Award-Winning Documentary, The ‘History of Metal and Horror’ Unleashes a Limited Collector’s Edition, Featuring the Feature Length Documentary on Blu-Ray, Two Bonus Blu-Ray Discs with Over 20 hours of Unseen Interview Footage, Soundtrack Disc, Collectable Booklet & More! All in a Stylish Magnetic Box. Only available at METALHORROR.COM
And for Those Who Prefer to Stream, the Documentary and all of the Complete Interviews are Available to Buy or Rent on VIMEO.
Following its acclaimed debut, ‘The History of Metal and Horror’ is now available in an exclusive Deluxe Edition, offering fans an even deeper look into the intertwined evolution of heavy metal music and horror.
Directed by Mike Schiff, this compelling documentary uncovers fresh insights into the origins of heavy metal, its deep-rooted connections to classic horror films, and its lasting cultural significance.
Featuring over sixty interviews with icons from both worlds, ‘The History of Metal and Horror’ dives into the powerful ways these two cultural forces have influenced and shaped each other over decades. Adding to its unique narrative, each chapter is introduced by segments of a post-apocalyptic short film hosted by horror legend Michael Berryman.
The film includes interviews with some of the biggest names in metal and horror, including:
Alice Cooper ● Rob Zombie ● John Carpenter ● Tom Savini Kirk Hammett ● Kane Hodder ● Dave Mustaine Doug Bradley Corey Taylor ● Bill Moseley ● Jonathan Davis ● Sid Haig ● Scott Ian ● Linnea Quigley ● Tobias Forge ● Chris Jericho & many more!
Since 2021, ‘The History of Metal and Horror’ has earned over 30 award wins and 20 nominations at respected festivals including San Francisco Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition, The Rondo Awards, Popcorn Frights, and was notably nominated for Best Documentary Feature at SITGES Film Festival.
‘The History of Metal and Horror – Deluxe Edition’ includes the original film on Blu-ray, two bonus discs featuring over 20 hours of unseen interviews, a soundtrack disc, and an 8-page collectable booklet. Additionally, Each limited edition box set is individually numbered, signed, and housed in a premium magnetic Blu-ray case, making this the perfect collector’s item for enthusiasts.
Official Synopsis: ‘The History of Metal and Horror’ is a documentary that explores the history of heavy metal music and horror, and how the two genres ultimately crossed paths. Various metal artists share their first introduction to horror, their favorite horror films, their influences, and more. Horror film icons also discuss how their films have influenced the horror genre, their connections to metal artists, and why metal and horror work well together. ‘The History of Metal and Horror – Deluxe Edition’ and standard DVDs and Blu-Rays are available now for purchase at METALHORROR.COM
Quantities are limited, so fans are encouraged to act quickly to secure this collector’s item. Don’t miss your chance to own this ultimate celebration of heavy metal and horror!
Darkyra is set to release their new album “Life Force” on Battlegod Productions June 13th.
“Life Force ” is the third release under the Darkyra brand. The album a joint venture between Drummer and Producer Garry King (Jeff Beck and Joe Lynn Turner) and Singer / Songwriter, Gina Bafile, (aka Darkyra / Darkyra Black, (she also is the new lead singer of Anfitrite). The friendship between the two dates back a full decade and this is the third album they have worked on together this time co-produced and arranged by them both and Garry has Mixed and Edited everything at ‘La Foret Studio’, in the Southwest of France. The Darkyra sound is quite diverse combining Cinematic Metal, Epic Metal, Gothic Rock, Art Rock, Opera Metal and Progressive Rock. Blending both soaring operatic vocals and rock vocals. Memorable melodies, World class production and world class musicianship.
