“Are all Black Metal musicians necessarily Satanists? I answer them: in Indonesia, who’s more Satanist, the witchdoctor or Indonesian Black Metal?”
As new addition to its list of programs, THE PIT VOD platform presents ‘East of Hell’, a documentary portraing the black-metal scene in the city of Surabata in Indonesia.
A chaotic city, an infinite labyrinth of iron and concrete. In this maze of streets, a whole generation of young Indonesians are searching for, rebelling against and rallying around a controversial underground music: Black Metal..
Directed by Aluk Todolo’s bass player Matthieu Canaguier, the documentary À L’Est de L’Enfer portrays the black metal scene in the city of Surabaya in Indonesia – a country immersed in a much different culture from the Europe that gave birth to black metal.
Following the lives of three musicians of this movement, À L’Est de L’Enfer documents the prejudice and marginalization this counterculture is subjected to in Indonesia; but in the end it is the is the definitive proof that black metal is and will forever be an universal language of spiritual freedom and personal catharsis.
For reminder, THE PIT is and available right now through the following link and your best ISP.
Modern metal band ENEMY INSIDE have recently partnered with Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM), and their collaboration is off to a promising start with the release of a new single today. The debut track, ‘What We Used To Be,’ takes listeners on a journey through a painful past with its synth-based vocal intro, urging them to let go of bad memories through heavy riffs and a haunting chorus. The accompanying music video, featuring vocalist Nastassja Giulia in an exorcism of toxic experiences, reinforces the song’s powerful message.
“‘What We Used To Be’ deals with the topic of a relationship growing apart: whether it’s a romantic relationship, a friendship, or the relationship with yourself. It’s about realising and accepting that situations and people, even yourself, change, and there is no other way than to move on,” underlines Nastassja.
Filmed by Jonas Sommer, the music video’s script and story was written by the front-woman herself.
She adds, “We were aiming for a cinematic look. We wanted a video that looked more like a movie than a music video and we are really proud how the song and the video turned out.”
With their third, yet-untitled studio album coming up, ENEMY INSIDE will embark on an 18-date European headline tour in early 2025 with support coming from Letters Sent Home. All dates can be found below!
Don’t forget to subscribe to Reigning Phoenix Music on YouTube to stay updated and listen to ‘What We Used To Be’ along with other new tracks in the “RPM New Releases” playlist on Spotify. Subscribe here: https://rpm.link/spotifynewreleasesPR.
ENEMY INSIDE live:
26.07.2024 FI – Oulu – Qstock Festivaali
European Tour 2025 Special Guests: Letters Sent Home Presented by Seaside Entertainment 20.02.2025 DK Copenhagen – Rust 21.02.2025 DE Hamburg – headCRASH 22.02.2025 DE Berlin – Privatclub 23.02.2025 DE Hanover – Béi Chéz Heinz 27.02.2025 DE Bochum – Rockpalast 28.02.2025 DE Aschaffenburg – Colos-Saal 01.03.2025 DE Munich – Backstage (Club) 06.03.2025 DE Cologne – Helios 37 07.03.2025 DE Stuttgart – Im Wizemann (Studio) 08.03.2025 CH Aarburg – Musigburg 13.03.2025 DE Leipzig – Hellraiser 14.03.2025 CZ Prague – Storm Club 15.03.2025 PL Kraków – Klub Zaścianek 16.03.2025 PL Warsaw – Klub Hydrozagadka 21.03.2025 NL Utrecht – De Helling 22.03.2025 NL Maastricht – Muziekgieterij 28.03.2025 FI Tampere – Olympia-kortteli * 29.03.2025 FI Helsinki – On the Rocks * * w/o LSH
ENEMY INSIDE have quickly distinguished themselves in the metal scene with their powerful thematic content centered around combating the ‘inner enemy.’ Their energetic, melodic, and emotionally charged music has earned them a loyal fan base. With over 9 million Spotify streams and 3 million YouTube views, their albums “Phoenix” [2018] and “Seven” [2021] have solidified their status in the music industry. ENEMY INSIDE graced major stages on festivals like Wacken Open Air, Full Metal Cruise, Dynamo Metal Fest, Nummirock, M’era Luna, Rockharz Open Air and many more and have toured extensively across Europe.
