Swiss death metal act AMPUTATE has revealed details about their forthcoming, new studio album entitled “Abysmal Ascent”, that is slated for release on October 11, 2024 via Massacre Records! Coming as Jewel Case CD and Ltd. Vinyl LP, the pre-sale has just started at https://lnk.to/abysmalascent
A lyric video for their first single, the album title track, is now premiering below. The track features guest vocals of Barbara “Babs” Brawand (Caladmor), and according to the band, it’s “a song about the rise of unstoppable forces of evil upon this world, with nothing less than pure hate for all mankind, with biblical damnation proportions and apocalyptic total obliteration.“
The release of “Abysmal Ascent”, the band’s third full-length studio offering, is almost a statement for art itself. With this album, AMPUTATE went the contrary way of a lot of other bands. Their previous concept album dealt with the topic of A.I., but this time the songs are all individual and cover different, mostly dark topics.
The band created a raw and very true version of death metal. There is no A.I. used on the cover, the whole artwork is manmade from A to Z; the lyrics, the pictures and all songs of course. AMPUTATE recorded straight from their amps (no re-amping) and the vocals were recorded as direct and natural as possible, which the band is damn proud of.
“It sounds awesome, very true and not overproduced,“ says guitarist and vocalist Nuno Santos. “Pure honest death metal, the old school way. We just don’t like this artificially sounding plastic metal kind of thing, so we hope you like our little true death metal production!”
Album Tracklist:
I Am Genocide
Abysmal Ascent
Malevolent Manifestation
Cavernous Temple Of The Absurd
Hybrid Organism
Extractive Monolith
Sepulcro
Venomous Prophecies
Visceral Dominion
Perpetuum
AMPUTATE is: Tom Kuzmic – Lead Vocals, Guitar Nuno Santos – Guitar, Vocals RafaHell – Bass, Vocals Tobias Tell – Drums
DEFEATED SANITY have pushed the boundaries of extreme metal for 30 odd years. The band execute jazz-infused chaos with mind-bending precision, while also slamming together so many memorable breakdowns that they cracked the Billboard charts. Their upcoming seventh album still hits from every odd angle, but on Chronicles of Lunacy, these technical maniacs return to sheer brutality.
“The last few DS albums leaned heavily on the proggier side of our sound”, says the band’s drummer and founding member Lille Gruber. “We still like to experiment, but on our new album, we wanted to get back to the raw slamming that our fans love about Psalms of the Moribund or Chapters of Repugnance”.
The video for “The Odour of Sanctity” was created by Obscenery Films.
Just like the rivers of hell, “The Odour of Sanctity” comes pouring out the speakers in a never-ending stream of filth. Guttural vocals spew through a churning mix of chunky riffs, hiccuping drum fills and a cavernous low-end. “We wanted to keep some of the fidelity that’s associated with modern death metal”, the band says, “but Chronicles has more of the raw production style that stood out on Psalms and Chapters“.
To dig back into the brutal mindset that long-time fans have come to crave, in January 2024, Defeated Sanity returned to Thousand Cave Studios. The underground New York City hotspot was also the excavation site for TheSanguinary Impetus, which dumped a fresh layer of dirt on the more “polished” production of Passages Into Deformity. Except this time around, the band encouraged producer Colin Marston to really get his hands dirty.
“The Odour of Sanctity” stinks to high heaven. New guitarist Vaughn Stoffey shreds with such gross speed that even the old school heads will be spinning around like The Exorcist. Of course, the ungodly pace is still set by the whip of Lille Gruber. He opens the song as if puncturing a wound, hammering out blast beats that are as merciless as the nails of the cross.
“Lille’s drumming is just ridiculous”, says Jacob Schmidt, whose belching bass lines give “Odour” a oddball bounce. “He’s the face of the DS franchise. So even though Chronicles is more slamming and straightforward, the weird, hyper-technical experiments still found a way into the mix”.
Plenty of knuckle-dragging awaits within its stomach-turning twists, but Chronicles of Lunacy isn’t Defeated Sanity for dummies. Heck, the album’s concept is wrapped up in the many malicious ways that delusional thinking can rot the human psyche. “Each song deals with a different strain of mental corruption”, says Josh Welshman. “Odour” stinks of religious fanaticism. After a brutal showing on Sanguinary, Welshman returns with a vengeance. “A miracle defiled / Fraudulently wrought“, he summons with a demonic growl as the band open up the pit with a brutal breakdown.
