2024 is set to be a historic year, especially for Italian cult progressive metallers ATHENA XIX: formerly known as ATHENA, they are re-united with front-man and founding member Fabio Lione, who is also the vocalist of their labelmates ANGRA among others. Lione‘s return marks a new era for the band as they’re preparing the release of their much-anticipated fourth studio album which is due out later this year through Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). While fans have been waiting impatiently for further details to be shared, ATHENA XIX finally present a first musical sign of life, titled ‘The Conscience Of Everything,’ today.
The band state, “This song deals with humanity in all its iterations, leading listeners through a world filled with complex melodies and deep instropection. This opus is much more of an experience than a mere song and also only the beginning of our common journey. Abandon yourselves!”
Don’t forget to subscribe to Reigning Phoenix Music on YouTube to stay updated and listen to ‘The Conscience Of Everything’ along with other new tracks in the “RPM New Releases” playlist on Spotify. Subscribe here: https://rpm.link/spotifynewreleasesPR.
About ATHENA XIX
Originating in 1991, ATHENA released their most successful album to date, “A New Religion?,” in 1998 – still recognised and appropriately rewarded as the best prog metal album of an Italian band ever. The original band members finally re-united in 2019 — after several line-up changes and a hiatus — writing new songs which will be released later this year via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM).
The rock ‘n’ roll landscape is still shaking from the news: after eight years of searching, Anciients have emerged from the Canadian wilderness. The heady and hearty Canucks recently announced Beyond the Reach of the Sun, their first album since winning the coveted JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Rock.
Today, Kenny Cook, Mike Hannay and their new cast of shredders are releasing a smooth but still positively crushing guitar playthrough for their new album’s second single. “Cloak of the Vast and Black” sheds light on the darkness that nearly overshadowed Beyond the Reach of the Sun by blazing a new trail with the same spirit that’s made them a guiding light for progressive metal.
The video for the guitar playthrough of “Cloak of the Vast and Black” was directed, filmed and edited by Claine Gorgoth Lamb (@claines_world).
Ask any hard rock enthusiast about Anciients and their shock and awe might lead you to believe they were describing Big Foot. The band left a sizable imprint on the scene after just two albums, but then seemingly disappeared without a trace. So what led them to go into hibernation?
“Basically, right after Voice of the Void was recorded my wife had our first kid”, says Kenny Cook, who on top of vocal and guitar duties also handles the bulk of the band’s songwriting. “She ended up having heart complications and almost died”. Everyone is happy and healthy now, but caring for his wife and new baby put a lot of stress on the typically laid-back frontman’s mountainous shoulders. “It was a bit of a road”.
“Cloak of the Vast and Black” also comes out of the shadows. The first single from Beyond the Reach of the Sun began by leading us through a field of bright keys and folksy acoustic plucks, but this time around, the guitars are so dimmed with reverb that even the leads twist and turn as if trying to navigate maze-like cave tunnels.
“This song is about mental illness and living under the cloak of depression”, Cook says. But despite the many bumps in the road over the last eight years, like the high beams of a monster truck, Anciients found a way to come barreling out of the darkness. Just as the playthrough video bursts into full-blown color, the band strike upon a riff that burns as fast as a stick of dynamite.
“Searching for a new way of life“, Cook growls with renewed force, as if awoken by the sudden explosion of psychedelic power chords.
The concept behind Beyond the Reach of the Sun does venture into heady territory. Society is enslaved by forces from another dimension who are so towering in their tyranny that they blot out the sun. Still, at its core, Anciient’s third album is about perseverance. Cook’s road is a little easier to envision. “Working on these songs helped clear the negativity that had clouded my thoughts”, he says. But the albums’ narrative arc winds up floating in the same enlightened headspace.
“Ancient knowledge buried deep in the sands of time“, Cook sings, practically beaming as Dead Quiet axeman Brock MacInnes shreds a dizzying alternate guitar lead right beside him. “Awake on the other side“.