ENEMY INSIDE are: Nastassja Giulia | vocals Evan K | lead guitars Dave Hadarik | rhythm guitars Dominik Stotzem | bass
Dwarven power metal warriors WIND ROSE have officially returned to the forge, announcing a new album, Trollslayer, set for release on October 4, 2024 via Napalm Records! Kicking off this epic new chapter is the single “Rock And Stone”, a catchy medieval anthem fully inspired by the Deep Rock Galactic video game. This track joins the band’s consistently delivered powerful hits since their formation in 2009, including viral sensation “Diggy Diggy Hole”, which has amassed over 50 million streams across various platforms.
Cementing their status as one of today’s premier power metal bands, the TikTok metal sensation (with almost half a million followers on the platform) is currently headlining a South American tour. This fall, they will join heavy metal legends Powerwolf and Hammerfall for the eagerly awaited Wolfsnächte 2024 tour.
WIND ROSE on “Rock And Stone”: “Dwarfs from around the world, WE HEARD YOU! We teamed up with Deep Rock Galactic to release our new single “Rock And Stone”, which will be the ultimate anthem of Dwarf Metal! If You don’t Rock and Stone, You ain’t coming home!”
Trollslayer follows the success of Warfront (2022), which debuted in the Top 10 on the US Current Hard Music Albums chart. Arriving right before their biggest European tour ever alongside Powerwolf and HammerFall, this album promises to be the perfect blend of signature party anthems alongside select deeper, more serious tracks. Exploding onto the scene with viral appearances on TikTok and amassing almost half a million followers on the platform, as well as almost a million monthly listeners, WIND ROSE have solidified their reputation as a powerhouse in the modern power metal scene.
WIND ROSE on the new album Trollslayer: “We spent more than 2 years working on Trollslayer, a new Dwarf Metal opera that will entertain you with fast riffs, beer and fun. With Trollslayer we didn’t only keep all the key elements of Dwarf metal, we also brought back the fast paced rhythms typical of our previous albums. Both Wintersaga and Warfront have had a great impact on our fans, even if they have many differences in style. With Trollslayer we unified all the best features of both albums and we are delivering what we believe is the best Dwarf Metal experience so far. We can’t wait to play some of these new songs live for you, are you ready?!”
Trollslayer starts-off with the epic instrumental “Of Ice and Blood”, setting the stage for the fiery energy to come. Next up is the electrifying “Dance of the Axes”, a potent mix of catchy refrains and guttural growls. It is directly followed by two party anthems, “The Great Feast Underground” – which overtakes the listener with crazy dwarven drinking rhythms – as well as throwing the gauntlet with the anthem “Rock and Stone”, a party track inspired by space dwarf first-person shooter video game Deep Rock Galactic. The album continues with three deep and catchy anthems – the fast “Home of the Twilight”, the upbeat “To Be a Dwarf”, and the Warhammer-inspired title track “Trollslayer”. The album concludes with the gripping “No More Sorrow”, showcasing WIND ROSE‘s ability to weave moments of emotional depth into their music. This track proves that even the mightiest dwarven warriors carry the weight of loss and hardship!
Trollslayer brings the listener into an unforgettable journey through the caves of metal, capturing the epic, medieval spirit of the dwarves!
Trollslayer Tracklisting: 1. Of Ice and Blood 2. Dance of the Axes 3. The Great Feast Underground 4. Rock and Stone 5. To Be a Dwarf 6. Home of the Twilight 7. Trollslayer 8. Legacy of the Forge 9. No More Sorrow
WIND ROSE LIVE 2024 Latin America Warfront 2024 12.07.24 CL – Santiago / Club Chocolate 13.07.24 AR – Buenos Aires / Uniclub 15.07.24 BO – La Paz / Salon Fantasio 16.07.24 BO – Cochabamba / More Humor 18.07.24 BR – Limeira / Mirage 19.07.24 BR – Curitiba / Jokers 20.07.24 BR – Belo Horizonte / Mister Rock 21.07.24 BR – Sao Paolo / Carioca Club
Wolfsnächte 2024 w/ Powerwolf & Hammerfall 04.10.24 DE ‒ Hamburg / Barclays Arena 05.10.24 NL ‒ Amsterdam / AFAS Live 06.10.24 BE ‒ Antwerp / Lotto Arena 10.10.24 LU ‒ Esch sur Alzette / Rockhal 11.10.24 DE ‒ Stuttgart / Schleyerhalle 12.10.24 DE ‒ Frankfurt am Main / Festhalle 14.10.24 IT ‒ Milan / Alcatraz 16.10.24 CH ‒ Zurich / The Hall 17.10.24 FR ‒ Paris / Zenith 18.10.24 DE ‒ Oberhausen / Rudolf Weber-ARENA 19.10.24 DE ‒ Berlin / UFO im Velodrom 21.10.24 PL ‒ Krakow / Tauron Arena 22.10.24 HU ‒ Budapest / MVM Dome 23.10.24 AT ‒ Vienna / Gasometer 25.10.24 DE ‒ Munich / Olympiahalle 26.10.24 CZ ‒ Prague / Sportovni Hala Fortuna
Festivals 10.08.24 ES – Villena / Leyendas Del Rock
Swedish hardcore punk icons and recent Metal Blade signees WOLFBRIGADE will release their eleventh full-length studio offering, Life Knife Death, on September 13th via Metal Blade Records.
