRA weren’t ready to capitulate or sacrifice re-discovered instinct.
Born into Chaos was recorded by YATRA, engineered by Noel Mueller (Foehammer, Myopic) at Tiny Castle Recording in Towson, Maryland. Mueller also handled the mix. The band then onboarded Brad Boatright (Sleep, Monolord) at Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon, to master. The team’s primary goal was to give YATRA heft, grit, and power on new songs like Born into Chaos, Terrorizer and Tormentation. Truly, from the first to the last spin, there’s no escape from YATRA’s feral charge on Born into Chaos.
Like their 2020 full length, All is Lost, YATRA’s Born into Chaos will come adorned in a Paolo Girardi (Power Trip, Black Breath) while also revealing a revamped logo by renowned artist Mark Riddick (Nunslaughter, Revel in Flesh). Draped in straightforward yet probing lyrics and supported by a killer horror-inspired video for Terminate by the Sword, Born into Chaos exposes the bone of YATRA’s complete transformation. The group’s new album will see them chart new courses for North America and Europe in 2022 and 2023.
Massacre Records is happy to welcome KILL RITUAL to their roster!
Formed in 2010, the band has established themselves five critically acclaimed and well received studio albums, tours with Iced Earth, Sanctuary, Raven and Hirax as well as a recent EP.
If you are a fan of powerful and classic guitar-oriented metal with a tight rhythm section and wide-ranged vocals with Bay Area Thrash roots, you are going to want to check out the band comprised of vocalist Brian “Chalice” Betterton, guitarist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Steven D. Rice, bassist David Alusik and drummer Seamus Gleason!
The band recently finished recording their upcoming sixth studio album “Kill Star Black Mark Dead Hand Pierced Heart”, mixed by King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque at SonicTrain Studios. The album is scheduled to be released in late 2022 via Massacre Records.
Finnish RIOGHAN is set to release her debut album ‘Different Kinds Of Losses’ later in 2022 via Inverse Records. The album has been made in collaboration with Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Einar Solberg (Leprous), Teemu Liekkala (ex-Manufacturer’s Pride, Red Eleven) and Teemu Koskela (ex-Celesty).
The second single Promises from the upcoming album is released today and a stunning music video made by Aarni Visuals can be seen here:
Rioghan comments Promises single:
“Promises brings out some new colors and tunes from Rioghan. A bit more aggressive, a bit more djenty, let’s see where it leads. The lyric of this song inspired the overall mood and structure a lot, as it tells a story of violence from those who are closest to you. The song holds some sharp turns and reflects the more progressive metal side of the upcoming album.”
-Composed by Jenni Perämäki & Teemu Liekkala. Lyrics by Jenni Perämäki -Mastered by Svante Forsbäck / Chartmakers Oy. -Vocal recordings: Ville Hautaluoma -Produced, recorded & mixed by Teemu Liekkala
Rioghan is a music project performed by me, singer Rioghan Darcy. Rioghan was founded in 2019 and is based on Lapua, Finland. Rooted deeply in both gothic and progressive metal scenes, I sure should bring something interesting on the table. I started off in 2010 as a poetry and lyric writer, but in 2019 I finally wanted to add some more to the mix and decided to fleshen up some of my words with music.
Songwriting wasn’t my strong suit, so I teamed up with a few skilled writers and together we came up with a 4 song EP “Blackened Sky”, which was released in March 2021. EP got some positive attention in alternative scenes, a few interviews and radioplays internationally. As things started rolling I decided I want to make a full length album and wanted to gather a new songwriting crew for that. Between the album demo making, we made a few cover songs with Teemu Liekkala and 2 songs from the EP “Covers II” got to Spotify editorial playlists, and have gained about 160k streams at this point.
In a unique collaboration with the world famous Munch museum in Oslo, SATYRICON have created a musical composition in album format specifically to be experienced in a new exhibition called Satyricon & Munchalongside selected paintings and graphics by Edvard Munch. Not only does this continue to present Munch’s extraordinary work in a new light, but the result is also a monumental yet intimate experience.
The intersection of Munch’s expressionist images and SATYRICON’s music creates a space for contemplation that goes way beyond the traditional form of black metal. Like Munch, SATYRICON’s approach is open, inquisitive and constantly evolving. The music is stamped with an unmistakable signature, but the piece’s style, duration and expressiveness display a new angle on their previous work.
‘“I don’t paint what I see, but what I saw”, was how Munch explained his own artistic approach,’says Satyr. “While working on this music, I have approached this series of Munch’s works in the same way. “The feeling they have left behind in me“, as he put it, is what I have been trying to evoke, and that’s what the Satyricon & Munch exhibition is all about for me.’
The Munch artworks selected for this exhibition draw on existential themes, and are carefully curated in order to create rhythms and waves that work in tandem with the music.
‘In this show the public can look forward to an incredible meeting between music and art,’ says MUNCH director Stein Olav Henrichsen. ‘MUNCH will continue to offer challenges and surprises with these types of untraditional and exciting culture-clashes.’
