Cape Town based rock unit We Kill Cowboys release the video for their latest single R.I.P out now via Mongrel Records. Fronted by Alex Muller, whose sultry and gritty vocals lead the charge, We Kill Cowboys’ sound is a blend of psychedelic rock, grunge, and stoner blues. Their music dives deep into anti-establishment themes, inviting listeners into a world of thought-provoking narratives.
The band’s upcoming single, inspired by the pain of betrayal, is a personal yet universally relatable anthem. Muller comments, “The song is based on dealing with betrayal. It’s a very personal song, one of those kinds that just pours out. They need to come out. You need to feel that shit and share it.”
We Kill Cowboys’ live performances are a visceral journey, with Jono’s searing guitar riffs, Andrews’ thunderous drum fills, and Danie’s fuzzy bass grooves creating an immersive sonic experience that leaves audiences’ ears ringing and minds reeling.
Prepare to have your senses ignited as We Kill Cowboys turn up the amps, delivering a musical experience that both blows earholes and expands horizons.
One of the ways Necrofier are making a mark on American black metal is their guitar tone. After all, the band do hail from Houston, Texas, where the unforgiving heat causes their tremolo picking to burn with more fire than other keepers of the black flame.
Now, axe men can conjure the wickedly distorted riffs and eerie, melodic dissonance that Necrofier harnessed on their most recent album, Burning Shadows in the Southern Night. Idiot Box Effects has blessed the band with their very own custom guitar pedal.
“The new Echo Drive is a collaboration between me and the KILLER black metal band Necrofier”, says Atarimatt, who’s been making effects and noiseboxes full time under the name IdiotBox since 2011. “Plug this sucker in and bring on TOTAL SOUTHERN DARKNESS!!!”
The Necrofier Echo drive is a tube screamer-style overdrive pedal. It runs into two separate echo circuits. The left switch is for echoes, while the right switch does overdrive. Each knob is named after a different raw ingredient in the band’s evil alchemy: Reflection (echo 1), Chaos (echo 2), Alchemy (echo signal mix), Flame (overdrive volume), Strike (overdrive intensity) and Darkness (tone).
“We are blessed to announce this unholy alliance with Idiot Box effects”, says Necrofier frontman Christian “Bakka” Larson. “The grit of the overdrive and the space of the echo helps create a dark and menacing effect”.
A limited run of first-edition, autographed Necrofier Echo Drive pedals are available on Bandcamp while supplies last. The pedal can also be purchased through the IdiotBox Effects webstore.
Necrofier burned hot and fast on an especially Satanic 20th edition of the Decibel Magazine Tour. This summer, the band are pouring more fuel on their fire when they join the legendary Obituary for two swampy shows in Dallas and Baton Rouge.
“It’s an honor to play a couple shows with these legends”, Bakka says. “Surely, everyone will be chopped in half!”
Necrofier 2024 US Dates Supporting Obituary May 31 – Dallas, TX @ Trees [TICKETS] June 1 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea’s Live [TICKETS]
Necrofier are also bringing total southern darkness to this summer’s festival circuit. Before they turn crowds inside out with Obituary, they’ll raise hell at Milwaukee Metal Fest with fellow SOM American black metal co-conspirators Profanatica. Come September, as temperatures start to drop, they’ll cast their all-seeing shadow over Full Terror Assault.
Burning Shadows in the Southern Night: 01. The Fall from Heaven (03:24) 02. Total Southern Darkness (05:43) 03. To the Wolves (03:54) [WATCH] 04. Forbidden Light of the Black Moon (05:20) [WATCH] 05. Destroying Angels (05:09) [WATCH] 06. Whispers That Burn in the Dark (04:40) 07. The All Seeing shadows (04:44) 08. On Wings of Death We Burn the Sky (03:50) 09. Call to the Beyond (04:29) 10. Burnt by the Sacred Flame (06:00) [WATCH] Total Running Time- 00:47:12
Deep within the scorching cauldron of Texas, the alchemists of Necrofier have brewed another potent dose of American black metal with their sophomore full-length, ‘Burning Shadows in the Southern Night.’ The Houston four-piece honors the time-tested virtues of traditional black and heavy metal, even taking an organic sonic approach, tapping seven-time Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Joel Hamilton (Unsane, Tom Waits, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, etc.) to lend his magic touch for a natural sound.