Formed in 1995 in the small Swedish city of Mariestad by key players from Sweden’s legendary hardcore scene, WOLFBRIGADE — previously known as Wolfpack until 1999 — stands among Scandinavia’s most respected, influential, and reliable purveyors of real-world brute-force tumult.
On their crushing Life Knife Death, thirty years of skill are honed to a fine edge and dispatched with greater style and intensity than ever before. Most immediately, there’s the sheer velocity and barely controlled rage pumping through dynamic d-beaten blood-shakers like “Ways To Die” and “Your God Is A Corpse,” the furious attack assisted to heart-fluttering greatness by a newly loosened sense of raucous spontaneity. “We didn’t really rehearse any of the songs on this album,” the band reveals. “We tend to overwork and overanalyze everything that we do, and sometimes we get lost in that process. This time we wanted to go rough, to capture the raw essence of the song when it’s just out of the womb. All the blood and gore.”
WOLFBRIGADE‘s penchant for focused self-reflection aided them most satisfyingly in the arrangement and sequencing of these twelve killer tunes. The subtle shades of melody and versatility throughout Life Knife Death represents another of WOLFBRIGADE‘s strongest suits, the songs progressing with an organic, complementary flow, from the epic guitar heroics opening “Unruled And Unnamed” to the spooky churning outro “The Age Of Skull Fuckery.”
The band’s disparate influences are drawn together with unifying solidity – the remorseless rhythms of Discharge, the blue-collar rock ‘n’ roll of Motörhead, the heads-down bludgeon of classic Entombed – even the Beatles get a look in, albeit in subverted form, with the splendid title “A Day In The Life Of An Arse.” “I just thought of that song title, which is genius on its own, and ‘Of An Arse’ just popped into my head. Beatles churned through the WOLFBRIGADE mill, the horror of waking up to another day, playing your part in the never ending shitscene of mankind.“
In a 2019 Bandcamp interview to promote WOLFBRIGADE‘s last LP, The Enemy: Reality, bassist Johan Erkenvåg observed that, “the political climate in the world these past few years has been the worst that we’ve ever experienced in our lifetimes.” After half a decade of war, pestilence, catastrophe, and terror, it’s as if the world heard Erkenvåg’s assertion and said, “hold my beer.” Mounting global chaos may have us all darkly fearing the end times, but it has also seemingly created the ideal circumstances for a hardcore punk LP as coruscatingly brutal as WOLFBRIGADE‘s Life Knife Death.
“Well yeah, who could’ve known! The five years that have passed since our last album have served as a pretty good backdrop for a new punk record or misanthropy in general,” affirms the band, adding a wry reference for the Bill Hicks fans, “Mankind – a virus with shoes. As always, our lyrics are fueled by the ever-growing disgust we feel about humanity. The everyday realization that we are a part of this fear-animalistic stupidity that drives the world further into oblivion. The inspiration just keeps raining down from the sky, killing the masses. Waking up to this every day makes us want to scream in horror.“
In advance of the release of Life Knife Death, today the band unleashes first single, “Disarm Or Be Destroyed” noting of the track, “This is a song about the ugliness of desire and the beauty of destruction. The urge to burn and destroy is also an urge to create and evolve. Right or wrong, there’s pleasure in smashing some things into pieces.“
Stream WOLFBRIGADE‘s “Disarm Or Be Destroyed” at THIS LOCATION.