Watch Satyr’s conversation with MUNCH curator Trine Otte Bak Nielsen about the exhibition HERE:
MUNCH museum in Oslo is one of the most famous museums in the world, dedicated to the works of famous Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The museum holds paintings such as The Scream, Madonna and Anxiety. It re-opened in October 2021 with an impressive building in the heart of Oslo, that gained even more attention worldwide. The collaboration between one of the world’s most well-known black metal bands and the museum is unique on a worldwide scale.
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX are proud to unveil the new album details of their upcoming release ‘Banefyre’! The new full-length is set for worldwide release on September 09, 2022 via Season of Mist and new music will be released soon!
In further news, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX have simultaneously announced new European tour dates in support of the new album, together with label mates IMPURE WILHELMINA and MØL. A full list of confirmed shows can be found below.
The band comments: “So yeah, this announcement is a pretty special one. The album and the tour! They’re finally happening!
Banefyre, The Musical! CBP is still alive. Still predictably unpredictable, doing our own thing. Accept no imitation. If you find it necessary to indulge yourself with a full dose of “the Musical!”, you’ll find a fantastic dance of triumph and defeat amongst a starlit atmosphere of deviant Magik. A congregation of outland dwelling characters in tales of caution and of hope, a reflection of human nature, ‘This, a journey through OUR world which only we understand but strikes a chord of lightning blue recognition amongst the crowd.
As satisfying as the longest and most perfect shit. To coin a phrase..
The Scene. The Prophet. The Clown. The End. “
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX – BANEFYRE EUROPE MMXXII Special Guests: MØL, IMPURE WILHELMINA
25.08.22 Germany Hannover @ Faust 26.08.22 Germany Hamburg @ Bahnhof Pauli 27.08.22 Denmark Copenhagen @ Hotel Cecil 28.08.22 Germany Berlin @ SO36 29.08.22 Germany Leipzig @ Täubchenthal 30.08.22 Germany Munich @ Backstage 31.08.22 Hungary Budapest @ A38 01.09.22 Austria Vienna @ Chelsea 02.09.22 Italy Bologna @ Link 03.09.22 Switzerland Winterthur @ Gaswerk 04.09.22 France Paris @ Backstage 05.09.22 Germany Cologne @ Essigfabrik 06.09.22 Netherlands Zoetermeer @ Boerderij 07.09.22 UK London @ The Dome 08.09.22 UK Bristol @ The Fleece 09.09.22 UK Manchester @ Rebellion 10.09.22 UK Glasgow @ Classic Grand
The cover artwork of ‘Banefyre’ and further album details can be viewed below!
Track-list 1. Intro/Incantation For The Different (2:49) 2. Wyches And Basterdz (4:57) 3. Ghostland (5:43) 4. The Reckoning (6:49) 5. Bonefire (4:36) 6. Rose Of Jericho (13:47) 7. Blackout77 (7:37) 8. Down The Rabbit Hole (10:32) 9. Everything Is Beautiful But Us (4:36) 10. The Pilgrim (6:19) 11. I’m OK, Just Not Alright (10:05) 12. The Scene Is A False Prophet (15:13) 13. No Regrets (4:30)
The thread that binds CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s bold and towering discography — a dozen studio albums, a half-dozen mini-albums, a handful of compilations and swaths of bootlegs — could not be more apropos circa 2022. Since its 2004 creation by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Justin Greaves, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX has served as the voice for the voiceless, whether it be animals, the unequal and the different. Greaves and longstanding vocalist and lyricist Belinda Kordic have often proffered that these beings cannot fend for themselves. Henceforth, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s mission has been to shed light on the human condition and the inequalities that befall humankind and its creatures. Their battle marches on with their latest studio album, Banefyre.
Banefyre follows 2020’s Ellengæst — an effort that found CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX employ a series of notable guest vocalists alongside Kordic, prompting Metal Hammer to describe it as their “most cohesive and emotionally devastating record.” Kordic is now paired with Swedish vocalist Joel Segerstedt, who made his CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX debut last year via the “Painful Reminder/Dead is Dead” single. Piano, synth and trumpet player Helen Stanley and additional guitarist Andy Taylor complete the lineup. Greaves says Stanley and Taylor “fit so well creatively,” which has made CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX feel like a band when making plans and decisions.
Also central to this is Segerstedt. According to Kordic, the vocalist and lyricist lives a mere five minutes from her in Sweden and has quickly integrated himself into the band. “What I like about Joel is that he’s a good person,” she says. “There’s no fakeness with him; he has cajones. He’s not a bitch-talker, either. I can’t handle people who don’t have a backbone, but Joel is real and can speak his mind.”
“I like how Joel has come in and spoke for himself,” adds Greaves. “He’s in the band for the right reasons. I see him the same way as Belinda — she took an interest in the whole artistic thing behind CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX, like the vocals, lyrics, artwork and aesthetic. It’s the same with Joel. He has taken an interest in all of those things. In the past, we had people who didn’t contribute artistically and only cared about what they got out of the band. But Joel is really proactive and takes the initiative.”
