Thrash metal supergroup SMOKE AxD has dropped a brand new, industrialized single and title track up upcoming EP, “Vaya Con Dios,” just a week a ahead of the record’s release on May 7th. Comprised of hardcore brothers Lord Ezec (Crown of Thornz, Skarhead), Hoya Roc (ex-Madball) and Sean Martin (ex-Hatebreed/Twitching Tongues), the heavy-hitting trio have unleashed yet another brutal track, teasing the unfiltered, furious metal that will be fully revealed on their debut.
The genesis of Smoke AxD involves the combination of 2 of Hoya’s passions, heavy music and cannabis. Hoya had completed songs and lyrics just waiting to be brought to life. He then focused on what musicians he could get that shared his love of big riffs and big spliffs. Hoya had been wanting to do a band with his close friend and brother, Lord Ezec (Crown of Thornz, Skarhead) for years. No convincing was needed, Ezec was immediately on board. Next would come the addition to one of his regular smoking partners on the road over the years, guitarist, Sean Martin (Hatebreed, TwitchingTongues). On guest drums Riggs Ross (Hatebreed, Madball) and Dimi Douvas (Crown of Thonrz, Stillsuit). Hoya then contacted producer extraordinaire, Zeuss to help produce and record the project. With everything in place, the band got together to record the EP, Vaya Con Dios, which will be released on May 7, 2024.
If you don’t look at the release date – May 17, 2024 – you could almost think you’ve bought a vintage stock copy of a Scandinavian second-wave black metal classic from the mid to late nineties. The brand new – and final – single from NECHT’s album The Prophecy of Karnifor perfectly reinforces this impression in every respect.
And yet with Stirred By Shadow, I Did Wake, things are somehow different, as between the three rather idiosyncratic pillars of anthem, frenzy and ritualistic mantra, Canada’s NECHT have created a quite serious temple that fulfills an admirable and rare purpose: to enable transformation. And no, this does not imply self-transcendence within the framework of a cult, including the one presented here. Instead, it’s actually all about feeding the often tragic stories from the outside world into a self-contained narrative universe of their own. NECHT see storytelling – well beyond religion and the fetish of the bygone, as seems all too native to black metal – as the most salutary way to digest the emotional excess and the manifold sensations of a world that is all too expansive for the single mind.
NECHT approach this undertaking with pragmatic efficiency: They play through everything on the basis of the idea of a lost, quasi prehistoric civilization and work their way through it. If you get involved, you will encounter influences from Greek mythology as well as from other early advanced civilizations of mankind. Using the methods of H.P. Lovecraft’s Weird Fiction, the band creates ancient writings as well as their discoverers, translators and resulting interpretive works. Ultimately, Zenith Maharg and his Ascendants consistently embody their own work in flesh and blood – and thus create a wonderfully rebellious black metal that makes you revel in its archaic grace, while respectfully thumbing its nose at the very scene it serves, but also at religious nutcases, warmongers and other excesses of humanity. With the now available sermon Stirred By Shadow, I Did Wake, the band tells of the origin of the sun god B’Ahn, who opposes his mother, the all-devouring Karnifor, in order to ward off the apocalypse – behold:
“BRETHREN! Do not fear the shadow. Within the shadow there may be found despair. Within the shadow there may be found death, and dissolution. But within the shadow, there may also be found awakening and enlightenment. For it was in the shadow that our Father, B’ahn, was born. GLORY TO THE SUN!” -Zenith Maharg from the Temple of NECHT in the Cult of B’Ahn, citing the Enkari-B’Ahn writings
The story of NECHT began in the pandemic year 2022 with a Canadian black metal trio that grew into a quartet as it progressed. Now, in 2024, Zenith Maharg and his Ascendants Vlasfimos, Zhargor and Aemoh step out of the shadows of the past to spread the word of their soon-to-be-released long meditation The Prophecy of Karnifor. The weird cultists themselves give us a little insight into what has secretly happened at the advent of the Temple of NECHT: “Zenith Maharg and Ascendant Vlasfimos are long-standing collaborators, already dead-set on starting a black metal project. In a second-hand bookshop in Calgary, Zenith Maharg then came across a copy of the obscure and controversial history Translating the Enkari-B’ahn Scrolls: Words from the People of the End Times, written by Dr. Birgitta Olsson, based on the discoveries that the German explorer and philosopher Dr. Karl von Mecklenburg made in the middle of the 19th century, and published in 2015. As he read and learned more about the fascinating and largely unknown history of the Enkari, he became determined to establish the Temple that is NECHT to do homage to our most ancient ancestors. Since then, we have been performing public rituals with rapidly growing numbers of participants, in which – enlightened by our multifaceted sermons – more and more people have been joining the Cult of B’ahn, our sun god.” One of the central themes in the history of the Enkari was the social division into two city-states, Lashmir and Ishpan, which were engaged in a perpetual war until the end of the records. B’ahn was the god of the city warriors of Lashmir, to whom NECHT also associate themselves. Now, for the first time, the descendants of the Lashmirs are performing selected sermons from the meditation The Prophecy of Karnifor, which will be made available in full on May 17th, 2024 – some of them as part of visual revelations, such as For Violence Was Wrought Upon Me, Into Bondage Born and Stirred By Shadow, I Did Wake.