“In true DS fashion, ‘Odour’ showcases the full range of our sound”, the band says. “It’s freaky but also unrelentingly brutal, which represents the crossroad that we ended up at on Chronicles of Lunacy. Even though the album can get pretty fucking weird, there’s still a emphasis on straight-up slamming”.
Tracklist 1. Amputationsdrang (2:30) 2. The Odour Of Sanctity (3:36) [WATCH] 3. Accelerating The Rot (3:22) 4. Temporal Disintegration (5:52) 5. Extrinsically Enraged (4:09) 6. A Patriarchy Perverse (4:16) 7. Condemned to Vascular Famine (6:00) 8. Heredity Violated (3:48) Total runtime: 33:35
DEFEATED SANITY is unequivocally one of the most unique, boundary-pushing and crucial bands in the history of extreme death metal. Their music is as technically coherent as it is mind-bending and memorable. Endlessly replay-able and full of discovery, their maze of riffs and musical passages is inspired by infamous classic bands in the extreme metal genre, while also heavily steeped in jazz and progressive classical elements.
The band consists of four members. They’re led by drummer Lille Gruber, who’s the son of deceased co-founding member Wolfgang Teske. Gruber is joined by bandmates Jacob Schmidt (bass), Josh Welshman (vocals) and Vaughn Stoffey (guitar).
As well as being the drummer of Defeated Sanity, Gruber is the multi- instrumental, songwriting mastermind behind the band’s deep and compelling catalogue of songs and compositions. He possesses a bag of tricks seen nowhere else in the genre, and a musical prowess which is on full display throughout their new album Chronicles of Lunacy.
“We love experimenting”, explains drummer and founding member Lille Gruber. “But we realized that some of our oldest fans might have gotten lost after our last couple of albums. With the new one, we wanted to focus more on neck-snapping brutality”.
Chronicles of Lunacy punches you right in the face. Press play and “Amputationsdrang” already has you pinned to the mat beneath its non-stop blasts. Get comfortable, too, because Defeated Sanity don’t let the album up for air until the very end of Track 4. But turns out, acting like knuckle-dragging cavemen isn’t so easy for a band that has a Mensa-level maestro like Gruber at the controls.
At the tender age of six, Lille Gruber picked up heavy guitar and drums. Inspired by killer American BDM bands like Disgorge, Monstrosity and Brodequin, the German wunderkind recorded the band’s first demo alongside his father, Wolfgang Teske. Since Wolfgang’s passing in 2008, Gruber has composed every foul note of Defeated Sanity. Whether he’s hammering his snare, pinging between cymbals or riding a colossal groove, The Chronicles of Lunacy flows like a never-ending stream of filth.
“Lille’s drumming is just ridiculous”, Jacob Schmidt says. Schmidt – who toured with Obscura behind Cosmogenesis – joined as the other half of Defeated Sanity’s chaotic rhythm section for the band’s beloved second album. His nimble, belching bass give the new album’s lead single “The Odour of Sanctity” a dizzying bounce. “He’s the face of the franchise, so we’re never going to abandon those head-scratching moments that set Defeated Sanity apart”.
Indeed, Chronicles of Lunacy isn’t Defeated Sanity for dummies. Heck, the lyrics are wrapped up in the twisted ways that delusions can rot the human psyche. This heady concept was made flesh by none other than Jon Zig. Drawn in painstaking detail by his wicked right hand, the album’s cover shows that the birth of some ideas look an awful lot like a gory and sex-crazed nativity scene.
“Each song on Chronicles deals with a different form of mental corruption”, Josh Welshman says”. “Odor” stinks of religious fanaticism. “A Patriarchy Perverse” cracks open the mind of co-ed killer Ed Kemper, while “Extrinsically Enraged” practically foams at the mouth with squealing hammer-ons. “That one’s more literal”, says Welshman with a hearty laugh. “It’s about contracting rabies”. If it weren’t for Disposal of the Dead / Dharmata, then Defeated Sanity would’ve chewed through as many vocalists as they have albums, but after a brutal showing on their last one, Welshman is back with more guttural vengeance. His growls ooze from the pit of his gut on “Temporal Disintegration”, stomped out like the innards of a cockroach by the gravity-defying slams.