Of course, headbanging helped, but Cook credits his bandmates for helping him see through Beyond the Reach of the Sun. Mike Hannay can still kick down the door to any metalhead’s mind with a well-timed blast beat, but by the time “Cloak of the Vast and Black” finally tapers off, he’s locked into such a massive flow state with new bassist Rory O’Brien, that Anciients sound like pre-historic giants who’ve returned to roam the earth.
“The hiatus is over” Cook says. “We missed out on a huge block after the last record. But with a new album to go along with our new band members, we’re ready to hit it hard“.
To celebrate the coming of Beyond the Reach of the Sun, this fall, Anciients will play three record release shows in their native British Columbia. This special run includes one night at The Rickshaw Theatre in the band’s hometown of Vancouver.
“We are beyond excited to play our new album in a live setting for the very first time,” Cook says about the band’s upcoming shows. “It’s going to be epic! More show announcements are coming soon”.
Anciients will be supported by five fellow Canadian bands: metal-punks Fearbirds, progressive metalheads Black Thunder, metal stoners Waingro, thrashy death metal trio Bloodrhine and post-metal doomsayers Empress.
Anciients Beyond the Reach of the Sun Record Release Shows
September 20 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar with Fearbirds and Black Thunder [TICKETS] September 21 – Nanaimo, BC @ The Queens with Fearbirds and Black Thunder [TICKETS] September 27 – Vancouver, BC @ The Rickshaw Theatre with Waingro, Bloodrhine and Empress [TICKETS]
Tracklist 1. Forbidden Sanctuary (8:16) 2. Despoiled (5:19) 3. Is It Your God (7:07) 4. Melt the Crown (7:08) [WATCH] 5. Cloak of the Vast and Black (6:20) [WATCH] 6. Celestial Tyrant (5:52) 7.Beyond Our Minds (4:12) 8. The Torch (4:13) 9. Candescence (4:10) 10. In the Absence of Wisom (6:35)
It’s been a rough handful of years for British Columbia-based extremity-laced progressive rockers, Anciients. When the quartet unleashed their Voice of the Void album in 2016, the world appeared to be their oyster and things seemed ripe for the picking. They were coming off the success of their Heart of Oak debut from 2013, its ascendancy due in large part to a collective uptick in interest for involved, forward-thinking music. The public had moved beyond toe-dipping and tire-kicking, and were instead doing headfirst dives into exploring the likes of Opeth, Mastodon, Baroness, The Ocean, Intronaut and others who originally hailed from the extreme music underground, but had since grown, matured and scrubbed behind their ears to include heaping and healthy chunks from the outskirts of their record collections and influence pools.
The Band That Auto-Correct Loves to Fuck With™ shared stages with everyone from High on Fire and Goatwhore to Boris and Lamb of God, were in the midst of a European tour when they discovered they were JUNO Award (Canadian Grammy equivalent) winners in the heavy metal/hard rock category. The world was ready to accept Anciients into its welcoming arms. Anciients was gearing up to employ takeover methods, specifically their brand of thunderous rhythms and labyrinthine riffing bolstered by a road warrior mentality. And then, the momentum petered out and the band seemingly fell off the face of the earth.
Today, Anciients are ready and poised to resume their spirited quest for heavy metal paramountcy. There’s no doubt the band is back and with a stunning and beautiful collection of ten songs on offer in the form of new and third album, Beyond the Reach of the Sun, they are positioning to reestablish themselves as a dominant force for those who love windmilling their tresses around thoughtful tempo changes, complex harmonic layers and driving power chord shifting. But what the hell happened and where did they disappear to?
“Basically,” explains guitarist/vocalist Kenny Cook, “right before Voice of the Void was recorded, my wife had our first kid. She ended up having heart complications and almost passed away from it. We recorded the last record and once it came out, I was kind of just focusing on her, dealing with her health issues and keeping that in check. I wasn’t at the stage where I could be gone for half a year, especially with a new kid. Long story short, she’s happy and healthy now, but dealing with family issues was the main priority. It was a bit of a road.”