“The goal going into the new record was to start setting ourselves apart from our contemporaries,” explains Necrofier drummer Dobber Beverly. “One of those ways was changing what the record sounded like. Moving away from the clinical and sterile nature that most productions suffer from and back into a real room with real instruments and performances. Our friend and esteemed producer/engineer Joel Hamilton had expressed interest in venturing back into the metal world and offered to make the record with us at his facility, Studio G Brooklyn. The results will speak for themselves hopefully, as this record breathes and spits fire wherever it’s played.”
“Dobber and Joel have become good friends since they recorded the last Oceans of Slumber album with him, adds Necrofier guitarist and vocalist Bakka. “After that, Joel wanted to record something heavy, so we made the trip to New York City to record in his legendary studio. It was an amazing experience in a great studio; besides having all the gear, he also created an environment where we challenged ourselves and brought everything up to the next level.”
‘Burning Shadows in the Southern Night’ doesn’t just simply pick off where Necrofier’s debut album left off, but displays a conscientious effort to double down on the elements that made ‘Prophecies of Eternal Darkness’ successful. The solos are more plentiful and intricate, the hooks are more anthemic, and the overall musicianship is bolder and more daring. Speaking of the band’s evolution, Bakka explains, “I think this collection of songs represents us very well. We have grown together as a band and it shows in the new songs. Also, for this record we flew to NYC and recorded all day long for 10 days straight. I love recording this way because it captures a certain magic. The whole band is immersed in the process and it’s all we would think, do, live and breathe during the process.”
Another core facet of Necrofier’s allure is being a black metal band from Texas. “Where you live always helps shape someone,” says Bakka. “It helps shape our style and tone in ways, it’s hot most of the year, so as we burn, it gives us warmer tones and more of a heavy metal influence than when compared to our brothers from the North.”
To that avail, Necrofier isn’t your typical black metal band, and so this isn’t your typical black metal record as there’s a healthy amount of traditional metal influences, particularly within the guitar work. While conceptually, the band doesn’t heavily rely on Satanic themes, exploring deeper human philosophies and the occult like burning for your dreams or spiraling out on a psychedelic trip and exploring the beyond. “While there isn’t overt satanic worship in the lyrics, I would still say that he is a friend of ours,” Bakka cheekily says. “There are Occult themes on this record, but at the same time, it does take a philosophical approach.”
Further illustrating the influence of their environment, Necrofier also heavily explores one of Southern America’s most fabled myths. “The new record touches on selling your soul at the crossroads,” adds Bakka. “I like to take a different approach and touch on the elements of the esoteric world and dive into the forbidden or hidden that surrounds us in our lives every day.”
As the Texan black metal outlaws saddle up for record two, they are leading the charge as one of the contemporary purveyors of black metal revivalism. ‘Burning Shadows in the Southern Night’ is certain to elicit a sense of nostalgia for those who dare to lay ears on this vicious new offering.
Genre-defying Alternative Rock band Paraline are back with a new music video entitled “One Shot, One Kill“. This is the fourth music video from their new EP album Sound Weapon which was recently released on March 1, 2024 via Eclipse Records. The music video was directed by Leo Andersen, and the album was produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Paraline.