Singer / Songwriter, Gina Bafile, “Darkyra has always been about uniting musicians from across the globe and we have continued this on Life Force. Over the years while Darkyra has been away from the music scene (last 8 years) the world has gone a little crazy, like the darkness is somehow starting to overshadow the light. Rather than creating a musical body of work that reinforces dark subject matters it was really important for us to balance the light with the dark. Metal music today seems to be all about doom and gloom. Although a good amount of the subject matter on this album is quite personal for Gina, having gone through her own health struggles and losing loved ones. We have tried to emphasize the upbeat and playful side of this album. ‘Life Force’ the title track sums up the playfulness and friendships forged from creating music and it is only fitting that this too was the title of this album. We hope everyone enjoys this new direction we have chosen and perhaps it’ll shed a little ray of light for those that have fallen on dark times.”
Peter Kotevski, President of Battlegod Productions, “With Gina we have been in contact about working together for this album for some time now. It’s a band that is different to what Battlegod Productions normally releases but also it is quality music on a high level. It is great to have more variety on the label roster with a good professional band is all that is needed. The tracks are fantastic, each track has its own signature and grows on you with every listen. Highly recommended for people who adore their female fronted Rock/Metal.”
Darkyra has many influences, some of these being Kate Bush, Devin Townsend, Tarja Turunen, though preferring not to be pigeonholed into any one category but rather letting the mood predict the outcome and the voice narrate the many characters within each song. A few things are different on this album, the vocals are set further in the mix to give it more of a rock style edge and the music is less dominated by keyboards and synth. Part of their aim was to capture the essence of 80’s rock and combine it with gothic and progressive rock but emphasize the bass and low tuned guitars to still keep a semi metal sound. Lots of vocal layering.
So What’s the album about?
Life-Force is a collection of songs based around both the light and dark aspects of human nature. It is a walk through an eclectic mind, cinematic storytelling driven by the push pull of good and evil, the inner and outer demons, slaves to a virtual world yet there are those still willing to give it all for a Celebrity Smile. “Life Force” we see it fade slowly in the sick as they slip away, we feel the vibrancy of the youth who have time and energy to play and within our memories the fallen forever loved, sometimes felt as if they remain. “Life Force” it flows within us all. It is the unity of friends across the globe, the creation of magic in the form of music. The spirit within that speaks volumes…. after all, …THE WORLD IS A STAGE!
The album hashes out some real personal things. All in Good Time – Autism in Early Childhood, Breathe – Learning to pick yourself up after Cancer, Tested the Water- Seperation, Take Me Far Away – looking for closure and somewhere to lay down roots, One Foot in the Grave – the elderly waiting for what seems to be an eternity to join their fallen loved ones, Tomorrow Without You – Watching a parent fall ill and pass away and trying to come to terms with the grief. Life Force – a reflection of the friendships formed through music stemming back a decade and Quiet the Mind – a mind that just won’t stop to rest.
Tracklisting:
Life Force
Take Me Far Away
Breathe
All In Good Time
One Foot In The Grave
Tomorrow Without You
Quiet The Mind
Leap Before Yo0u Die
Tested The Water (Bonus track)
Celebrity Smile
Performer Credits:
GINA BAFILE – Lead Vocals & Backup Vocals GARRY KING – Drums, Percussion, Loops & Backup Vocals, Extra Keyboards on (Bonus Track ‘Tested the Water’) LUCIO MANCA – Bass Guitar (excluding ‘Take Me Far’ and ‘Celebrity Smile’) GUS MANSUR – Guitars (all tracks incl. Breathe, Extra Guitar parts and solo on ‘Tested the Water’) FAB JABLONSKI – Keyboard, Piano and Synth MAAZ MANIK – Bass Guitar (Celebrity Smile, Take Me Far Away) VINNI BAFILE – Clean & Drone Guitar (Quiet the Mind) JAMES MICHAEL – Guitars on ‘Breathe’ and ‘Tested the Water’
Songwriter / Production Credits:
‘Life Force’ album, Produced and arranged by: Garry King and Gina Bafile Edited and Mixed: Garry King at La Foret Studios, South West France Composition and Lyrics: Gina Bafile (Breathe, All in Good Time, Life Force, Tomorrow Without You, Celebrity Smile, Quiet Mind, One Foot in the Grave) Composition: ‘Take Me Far’ by Maaz Manik, Lyrics: Maaz Manik and Gina Bafile Composition: ‘Leap Before You Die’ by Krissy Sanfead (overall guitar concept) and Gina Bafile, Lyrics: Gina Bafile Composition & Lyrics: Bonus Track – ‘Tested the Water’ by James Michael Cover Art: ‘Dove & Raven’ Image by Fern Gadd Artistry, Layout by Gina Bafil
Belgian post-doom quartet Hemelbestormer have today announced the release of their new album The Radiant Veil, due 25th July via the celebrated Pelagic Records. The band have revealed the first single from the album, the Leviathan-esque ‘Usil’.