Meditation through repetition: Put Stirred By Shadow, I Did Wakeon your alt prehistorical playlist now as an offering to B’ahn: https://linktr.ee/nechtblackmetal
The full length meditation The Prophecy Of Karnifor will be revealed on May 17, 2024. Disciples of the cult and those willing to become one can pre-order it here at any given time: https://necht.bandcamp.com/album/the-prophecy-of-karnifor
OCEANS ON OTHER PLANETS have released the music video for “Other Side”, The song and video depict how love can span multiple dimensions and transcend time and space. Sometimes we lose someone important to us, but our feelings go on for eternity. And perhaps sometimes we join our long, lost lover on “the other side”, whether now or later. The song is a fresh take on alternative rock that draws influence from Linkin Park, Muse, MGMT, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Smashing Pumpkins. But Oceans on Other Planets melds these styles in their own unique, modern way. Described as “heavy” without the heavy guitars, Oceans on Other Planets utilizes textures reminiscent of classic rock and metal bands, while adding modern pop melodies and harmonies, mixed with their own modern flair.
Produced by Sahaj Ticotin (Starset, Nothing More, Motley Crue, RA) and foundingIcarus Landing member Nick Wolf, the track combines pop hooks and electronic elements with a heavy rock vibe to create a genre-bending masterpiece with “Other Side”. Lyrics like “I can’t wait another night feeling like it’s either do or die… are you gonna see me on the other side?” showcase Nick Wolf’s expert songwriting skills, while the unique backing instrumentation highlights the band’s vast musical influence.
With influences ranging from Muse,The Smashing Pumpkins, and Queens of the Stone Age, all the way to Linkin Park, Phoenix, and MGMT, Oceans on Other Planets combines a never-before-seen blend of genres embodying a sound that is rooted in classic rock but with a modern style and a fresh story to tell. With their earlier foundation in heavier music, hard rock, and metal, Oceans on Other Planets have expanded their genre to more modern alternative and indie rock, and this new sound can be heard throughout “Other Side”.
Mammal have never been ones to shy away from tenacious themes throughout their career. Breeding music with a heartbeat that blisters and awes, the same tireless spirit that has accompanied Mammal’s journey over the years burns brightly on their upcoming second album ‘The Penny Drop’. Pulsing with pure rock’n’roll at its core, The Penny Drop calls out the wrongs of the world around us while emphatically flexing the group’s revitalised sonic direction and eclectic sonic influences.
From stomping fuzz on its opening track ‘Moscow’, through to sensual swagger on ‘Slings and Arrows’, polished melodics and salient alternative rock on ‘Doubt’, irreverent nu metal-laced rage on ‘Live Bold And Dangerous’ and toe-tappin’ funk/rock fusion on closing track ‘Five Days’, ‘The Penny Drop’ wields a vast palette while also consistently holding up starkly accurate thematic mirrors. “The main themes on the album are politics,” shares Ox, “setting up guillotines, smashing the fash, punching up, our inability to tolerate fools. Musically, fresh, mature, sexy bare bones rock and fucking roll. This album is not for the kids. It’s frown up fun. Pete [Williamson] wrote 100 riffs in 30 days, Zane [Rosanoski] turned them into songs with his V-drums and laptop in another month, then I came down from Newcastle and free-styled for 24 hours over two wild days in Melbourne. After that Jimi Maroudas came on board to produce and hone the 17 best tracks, which became the 12 on the album. After plenty of arguments, compromises and massaging by Forrester [Savell] later, we decided we were done.”
Since forming and releasing their debut self-titled EP in 2006, Mammal have toured relentlessly while also crafting a formidable reputation for their animated live performances, timeless sonic creations and authentic, working-class political activism that has garnered the quartet an ever-growing cult-like status across the globe. Revered as a “must see” rock’n’roll juggernaut, Mammal’s back catalogue includes their striking singles Smash The Pinata, The Majority, Hell Yeah and Think, with their touring history also spanning headline shows in London, Perth, Auckland, Brisbane and everywhere in between, as well as supports with some of the heavy scene’s towering giants, including Kiss, Avenged Sevenfold, Sebastian Bach, Cog, Grinspoon, Spiderbait and Shihad to name a mere few.