Adding to that bit of Anciients camp turmoil, guitarist/co-vocalist/co-founding member, Chris Dyck and the band parted ways in January of 2017. This left a gaping lineup hole at an inopportune juncture in the band’s timeline. Not only did Cook have to deal with the absence of his long-term song and lyric writing partner, but Dyck was also someone he had been splitting vocal duties with since the pair formed the band in 2009. And then, while helping his wife with her recovery, raising their new born and “because we wanted to raise our son in a small town environment,” the Cook family uprooted to Columbia-Shuswap four hours east of the Vancouver area, where drummer Mike Hannay, Brock MacInnes (Dyck’s replacement) and brand spanking new bassist Rory O’Brien still reside.
“We knew Brock from other bands he’d been in and we knew he’d be a great fit,” explains Cook. “He actually filled in for Chris on a tour we did back in 2015. As far as the vocals, I just found myself picking up the slack on both ends. It felt somewhat natural, it was definitely different. Doing the lyrics myself for the first time was somewhat daunting, but it was also something done out of necessity. But even when Chris was in the band I handled 80-90% of the vocals anyway, so it didn’t change all that much.”
Then, that whole COVID-19 thing you probably heard about once or twice hit in 2020 and put another restraining bolt on Anciients’ activity, especially touring as the Canadians found themselves dealing with stricter travel restrictions and mandates than many other countries; most notably, not being able to cross the border for almost two years. Once the dust settled, Cook had to adjust to being the lone vocalist and how that impacted the material he was writing while navigating being creative with distance between Anciients’ members for the first time. Not a biggie, as in-person writing sessions are more of a rarity these days, but because of the time elapsed since Voices of the Void, things/interests/influences changed and the band ended up scrapping half of an album’s worth of material and starting fresh. When they put their heads down at the end of 2021 with the focus being Beyond the Reach of the Sun, what was revealed a year later was more streamlined and slithery, more chest-thumpingly direct, more epic and triumphant sounding. Riffs come in explosive layered packets. Leads, harmonies and melodies are more on par with wind-tussled mountain tops instead of sweaty bar shows and the band moves with finely honed, martial accuracy as conducted by Hannay’s rocket-in-the-pocket staccato swing and accents.
Songs like “The Torch” blaze with the shirtless glisten of ‘70s stadium rock power. “Cloak of the Vast and Black” swirls and whirls with a combination of hardcore intensity, grunge groove and expansive six-string parries. “In the Absence of Wisdom” is a hurricane-sized maelstrom of classic and prog rock elevated to grandiosity by a return to their growling sludge/death early years as the song/album concludes. The album’s first single, “Melt the Crown” mixes cues from legendary fellow hosers Rush and Harlequin, turn-of-the-millennium post-metal and the most psychedelic corners of the Rise Above Records roster.
“The new record has a lot more of our rock side,” Cook offers, “and leans towards those elements of our sound and personalities, whereas Voice of the Void was pretty crushing all the way through. With the new material we’ve tried to add more dynamics to the music and give the songs more room to breathe.”
Album opener “Forbidden Sanctuary” is the soundtrack to exploration, of new worlds and sonic arrangement as sine-wave guitars pull from vintage Mercyful Fate covens and Krautrock communes with synths opening up novel textural avenues, as they do on the ethereal wispiness and space rock/sci-fi soundscapes of the instrumental “Candescence.” Beyond the Reach of the Sun sees synths and keyboards making their first appearance on an Anciients record and were played by producer/mixer Jesse Gander and Justin Hagberg at the former’s Rain City Recorders studio. In addition to augmenting the album with his skill on the black and whites, Hagberg — a member of the recently reunited 3 Inches of Blood — also helped Anciients navigate a significant last-minute hurdle, one that threatened to pull the reins back on their comeback roar.