While it still hits from every odd angle, Chronicles of Lunacy does draw a jagged red line back to Defeated Sanity’s brutal origins. After all, the band now share a label with their namesake. In true, DS fashion, the first song written for this album was “Heredity Violated”, a headbanging grand finale that never stops chugging. “This album isn’t as tough on the brain as the last two”, says new guitarist Vaughn Stoffey, whose chunky riffs whip “Accelerating the Rot” into the fastest song in the band’s canon. “It’s rawer and more straightforward, which gets back to what fans love about Psalms of the Moribund“.
To dig up the sheer brutality that long-time fans have come to crave, Defeated Sanity returned to Thousand Cave Studios. New York City’s most vile underground hotspot also served as the excavation site for the Billboard-charting The Sanguinary Impetus, which shoveled a fresh layer of dirt over the “polished” production of Passages into Deformity. But the band encouraged producer Colin Marston to get down and dirty with Chronicles of Lunacy. “We still wanted some of the high fidelity that you hear on modern death metal records”, Schmidt says, “but this album has the same crushing low-end as Psalms or Chapters of Repugnance“.
The band execute this two-headed approach to monstrous effect on “Condemned to Vascular Famine”. At just under six minutes, the song delivers the longest ass beating on Chronicles of Lunacy. At times, all four members sound like they’re climbing up the walls in separate asylums, but after slipping in a brief nod to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the band come slamming down into the album’s ugliest breakdown.
“That’s one of our favorites”, the band says. “It lands at a crossroad of the DS sound that we ended up with on Chronicles of Lunacy. Even though it gets pretty fucking weird at times, there’s still an emphasis on heavy, straight-up slamming”
None of their albums are ever going to follow a straight line, but on Chronicles of Lunacy, Defeated Sanity return to sheer brutality.
Lineup Josh Welshman – Vocals Vaughn Stoffey – Guitars Jacob Schmidt – Bass Lille Gruber – Drums
Guest musicians Danny Nelson and Paolo Paguntalan provide backup vocals on “Amputationsdrang” and “Accelerating the Rot”
Recording Studio Thousand Caves Studio in January 2024.
Production Recorded, mixed and mastered by Colin Marston. Produced by Colin Marston and Defeated Sanity.
Cover Art Artwork by Jon Zig Title lettering by Liz Schmidt Layout by Alex Eckman-Lawn
Malta’s rising melodic metal force DAMAGED & CO. unleashes the fiery lyric video for “Clenching Fists,” a track from their critically acclaimed debut album, “Life’s Grand Delusion,” out via Wormholedeath.
“Clenching Fists” is a visceral portrayal of a soul pushed to the brink, ready to explode in a primal fury. Gone are civility and hope for compromise. All that remains are clenched fists, raw aggression, and deep breaths fueling the inferno within. This is a raw, unfiltered journey into the heart of rage and defiance, where every lyric pulses with the intensity of an impending clash.
“Life’s Grand Delusion” marks the explosive debut of Damaged & Co., a potent blend of metalcore, dark symphonic metal, and alternative influences. Crafted over four years, each of the album’s eleven tracks delivers a unique message, delving into existential themes of life, death, and the battles we fight within. A melancholic yet mature atmosphere pervades the album, accentuated by the masterful mixing and mastering of Matt Hyde (UK), ensuring both clarity and raw emotional power. Released via Wormholedeath, “Life’s Grand Delusion” comes packed with an additional three bonus tracks, ensuring a truly immersive experience.
DAMAGED & CO’s journey began in Malta in 2017 as a duo, blossoming into a full-fledged band in 2018. Their ambition transcended borders, leading them to conquer stages in Italy by 2019. Singles like “Here to Stay,” “Kill o’Clock,” and “Broken Fields” propelled them forward, culminating in a well-deserved signing with HADES MANAGEMENT in 2020. After a pandemic-induced hiatus, they stormed back onto the scene in 2021, delivering a string of powerful performances that continued to garner acclaim throughout 2022 and 2023. Their Matt Hyde-produced debut, “Life’s Grand Delusion,” solidified their position as a force to be reckoned with.