A band who also walk the walk alongside their musical calls-to-action, Mammal have also previously volunteered their live services, raising much-needed funds for various charities, supporting Interchange, the Refugee Action Collective and Fitzroy Legal Service over the years.
A band who says what they want, how they want to, as loudly and proudly as possible, ‘The Penny Drop’ is set to be a natural continuation of the ever dynamic and growing Mammal legacy.
“We feel ready and raring to go,” says Ox. “We say what we want, how we want and play loud and proud. We believe that at its best, rock and roll is a form of rebellion. Punters know when they come to the show that we give shit, about the music, about them. About their schools and unis, their hospitals and parks, their housing situation. Their favourite bands. We always punch up, and we aren’t pulling the ladder up behind us.”
Rising from the vibrant Italian underground, comes death metal outfit MIASMIC SERUM and their debut album, “Infected Seed”, set for release on June 14th 2024 on their new label homes of Night Terrors Records (tape) and Chaos Records (CD format).
The first single “Mortal Training”, featuring Jason Netherton of MISERY INDEX, is now streaming HERE.
MIASMIC SERUM is an old-school death metal power trio born in late 2022, between Venice and Treviso, Italy. The band’s style takes inspiration from early 90’s American death metal, leading to a viperous sound that is conceptually related to poisoning, intoxication on the whole, toxic plants, animal venoms, and even personal previous psycho-nautical experiences. In fact, ‘Miasmic Serum’ stands for an unhealthy exhalation of a serum, which can be identified in the animal and plant kingdoms. Two entwined snakes in the band logo depict the Caduceus symbol, which represents a lethal dose, and the therapeutic one.
All lyrics in “Infected Seed” take inspiration from various realms and cultures, including personal experiences in the world of psychonautics, revisited with Aldous Huxley and Terence Mckenna’s literary works, between dystopian fiction and psychedelic culture, which is also based on the main use of sacred plants. Furthermore, other major analyzed themes are the Eleusinian mysteries of Ancient Greece and the shamanic traditions of the peoples of South America.
MIASMIC SERUM‘s musical style is poised and pure: guttural but clearly enunciated vocals, catchy blastbeat sections, multiple tempo changes without losing sight of classic songwriting, vicious atmospheres and speed-shredding riffs and solos that harken to the earliest days of the genre.
The single “Mortal Training”, features guest vocals from Jason Netherton of MISERY INDEX, while the title track “Infected Seed” features guest vocals from Fiore Stravino of FULCI.
The album artwork and illustration are designed by the Colombian artist Julian Mora Ibañez.
Tracklist:
01. Auditory Hallucinations 02. Near-Death Visions 03. Mortal Training (feat. Jason Netherton) 04. Immortal Entity 05. Neurotoxic Venom 06. Lethal Bite 07. Brain Walls 08. Lost Control 09. Ancient Initiation Rite 10. Infected Seed (feat. Fiore Stravino)
Hailing from Cullman, AL Shallow Side, comprised of Eric Boatright, Heath Fields, Sam Bower & Codey Red, are pleased to announce the release of their new single “Filters”. It is the band’s first collaboration and they were excited to have Elias Soriano of NONPOINT not only help create parts of the song, but be a part of the music video.
“Filters” is likely the heaviest song in Shallow Side’s catalog, and with a brutally blistering bridge piece by NONPOINT’s Elias Soriano, it should come as no surprise. This song embodies the essence of what the band wanted to achieve in a new album, both lyrically and compositionally.
“Filters” is the 3rd single to released from their forthcoming album RELFECTIONS due out on 7-19-2024 through Thermal Entertainment. Details coming soon.
It’s the follow up to “You’re The Reason” released in 2023 which brought Shallow Side more radio success. The song charted here in the United States at #30 on Billboard; #33 on Mediabase; #14 of SMR; #29 on Auxio charts.
Check out the video here for “You’re The Reason” and previous single’s video here for “The Worst Kind”. The three tracks will appear on REFLECTIONS.
Shallow Side’s background:
Since coming into the rock scene, Shallow Side has released a little of everything – including several EPs, a full-length album, plus a number of assorted cover songs and singles.
Their EP, ONE purred three radio singles: “Rebel”, “Renegade” (a powerful Styx cover) and “Can You Hear Me” that began to get them noticed and earned them the title of Loudwire’s ‘Best New Artist of the Year’. In 2019, the band released their first full-length album SAINTS & SINNERS which contained their most streamed-song to date, “Sound The Alarm”.
Their extensive music catalog has now surpassed more than 50 million streams globally, and their music videos have eclipsed 17 million views on their YouTube channel.
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 