“We lost our bass player literally a month before we were going in to record and were kind of up shit’s creek. Justin also plays in a band called Ritual Dictates with Rory and is the one who brought his name up.”
O’Brien, a former member of Vancouver’s Bushwhacker, was absolutely interested when approached by Anciients.
“We got lucky and he saved our asses at the last minute.”
Cook stepped up to the challenge of being the sole lyricist to drape Beyond the Reach of the Sun in deeply personal expressions of the inner turmoil, fear and isolation he’d experienced in himself and saw in others over the past few years. There were moments where he didn’t know whether loved ones were going to pull through and what life was going to look like were tragedy come to pass. Mental health and people living life without being able to see any light at the end of the tunnel became a very prevalent theme to tracks like “Despoiled” and “Beyond Our Minds.” And while the line that became the album’s title is taken from a David Attenborough-narrated Planet Earth documentary, it speaks more to the coming and going of despondency when one doesn’t know how dark the darkness is going to get, as in “Is It Your God,” which pulls from the manifestation of grief and how it can shatter belief systems.
“That one is a little more personal to me and my situation,” Cook says somberly. “I had a good friend of mine from when I was younger pass away from cancer. His mother was super-religious and there were ideas taken from her questioning how could something like that happen to her when she had such a strong faith.”
The title and themes of stripped away hope and piled on anguish and tumult were parlayed into the album’s spectacular cover art. Created by Adam Burke (Nightjar Illustrations), the drawing is part-pulp novel cover, part-Franzetta landscape, part-sci-fi movie poster and all a vast illustration one can easily lose themselves in while the record spins in the background.
“We gave him the concept and basic outline of how we wanted the cover to look and he took it to a whole new dimension. It turned out pretty wild!”
With all being said and done, Anciients have returned! They stand ready to ascend the prog metal ladder and get back to doing what they do best with a weighty and dense, but wholly accessible, album. It’s a collection of ten songs that possesses the ability to have those furiously banging heads also tapping into their power of self-reflection and contemplation to ponder the finality of existence, the value of life and their place in the universe.
“Totally! We’re going to take as many of the opportunities that come to us. The hiatus is over and I think with the new members and everyone being on the same page we’re ready to get out there as soon as possible. We missed out on a huge block after the last record, so we’ve got to make up for lost time. Now that everyone is happy and healthy, we plan to hit it hard.”
Finland’s Assemble The Chariots return with a brand new epic, full-length concept album, Unyielding Night, which is set for a 19th July release via Seek &and Strike. They have also unveiled their single ‘Evermurk’.
‘Evermurk’ perfectly showcases the band’s dynamic songwriting prowess and encapsulates the overall tone of the record. This track is an intricate extreme metal masterpiece and its video is equally as bombastic as the song itself, which quickly pulls you into another dimension with its grandiose landscape. Assemble The Chariots are poised to cement themselves as one of the genre’s best with this new album, which is simply undeniable.
Assemble The Chariots states: “From the beginning, our collective mindset was to primarily focus on the story and to ignore musical trends and boundaries, as we wanted the album to feel like a movie soundtrack. We also wanted to make playing the songs live fun as well. This means that instead of only writing super technical and complex songs, we took a different approach by contrasting the more challenging parts with more simpler elements whenever the songs needed them. This provided us the freedom to perform and enjoy the music on a whole different level.