DAMAGED & CO has graced the same stage as metal royalty like LORDI and rocked festivals like DARK MALTA and FARSONS BEER FESTIVAL. Their insatiable drive led them to play in major events in Malta and countries such as Italy and Israel. They have set their targets to perform in other countries and break into the festival circuit.
Today, KINGS OF MERCIA share “Don’t Ask” – the first single from their sophomore album, due October 25th via Metal Blade Records. A new music video, available below, accompanies the track.
Now and again, art offers up the perfect storm. When creative worlds collide with a furious cacophony of power, licks, and lyrics, magic happens. Such is the case with KINGS OF MERCIA, whose second album, ‘Battle Scars,’ is the continuation of a story as unlikely as it is glorious. The band is helmed by guitarist Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) and singer Steve Overland (FM) who are joined by drummer Simon Phillips (The Who, Toto) and bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning).
“Don’t Ask” is described by singer Steve Overland as an “angsty love song” with lyrics including: “You could believe in anything you wanted to believe; We were all free to be whatever we wanted to be.”
“We found our feet with this album. This is the Kings of Mercia evolving. People think you can pigeonhole rock music fans, but they just like good songs and good music,” Overland says.
KINGS OF MERCIA‘s 2022 approachable, world-class self-titled debut was termed “truly a hybrid: it’s heavy, but not metal. It’s got tones of melodic AOR hard rock but with an edge.” Now, 2024 brings the band’s sophomore album written and recorded throughout 2023, ‘Battle Scars‘ sees the core writing team of Matheos and Overland expanding on their obvious chemistry.
“I think it was a bit easier this time around because we’ve established a good working rhythm,” states Matheos, “I’ll send Steve at least a few songs every couple of months, and I try to keep them varied. This allows him to work on whichever ones he feels strongly about.”
“What Jim sends me is the first draft of that song,” says Overland. “So once he’s heard all the melodies and the harmonies I sing, he can chop it about and make it how he thinks it should be. He always sends me three or four different versions. He’ll say, ‘What do you think? Which do you like?’ Then we work it out between us and come up with the one we’re both happy with.”
“Steve and I started working together in 2021,” says Matheos. “I was aware of FM-they came up around the same time as Fates Warning – but I’d lost touch with them and wasn’t familiar with their more recent work. When Steve was recommended to me, I checked out some of the newer releases and felt Steve was exactly what I was looking for.”
“It’s a different genre of music that I’m normally involved in,” says Overland, whose voice has been likened to other British greats Paul Rodgers and Glenn Hughes. “Obviously, I’d heard of Fates Warning – they’re a very big cult band in their field. Jim and I touched base, and I told him to send me one backing track. If it sounds great, then it’s a win-win. If it doesn’t, we’ll just call it a day, knock it on the head, not take it any further. That song became ‘Humankind’ from the first album. I wrote the melodies and the title and put it all together. Jim got it and he was blown away. So we made a couple more. I loved doing it. It was just such a different challenge for me.”
Those songs would become the self-titled debut album, which was released in 2022. Written during lockdown, bouncing tracks across the Atlantic, KINGS OF MERCIA found its mojo. Fans of Fates Warning, FM, and Armored Saint all rejoiced at the common ground on KINGS OF MERCIA, the sweet spot in the middle of the Venn diagram.
It’s a true collaboration that has led to KOM‘s ‘Battle Scars.’ However, despite the unfolding sound and clear chemistry between the four Kings, Overland has never met his bandmates in person. ‘Battle Scars,’ like its predecessor, is a slab of transatlantic magic.
Get Born is the debut studio album by the Australian rock band Jet. It was released on September 14, 2003, and has sold millions of copies worldwide, making its mark on international music history. Propelled by the single “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” the album quickly climbed the global charts, surpassing 6 million sales and earning Platinum status in the UK.
Exactly 21 years later, on September 14, 2024, the Estádio Municipal in Leiria, Portugal, will host the Rockin’1000 concert with the special participation of Nic Cester from JET, featuring a significant tribute to celebrate the anniversary of this landmark album.