Life Knife Death Track Listing: 01. Ways to Die 02. Disarm or Be Destroyed 03. Life Knife Death 04. A Day in the Life of an Arse 05. Unruled and Unnamed 06. Skinchanger 07. Your God Is a Corpse 08. Nail Bomb 09. Cyanide Messiah 10. Mayhem Mongrel 11. Sea of Rust 12. Age of Skull Fuckery
WOLFBRIGADE: Micke Dahl – vocals Erik Norberg – guitar Jocke Rydbjer – guitar Johan Erkenvåg – bass Tommy Storback – drums
Belgian death metal act MORDKAUL has revealed new details about their forthcoming, new studio album, entitled “Feeding The Machine”! The band’s sophomore full-length record will be released as CD Digipak, Ltd. Vinyl LP and Digital formats on September 13, 2024 via Massacre Records, the pre-sale is now available at: https://lnk.to/feedingthemachine
MORDKAUL frontman Tommy Goffin tells us about “They Burn”:
“Welcome to the mind of the pyromaniac. He wants to bring humanity back to its essence: Weed out the superfluous, eradicate the illness that is mankind. Ever since the dawn of time mankind has believed to be the pinnacle of evolution. the sole purpose of natural selection. The pyromaniac wants to set this right by cleansing the earth of every trace of humanity. Fire will be his modus operandi.
The slowest song of them all but heavy as hell. Slowly building the atmosphere and tension to bust out into a haunting double bass part at the end.
“Pyrographic litany, pyrokinetic sorcery”
To get the most out of the individual songs and promoting them to their best extent, “Feeding The
Machine” was recorded in two parts. The first half of the album was recorded at Project Zero Studio in the summer of 2022, the second half at the legendary Galaxy Studios in the summer of 2023, while mixing and mastering was handled by Dan Swanö. The band’s new brutal banger also features guest musicians such as James McIlroy (ex-Cradle Of Filth) and more.
Where the 2021 album “Dress Code: Blood” was heavily inspired by the iconic Swedish death metal sound of the 90’s, “Feeding The Machine” goes a step further than that. With wider influences of iconic 90’s death metal acts like Morbid Angel and Death, “Feeding The Machine” hits even harder, and aims to elevate the band to new heights!
[Artwork: Timur Khabirov]
Tracklist:
Crown Of Worms
In Dead Eyes
Welcome To The Sixth Stage Of Grief
For I Am Machine
Beast Of Dread
Dead Heart Awake
They Burn
Shadowlord
Hellspawn
Passage To Oblivion
Album Line-Up: Tommy Goffin – Vocals Tim Bekaert – Rhythm Guitars Vincent Noben – Lead Guitars Stefan Segers – Additional Guitars, Vocals (Song 1-9) Jan Rammeloo – Bass (Song 1-5) Nicholas Gauwloos – Bass (Song 6-10) Tony Van den Eynde – Drums
Guest Musicians: James McIlroy (Guest guitar solos on “Shadowlord” and “Passage To Oblivion”) Maarten Vandenberghe (Piano on “Passage To Oblivion”) Martijn Debonnet (Samples)
MORDKAUL Live: 09.08.2024 BE Kortrijk – Alcatraz Metal Fest 13.09.2024 BE Kortrijk – DVG Club (Mordfest West) 14.09.2024 BE Diest – Club Hell (Mordfest East)
Today, German heavy metal legends BLIND GUARDIAN are pleased to unveil ‘Ashes To Ashes (Revisited)‘, another single from the re-recorded version of their immortal 1992 breakthrough album Somewhere Far Beyond.
Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited,which was recorded in 2022 and 2023,is a refreshing and powerful tribute to one of the most influential albums in German metal history. It paved the way for BLIND GUARDIAN’s international career that is still going strong today and this re-recording impresses with all the class and quality these pioneers have been known and respected for since forming as Lucifer’s Heritage three decades ago.
Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited will be released on August 2nd, 2024 coinciding with BLIND GUARDIAN‘s triumphant return to this year’s edition of Wacken Festival, and a wide selection of physical variants is available!
‘Ashes To Ashes (Revisited)‘ is a brand-new, re-imagined version of one of the heaviest tracks in the history of BLIND GUARDIAN, combining aggressive thrash riffs and rhythms with majestic melodies. Originally inspired by the terminal cancer of his father, vocalist Hans Kuersch reveals his personal feelings in a highly intense manner. ‘Time isn’t here to stay‘ he sings, but this monumental track is meant to stay forever.
An epic live video of the song being performed at Hellfest 2022 can be watched below.
PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND REVISITED, HERE.
SOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND REVISITED Release Date: August 2nd, 2024
01. Time What is Time (Revisited) 05:45 02. Journey Through the Dark (Revisited) 04:49 03. Black Chamber (Revisited) 01:00 04. Theatre of Pain (Revisited) 04:18 05. The Quest for Tanelorn (Revisited) 06:06 06. Ashes to Ashes (Revisited) 06:03 07. The Bard’s Song – In the Forest (Revisited) 03:27 08. The Bard’s Song – The Hobbit (Revisited) 04:10 09. The Piper’s Calling (Revisited) 01:02 10. Somewhere Far Beyond (Revisited) 07:33
The album will be released as Limited Edition 3 Disc Digipak which contains an additional 2022 live version of the entire album on a separate CD and a Blu-Ray disc with the anniversary sets at Rock Hard Festival and Hellfest 2022.
Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited will also be available as Gatefold LP with 24-page LP booklet and as jewelcase CD as well as digital album.
ABOUTSOMEWHERE FAR BEYOND REVISITED
Right on time with their show at 2024’s edition of Wacken Open Air, BLIND GUARDIANproudly announce the release of Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited on August 2nd which includes a complete re-recording of this classic as well as a live celebration of 1992’s Somewhere Far Beyond, a landmark record for Germany’s heavy metal titans. After three albums on No Remorse Records, it was the band’s major label debut via Virgin Records and opened threm doors to the Japanese market resulting in a wider availability and presence on the global metal scene. After finding the right balance of speed, heaviness, melodies, drama and irresistible choruses on 1990’s Tales From The Twilight World, Somewhere Far Beyond honed this approach to perfection, evolving further on a conceptual level and increasing BLIND GUARDIAN’s sonic range. On Somewhere Far Beyond the band experimented with keyboards, orchestrations, and folk elements, the latter manifesting in the group’s best-known song and live staple, ‘The Bard’s Song (In The Forest)’, whereas other tracks like ‘Ashes to Ashes’, the rapid ‘Journey Through The Dark’ or ‘The Quest For Tanelorn’ connected well with previous mostly fast-paced albums yet offered an additional push in dynamics.
Fast forward 30 years! Prior to releasing the much lauded opus The God Machine in September 2022, BLIND GUARDIAN had been performing Somewhere Far Beyond in its entirety at Rock Hard Festival and Hellfest in Summer 2022 in front of tens of thousands of fans singing along to each track. Both shows were filmed and recorded professionally and aired via WDR and ARTE. For the limited triple-disc-edition of Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited the Hellfest material was newly edited by the band’s long-time videographer Dirk Behlau using additional multi-cam footage. The idea of re-recording the album originated from the rehearsals for these shows as Hansi Kürsch explains in the detailed liner notes: “The original idea wasn’t to do a re-recording. When rehearsing for the anniversary gigs, corona hit and we couldn’t be certain that those shows would take place. We still wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the album and if we wouldn’t be able to include a live version, we initially thought we could at least record the rehearsals.” Not 100% satisfied with those rough versions, BLIND GUARDIAN decided to go all in, knowing the risk of being frowned upon by fans who consider re-recordings utter blasphemy. “We tried to recapture what we did in 1992 but compensate youth with skilful experience, though in a hungry way. We never discussed any major changes but with over 30 years of experience, and our current line-up, those ingredients already add a new flavour to it.” With the basic tracks recorded in a live setting, Somewhere Far Beyond Revisited is leaner and more focused on impact in terms of guitar arrangements yet retains all the harmonies and melodies essential to the original. “We finally ended up with this cool hybrid version”, André adds. “We combined how we play the songs today, but at the same time, really tried to retain that speed metal spirit of the early 90s!”
11.07. DE Neukirchen-Vluyn – Dong Open Air 19.07. RO Beclean – Celtic Transilvania Festival 26.07. GR Chania – Chania Rock Festival 28.07. DE Oelsnitz – Schloss Voigtsberg 29.07. AT Innsbruck – Dogana Hall, Congress Innsbruck 31.07. IT Serravalle di Chienti – Montelago Celtic Festival 02.08. DE Wacken Open Air 04.08. PT Vagos – Vagos Metal Fest 09.08. ES Villena (Alicante) – Leyendas del Rock 17.08. DE Sulingen – Reload Festival 18.08. DE Illingen – Burg Open Air 16.12. IL Tel Aviv – Reading 3
Chief Shock Video
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 ) 