“Our newest single, ‘Evermurk,’ almost didn’t make the album. After several revisions with different tempo and key variations and alternative endings, we made the song fit perfectly. We had to make some pre-determined compositional decisions on the songs around ‘Evermurk’ before finishing the single. ‘Evermurk’ has all the essential Assemble The Chariots elements, such as syncopated double kick patterns, menacing riffs and gigantic choruses. We decided to further elevate the song with an atypical vocal style, adding extra drama on the composition in order to tell the story. Story-wise, the song is the long awaited counterpart to our previous stand-alone single, ‘Empress.’ Where ‘Empress’ is the depiction of the goddess of light in the ATC universe, ‘Evermurk’ refers to the dark entity, which is directly controlled be her darkness. ‘Evermurk’ is the embodiment of the darkness spreading through the cosmos. This dichotomy can be directly heard in the composition of the song with it having very evil and menacing verses, yet very epic choruses filled with melody and major chords.
“Our new music is a non-traditional combination of traditional elements to create an epic showcase of what metal can be in modern times. The way the songs have been arranged and composed keeps the listener aware and drags you into the song. Every note and hit has been carefully crafted with a greater picture in mind. This, in conjunction with the highly thought-out lore behind the songs, creates a combination that truly feels fresh and unique in a pretty saturated field. Our sincere wish is that anyone who stumbles upon this album, would be open to listening to it as a piece of heavy metal history, instead of an example of what a specific genre should to them sound like.
“If you like blast-beats, mega-epic orchestrations, spectacular live shows and nerding out to intricate lore, or if you are just yearning for a unique sounding metal band to add to your song libraries, Assemble The Chariots is your band.”
Unyeilding Night track list:
01 Aquilegia in Peril 02 Departure 03 Admorean Monolith 04 As Was Seen by Augurers 05 Shimmering, Pulsing Glow 06 Evermurk 07 Reavers March 08 Ephemeral Stream 09 Emancipation 10 Keepers of the Stars 11 Empress 12 Last Line of Defence 13 Galactic Order 14 Equinox
Assemble the Chariots are an extreme metal band from southern Finland. formed in 2008. Their sound is a unique combination of harsh blackened riffs, earth-shattering blast beats, magnificent orchestrals and terror-inducing vocals.
Over the last decade, the band have performed at numerous festivals and shared the stage with Suicide Silence, Ihsahn and many others. In 2020, Assemble The Chariots signed a worldwide record deal with Seek & Strike.
Assemble The Chariots are: Onni Holmström – Vocals Niklas Turunen – Guitars Kevin Apostol – Guitars Taneli Kaalikoski – Bass Sami Mäntylä – Drums
Today, UK alternative metal act NEONFLY is celebrating the release of their brand new live EP, “Master Tapes – 10 Years Live at Masters of Rock”, that is out now on Noble Demon.
In support of the band’s new release, NEONFLY has revealed a brand new video for the track “This World is Burning”, captured in 2022 at the Masters of Rock festival.
“‘This World is Burning’ was the 1st single off our third album ‘The Future, Tonight’ and led the way in articulating our adoption of a more contemporary hard hitting sound”, vocalist Willy Norton states. “Written at a time of great upheaval around the world its lyrics, allied with a powerful video, were our attempt to make sense of that chaos. The song now closes Neonfly’s live set with that mixture of melodicism and raw energy that fans have come to expect.“
– Original photograph by Veronika Hesounová –
Having graced the festival for the 4th time in ten years back in 2022, this digital EP commemorates NEONFLY‘s decade-long journey since their first captivating performance on the international stage. Masters of Rock holds a special place in the band’s hearts as it provided them with a crucial platform that kick-started NEONFLY‘s global presence. With each performance, the band has established a profound connection with their fans and the festival community, culminating in this special EP that commemorates their decade-long adventure at Masters Of Rock festival from humble beginnings in 2012 to the here and now.
Tracklist: 01. Highways to Nowhere (Live at Masters of Rock 2022) 02. This World is Burning (Live at Masters of Rock 2022) 03. A Gift to Remember (Live at Masters of Rock 2015) 04. Heart of the Sun (Live at Masters of Rock 2013) 05. Morning Star (Live at Masters of Rock 2015)
“Master Tapes – 10 Years Live at Masters of Rock“ is out now via Noble Demon. Listen to the full EP at THIS LOCATION.