Greaves assembled 13 songs (including “No Regrets,” a bonus track for his new project with Kordic, Johnny the Boy) imbued with the depth and introspection that will reinforce CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s standing as a band that defies genre. The album was tracked at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Lincolnshire, with vocals cut at Monolith Studio and Kapsylen Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. Kurt Ballou handled mixing in GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts — a pivotal move in determining the album’s overall sound.
“I love the album so much because it was a different approach with the production,” says Greaves. “For my part, it was a little bit of a reaction. I didn’t want to do the same warm, safe CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX album. I’m aware that when we did [2012’s] I, Vigilante, everyone wanted I, Vigilante again. As it so often happens with this band, people complain about the next one, then grow into it. Ellengæst is like I, Vigilante. It’s a shorter album. It hit the mark and was done really well, but everyone will expect another Ellengæst. I feared that, but I care enough not to make another Ellengæst. It’s the right thing to do. That’s why we got Kurt to mix it — we wanted that analog, raw power. Even though the album has mellow moments, those are edgy as well. We just didn’t want to do the same album twice. We’re never going to be a band that people can rely on.”
Greaves’ summation of his band notwithstanding, his distinctive guitar playing and enduring knack for immersive songwriting is the propellent behind the haunting, chant-laden “Ghostland,” pensive “The Reckoning” and forlorn “Everything is Beautiful but Us,” the band’s spot-on analysis of the retreat of humankind indoors during the pandemic that revealed nature’s priceless beauty. The album is also stocked with no less than four ten-minute-plus cuts (“Rose of Jericho,” “Down the Rabbit Hole,” “I’m Okay, Just Not Alright” and “The Scene is a False Prophet”) that are intermixed with drama and melancholy.
It all ties into Banefyre’s central theme of the persecution of people who are deemed “different” by society. The album title is a play on the song “Bonefire” that Kordic named and wrote lyrics for. In classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, Greaves turned it into the Olde English translation to represent the bonfires that engulfed witches and politicians through the 15th and 18th centuries, hence, the name Banefyre.
The album begins with “Incantation for the Different,” which was written and orated by Chicago-based witch, artist, author and occultist Shane Bugbee, who, according to Greaves, “brought us some positive, dark energy.” Banefyre then delves into the Salem Witch Trials (“Wyches and Basterdz”), fox hunting in Great Britain (“The Reckoning”), politicians of an unscrupulous and dishonest kind (“Bonefire”) and the New York City Blackout of 1977 (“Blackout77”).
Greaves says Banefyre’s topics may have a decidedly negative and pessimistic tone, but a glimmer of hope and joy remains. “There’s always the random bits, but overall, Banefyre is about the people who have suffered because they are different. The album covers inequality and oppression, like ‘Incantation for the Different,’ which is about overcoming when you’re put down because you’re not like everyone else.”
In true CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, the Lucy Marshall-created Banefyre cover leaves plenty to the imagination, depicting four animals seated at a table — interacting and dressed like human beings. “It’s sort of like Planet of the Apes showing what animals could do to humans,” says Greaves. “The cover was specially commissioned and is unique to the album. It’s incorporating all the classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX elements with the love for animals and twisting the narrative around.”
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s reputation was built on the back of their studio albums and live shows. The pandemic prevented the band from supporting Ellengæst, but it did provide them additional time to bring in new members to their live configuration.
“We’ve done one show since 2019,” says Greaves. “We are going to do something in Europe this year. Hopefully, we can get back on track. We’re also going to do something in the States — that’s not just talk, we’re actually going to do it. It’s well overdue. The live band is fucking amazing. We have the five of us and now we have Jordi [Farré] on drums, Paco [Fleischfresser] on synth and a really good friend of mine, Matt Crawford on bass.
“We did the Leipzig show and even though the rehearsals were better than the show itself, that lineup, our live band, is so good. Because we haven’t been under pressure to put a live band together since 2019 and spent so long talking to people, we’ve got a better band from those results. Out of disaster, we’ve got quite a good, positive thing.”
Sweden’s IRON LAMB blends classic hard rock, furious heavy metal and contagious punk rock on their new single “Total Noise”. The first release from the group since their third studio album “Blue Haze” from 2018. “Total Noise” is an exhibition of raging groove, rooted in early 70´s kraut rock but with a tougher and more contemporary sound. The single is released on The Sign Records, and is a preview of Iron Lamb’s upcoming fourth full length album.
Listen to “Total Noise” through your favorite streaming platform or right here:
Johan from Iron Lamb comments:
“Total Noise is musically rooted in the monotonous and groovy sounds of 70´s rock but with a darker touch. Imagine Hawkwind trying to cure a bad acid trip with some speed. The lyrical theme is a slightly sarcastic exhibition in nihilism, and sums up the concept of Iron Lamb quite well. The world is going to hell and it’s too late for redemption, so what can you do? Dance to the Destruction!”
Upcoming Iron Lamb shows: 23/7 Gbg Action Fest Gothenburg, SWE 17/9 Macken Fest Stockholm, SWE
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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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