The band comment: “‘Usil’, the unrelentless and colossal opening track of The Radiant Veil, offers both sheer beauty and raw power, much like the Sun, after which it is named, itself. It is an epic introduction, an intense harbinger of what is yet to come and the start of a journey you won’t easily forget.”
Uniquely, The Radiant Veil is, as drummer Frederik Cosemans explains: “a journey through our solar system as perceived by the Etruscan civilization. Each track bears the name of a planet in the old Etruscan language, starting with the Sun (Usil) and ending with Saturn (Satre).“
Hemelbestormer have been a commanding entity in the heavy music scene for over ten years, with their idiosyncratic take on the merger of post-rock, doomgaze and black metal. Made up of veterans from the Belgian hardcore and metal community, the four piece from Hasselt create intricate sonic journeys through space and time built over punishing riffs and spine-chilling climaxes. With their fourth full-length The Radiant Veil, Hemelbestormer take their songwriting and production to new heights, honouring their name as trailblazers on the intersection of dark and light, the crushingly heavy and the hauntingly beautiful.
Having appeared at many of Europe’s finest music festivals – ranging from Roadburn festival to Dunk! festival to Graspop Metal Meeting – Hemelbestormer feel right at home on stages with a wide variety of heavy, experimental and ethereal acts. The road combining ethereal post-rock with seething black metal has been travelled by many acts, but with Hemelbestormer that winding path has taken a different turn. Facing away from shoegaze or indie rock influences, the band find a more sophisticated way of incorporating unsettling melodies, blast beats and lo-fi synthesizers to emulate the dark void of space and eerie cold light of stars.
Powered by HM-2 pedals and a Lovecraft-ian use of retro synths, The Radiant Veil is driven by an old-school mentality that appears both learned and sincere. Produced by main songwriter Filip Dupont alongside Cosemans, the eerie space noises coalesce like a celestial respiration between the bouts of metallic riffing and tremolo picked riffs.
Album opener ‘Usil’ is a compositional masterpiece from start to finish, combining seismic riffing with ice-cold guitar leads, as if Russian Circles had been formed in a small Norwegian fishing village in the early 90s. Meticulously building up to a double kick-driven finale, the band carefully lay the groundwork for an hour of transformative music that follows.
The Radiant Veil includes a guest feature from Philip Jamieson of Caspian on the track ‘Turms’. As Cosemans comments: “Our guitarist Jo has been friends with Caspian for years, so a collaboration had to come about at some point. Philip did a fantastic job in the studio and really managed to add his own signature.”
Tracklisting:
Side A 1. Usil 2. Turms (feat. Philip Jamieson of CASPIAN) Side B 3. Turan 4. Tiur Side C 5. Cel 6. Laran Side D 7. Tinia 8. Sartre
Hemelbestormer are a sight to behold on stage, and with The Radiant Veil they penetrate deeper than ever into the farthest reaches of their sonic space ethos. Once more the Belgians capture the cavernous expanse between the cold lights of the universe, but also our power as humans to explore it, proving their greatness as masterclass storytellers in sight and sound.