NEONFLY are: Willy Norton – Vocals Frederick Thunder – Guitars Paul Miller – Bass Declan Brown – Drums
Melodic death metal titans ORPHEUS OMEGA are proud to unleash the music video for their latest track “The Tangle,” a single from the band’s eagerly awaited album Emberglow, set for release on July 24, 2024, via Wormholedeath.
“The Tangle” delves into themes of entrapment, despair, and the futility of escape, weaving a haunting narrative of a world crumbling under the weight of its own choices and the malevolent force that traps it. With its dark, evocative imagery and powerful melodic hooks, the track showcases Orpheus Omega’s unique blend of intense emotion and technical prowess.
The video was filmed on November 17, 2023, in Melbourne | The Northcote Theatre.
With a career spanning 4 acclaimed albums 3 EPs and countless tour cycles both domestically and abroad, Orpheus Omega has cemented themselves as one of the hardest-working and entertaining mainstays of the Australian Metal scene.
Beginning with a sound forged along the lines of the great Gothenburg Melodeath era, the band has since grown further and further into a unique entity feeding off each member’s personality and life bringing them to touring with the likes of Insomnium, Trivium, At The Gates, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Lacuna Coil and many many more.
The continued evolution of Orpheus Omega has kept the band relevant and ever-growing and in 2024 brings with it the release of their most ambitious album yet, ‘EMBERGLOW’ through WormholeDeath Records.
Orpheus Omega is: Chris Themelco – Vocals/ Lead Guitar Leon Monaco – Bass/ Backing Vocals Matt Themelco – Drums Luke Ashley – Guitar Campbell Hill – Keyboard
Saint Diablo is a brutal Latin Metalcore powerhouse known for their explosive blend of driving rhythms, aggressive riffs, and fervent vocals. Hailing from Virginia, USA, the band infuses their music with Latin influences, creating a unique sound that has set them apart in the metal scene since their inception in 2004. The band just premiered a new music video titled “Dame Todo” which is the second single & music video taken from their upcoming EP album The Reckoning which will be released on July 19, 2024 via Eclipse Records. The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Chris Anger (III Nino, Wyclef Jean, Luny Tunes) at Sound Republic Studio; engineered by Brandon Dickey & Justin Adams at Revive Studios; and the cover art was created by Chris Anger. The music video for “Dame Todo” was directed by Brendan McGlathery at Preta Path Photography.
“In this predominantly Spanish-sung song, the video captures imagery from many Latin American, Puerto Rican, and Caribbean cultures that (being from Puerto Rico), I saw everyday growing up in my household and Latino community abroad”, says lead vocalist Tito Quinones. “When we first wrote this song, I envisioned sending a love letter to my muse and/or the audience because I’m a jealous lover and I don’t want anybody else to have them the way I have them. Naturally, with the success of our last video for Voice On the Phone, it was a no-brainer to work with Brendan McGlathery of Pretapath Photography again!” Guitarist Justin Adams adds, “During the production of this video our whole extended family came together with us as a fully functioning team. We all worked from sunrise to sunset the weekend of the shoot. Most of us had to travel back many hours to get home but it was all worth it. We were truly humbled to know we had such wonderful talent and support from our friends, families, and wives. The time spent with band members and production team getting the costumes, face paint designs, and the getting the set ready was perhaps my favorite part of the experience, and we will never forget it!”
Saint Diablo tour dates (tickets & info) June 21 – Richmond, VA @ Another Round Bar June 22 – Hampton, VA @ Sonar Fest June 29 – Prince George, VA @ Trash & Splash Sept 13 – Wise, VA @ Blueridge Massacre
Saint Diablo lineup Tito Quinones (vocals), Justin Adams (guitar), Anthony San Pietro (drums), Zach San Pietro (bass), Awesome Ray Ray (percussion/auxiliary drums)
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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
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
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 