Nic Cester, whose real name is Nicholas John Cester (Melbourne, July 6, 1979), is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, and the frontman of the rock band Jet alongside his brother Chris. He will perform the iconic track “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” with the 1000 musicians of Rockin’1000 in front of 20,000 spectators!
“We’ve already collaborated with Nic to compose our single ‘How We Roll,’ and we immediately clicked beyond the music. Having him perform with us is a huge gift; I’m sure the rendition of ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ with a thousand musicians will be explosive” said Fabio Zaffagnini, Founder of Rockin’1000.
With over 80% of the tickets already sold, the stadium is set to be packed with fans, creating an electrifying atmosphere. Following the confirmation of Pedro Abrunhosa, a famous Portuguese singer and songwriter, as a special guest, the project now announces an international star: Nic Cester, lead singer of the iconic Australian band JET.
The setlist is now complete, featuring 20 iconic titles that will shake the stadium, including Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, Enter Sandman by Metallica, Killing In The Name by Rage Against the Machine, and Highway To Hell by AC/DC. There will also be many songs that will have the crowd singing at the top of their lungs, like Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, Numb by Linkin’ Park, Song 2 by Blur, and Yellow by Coldplay. In addition to a tribute to Portuguese rock with Fazer o Que Ainda Não Foi Feito by Pedro Abrunhosa and the homage to Get Born with Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet, Learn To Fly by the Foo Fighters, the song that started it all, will not be missing.
(see the full list at the end of the press release)
This show represents a historic moment for rock ‘n’ roll fans in Portugal: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a unique concert with an energy different from a traditional concert, with 1000 musicians simultaneously playing the most iconic covers in rock history. Tickets for Rockin’1000 Portugal are selling out fast. Prices start at 45 € and can be purchased at https://rockin1000portugal.pt/, Blueticket, FNAC, Worten, and many other online retailers.
SONG LIST (not in order of playing)
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Metallica – Enter Sandman Rage Against the Machine – Killing In The Name AC/DC – Highway To Hell Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army Linkin’ Park – Numb Blur – Song 2 Muse – Knights Of Cydonia Greenday – Medley Coldplay – Yellow Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (part 2) Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl Oasis – Don’t Look Back in Anger The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations Black Sabbath – Medley The Beatles – Hey Jude The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl Pedro Abrunhosa – Fazer o Que Ainda Não Foi Feito Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
INFORMATION – Rockin’1000 in Portugal
Location: EstádioMunicipal in Leiria, Portugal
Date: Saturday, September 14, 2024
Time: Gates open at 7 pm
Rehearsals for musicians: Thursday, September 12, and Friday, September 13
With anticipation building for the September release of their sophomore album, “Purification Through Sacrifice”, today Italian death metallers HUSQWARNAH have unveiled the second single from the record. The song “To Protect and Severe” is now premiering at Mystification Zine. Stream it HERE.
“Purification Through Sacrifice” is set for release September 16th 2024 via Time To Kill Records.
Tracklist:
01. Intro 02. To Protect And Severe 03. Wheel Of Torture 04. Lawn Mower Massacre 05. Graboids 06. Mass Grave 07. Reincarnation Of Sin Pt.II 08. Soldier 039 09. Tower Of Suicide 10. The Jackal’s Grin 11. Outro
The band was formed in 2019 from an idea of musicians who at the time were part of acts such as Black Rage, In-sight, Atlas Pain and Sojourner. After a debut show supporting Asphyx and some line-up changes, the band entered the studio to record their debut album “Front: Toward Enemy” in 2020. After its release in 2021, HUSQWARNAH kept themselves busy on the live front, sharing stages with acts such as Mortuary Drape, Baest, Discharge, High On Fire and Voivod. The latter show was recorded and then independently released under the title “Live At Bloom” in 2023. HUSQWARNAH‘s death metal is as genuine and convincing as it can possibly get, paying homage to certain traditional formulas dating back to the early nineties, with songs that are particularly compact in structure and dynamics, ideal for being performed live and thus reminiscent of bands such as Asphyx, Bolt Thrower and Benediction.
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
Ads
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 ) 