Hemelbestormer are:
Filip Dupont – Guitars, Keys, Vocals Koen Swerts – Bass Jo Driesmans – Guitars Frederik Cosemans – Drums
Finland’s multi-Platinum cello-rockers APOCALYPTICA have issued the following:
Hey you,
we have amazing, exciting, awesome news to share: This fall we’ll be coming back to North America to go on tour with the wonderful Lindsey Stirling and mighty Halestorm!!
As you might know, we’ve collaborated with Lzzy Hale a few years ago. After years of friendship and releasing “Talk To Me” in 2020, it’s a true honor for us to hit the road with her and the entire Halestorm crew as well as Lindsey Stirling!
Tickets go on public sale this Friday, 10 AM local time. You can check out pre-sale options via Halestorm and Lindsey Stirling.
Finnish thrash metal titans BLOODRIDE are thrilled to announce their signing with Wormholedeath Records for the release of their highly anticipated fifth studio album, “Deafening”. The album is set to unleash its sonic fury on July 25, 2025.
With “Deafening”, BLOODRIDE promises to push the boundaries of thrash metal even further. The album is a testament to their unyielding dedication to the genre and features a ferocious lineup of tracks guaranteed to leave no neck unthrashed.
To get a taste of their thunderous sound, check out their official music video for “Come In Peace” Video edited by Tomi Niemelä
Tracklist for Deafening:
1 Sardonic Grin (Intro) 2 Kill without Hate 3 Come in Peace 4 Hindsight Einstein 5 Ashes Remain 6 Holy Simplicity 7 King of Pain 8 The Dark Triad 9 Simply Complicated 10 Death Sentinel 11 Erase and Replace 12 Fear Cage
Mark your calendars for July 25, 2025 – Deafening will be unleashed worldwide through Wormholedeath Records. Prepare your ears and brace your necks – BLOODRIDE is coming!
Album coverart: Niko Bauer
As previously announced, BLOODRIDE are set to ignite stages in 2025 with unmissable shows, announcing today first 2 performances! The band will join Traitor and Antipeewee for a crushing club gig in Germany, followed by a high-voltage performance at Nuclear Intervention Festival in the Czech Republic, sharing the bill with Exumer, Grindpad, Traitor, and more.
Get ready for relentless thrash mayhem—BLOODRIDE is coming for you!
Guitarist Teemu Vähäkangas shares: ”Bloodride´s first gigs around upcoming album begin to materialize…..and more to come!!! It is wonderful to see gigs come true after short break. And of course when you go to open air festival like Nuclear Intervention Fest, it is even more special. Music is best live, thrash is best live! Personally I´m old gig rat so this is what comes naturally and I guess it goes with whole bunch of Bloodride. Get ready, this is just a start!”
About BLOODRIDE: Formed in 2000, BLOODRIDE has been a relentless force in the Finnish thrash metal scene. Their journey began with the EP Bloodridden Disease (2004), paving the way for their full-length debut, ”Crowned in Hell” (2011). Their latest album, ”Idiocracy” (2021, Great Dane Records), showcased their signature blend of old-school thrash, dark death metal elements, and hardcore grit—delivering a relentless, neck-breaking assault. Over the years, BLOODRIDE has shared the stage with legends like Exhumed, Exodus, Nunslaughter, Toxic Holocaust, and Whiplash, earning a reputation for high-energy, electrifying live performances that hit like a perfect storm.
BLOODRIDE Lineup:
Jykä Leskinen: Vocals
Esa Pennala: Bass
Simo Partanen: Guitar
Teemu Vähäkangas: Guitar
Petteri Lammassaari: Drums
Discography:
”Deafening” – Album, Release 2025-07-25, Label: Wormholedeath Records
“Idiocracy” – Album, Release Date: 2021-09-17, Label: Great Dane Records
“Planet Alcatraz” – Album, Release Date: 2016-11-25, Label: Inverse Records
“Bloodmachine” – Album, Release Date: 2014-03-14, Label: Violent Journey Records
“Crowned in Hell” – Album, Release Date: 2011-04-16, Label: Violent Journey Records
“Supreme Predator” – Single, Release Date: 2010-04
Acclaimed international artist ALEX COLE is ready to ignite the rock scene with his new, dynamic EP, “Swimming In The Honey Pot” (Unleash The Beast Music), available on all major digital platforms starting today, May 1st, 2025. This five-track record not only captures the powerful and engaging sound that has made Alex Cole a prominent name in the international rock scene but also hints at the arrival of a future full-length album.
The EP’s title track, “Swimming In The Honey Pot,” which is also the name of the second, driving song, is the soul of an intense and passionate work. The EP winds through the raw energy of “Empty Space,” the contagious groove of “Lady Horsefly,” the powerful and soaring “Lift Me Up” (featuring a special guest appearance by Rocco Nugent, son of Ted Nugent), and the rebellious charge of “Wall Of Glass.”
Alex Cole is a Power Rock composer, singer, and guitarist who, leading his trio, unleashes music born from an explosive mix of Rock ‘N’ Roll and Hard Rock, with influences ranging from the genre’s roots to its most powerful and melodic evolutions, drawing inspiration from artists such as Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, Ted Nugent, and, in the sonic spectrum, the energy of bands like Whitesnake, Airbourne, and ZZ Top. His illustrious career includes performances at legendary venues such as the Whisky a Go Go, the House of Blues, the Viper Room in Los Angeles, and the Rio Casino in Las Vegas, as well as opening seven concerts for Ted Nugent, who publicly declared, “Keep your eyes and ears open for Alex Cole. He is the real McCoy!” Bill Siddons (former manager of The Doors) also praised his performance: “It’s not every day you see a young artist captivate an audience like Alex Cole did… the standing ovation was well-deserved.” Miguel Costa of Music Connection Magazine wrote, “When Alex Cole sings, it is as if he has encrypted subtle nods of respect to legendary rock & roll legends…”
Alex Cole’s song “Bad Boy Rocker” (title track of the 2019 album “Bad Boy Rocker”) was featured on the soundtrack of the film “Senior Moment,” starring William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd. His song “Double Ace To Hell” is featured on the DVD in the backstage footage of the film. The song “Chain Reaction,” also from the “Bad Boy Rocker” album, received a “Global Music Award.” Adam Mitchell, songwriter for KISS, Chicago, and Olivia Newton-John, commented, “Your song “Chain Reaction” is Fantastic! Great playing, well recorded, an interesting guitar lick.” Furthermore, the music video for “Bad Boy Rocker” won “Best Rock Video 2022” at the “California Music Video & Film Awards.”
The “Swimming In The Honey Pot” EP was recorded at the prestigious Clearlake Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California, with Ivan Rivera as Sound Engineer and Josh Breckenridge as Master Engineer. The powerful rhythm section was laid down by Michael Dwyer on bass and Caleb Hill on drums.
Here are Alex Cole’s words about his new EP: “I’m incredibly excited to share “Swimming In The Honey Pot” with all of you. In my mind, moments of lived life, crystallized in a precise instant, especially come to life, and this EP is the direct expression of that, enriched by my love for cinema and a touch of imagination that transforms the “everyday life” into something unique. It’s a blend of high-energy Power Rock and the contagious groove of Rock ‘N’ Roll, and I’m so proud of the extraordinary musicians who contributed their incredible talent: Michael Dwyer on bass and Caleb Hill on drums. A special thank you also goes to the fantastic engineers Ivan Rivera and Josh Breckenridge at Clearlake Recording Studios for capturing and mastering our sound with such mastery. I am also deeply grateful to Rocco Nugent for gracing this project.”
“Swimming In The Honey Pot” is an immersive sonic experience that anticipates the rock fury of his highly anticipated full-length album. This new EP is just a taste of what Alex Cole has in store for his fans, with a full-length album in the works planned for the future.
Tracklist of the “Swimming In The Honey Pot” EP, out today May 1st, 2025:
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 ) 