“There is hardly a musician in the world who does not respect Kurt Cobain’s legacy.” says lead vocalist Leo Andresen. “If every generation has its day when music died, then for ours, that day was April 5, 1994 – almost exactly 30 years ago. This is why the theme of this video was extremely important to us. Since the song itself was originally written about Kurt, I am glad that we had the opportunity to realize this idea. The question ‘Why he did it?’ haunts me as a musician and a compassionate human being, and I wanted to pay respect to the bright but short path he took. This video was something completely new for us. We were not just shooting something abstract; we were talking about a real person for whom we have a lot of respect. We felt our responsibility and had an unusual feeling of uneasiness because of it. We were making a music video about a man we never knew, but who had an incredibly strong influence on all of us and possibly the whole world. He shaped the musical taste of more than one generation of listeners and musicians and did a lot for us personally, for which we will always respect and love this man.” Lead guitarist Kirill Langley continues, “There was something very chilling about this production. Even though we created the video from a place of respect and love, researching and reimagining the scene and props was hard, emotionally and mentally. We did something of an alternative history at the end of this video, but it’s still open for interpretation – it’s up to you to decide if the man in black is real or is something like The Grim Reaper.” Bassist Alex Shustoff adds, “We created four music videos on our own within the past six months. We starved and almost froze to death with ‘Icarus’, almost got electrocuted with ‘Hyperdynamic’, and this time… was more about an emotional struggle. The first time I saw our guy in character, I thought I’d seen a ghost! And let’s just say guns and drugs are no toys… I hope that somewhere in the parallel universe, all our heroes: Layne, Chester, Keith, Chris, Kurt, and many more are doing well. This is for them.”
Cover Art by Paraline
The new EP titled Sound Weapon by alternative rock band Paraline is a battle cry straight from the soul. Packed into a military box featured on the album cover, this “weapon” thematically explores the glory and tragedy of mirrored duality through its music: parallel lines symmetrically perfect yet never connecting, like the brothers in the band. Musically, the groove is the key to the cages of the lockup, and it was recently released on March 1, 2024. The regal guitars open the war-chest, and the vocals are a smooth and lustrous searchlight chasing fear to the shadows and demons back into their snake pits. Plainly, the band takes rock music to a new level. The lyrics, interpreted literally, explore the chains and shackles of society, friends gone wrong, politics and relationships, and denials leading to emptiness. Moreso, however, this album is an epic example of what is most coveted in any art form. Sound Weapon is a sketchbook for the listener’s past and a launching pad for unrequited, bold imagination. Whether you see heaven, cold hell, the dazzling skin of the sun, or a sinister mist underneath a low moon, this record paints pictures that celebrate your journey and make your mystery rich and immortal. Now it is your turn to find out – what is in the box.
So far, the band has released four music videos from the album for the songs entitled “One Shot, One Kill”, “Hyperdynamic”, “Icarus”, and “1999”. Watch them all at this location.
On May 17, 2024, horror punk metal act ZOMBEAST will return with its heaviest, darkest, and most frenzied material to date – their new album “Heart Of Darkness”! Slated for release via Massacre Records – licensed from Fiend Force Records – the album will be coming out as CD Digipak, Ltd. Vinyl LP and Digital formats, the pre-sale is available at: https://ffr.lnk.to/zombeastheartofdarkness
Following the previously-released, first single “Red Ripper”, today ZOMBEAST are presenting a music video for new album track “The Cycle”!
“This song lyrically focuses on lycanthropy and the frenzy that consumes. This is some of Mario Montechello’s most aggressive singing on the record. It’s the fastest song we’ve ever written and the double bass action of Kyle Smith during the pre-chorus just creates a massive wall of sound reminiscent of Metallica’s “Dyers Eve”, says guitarist / bassist Jared Smith. “The dueling guitar breakdown was also written the night before the studio and I think we nailed it considering it was written in the 11th hour. The music on my end was heavily inspired by AFI’s “Black Sails In The Sunset”.”
Influenced by Danzig, AFI, Mercyful Fate, and 80’s punk, death rock, and thrash metal, ZOMBEAST has crafted a perfect crossover blend of dark punk and thrash. The lyrics, written by Mario Montechello, explore everything from the true horrors of life to the occult and lycanthropy. With the addition of Alex Young (lead guitar) and Kyle Smith (drums), this album also breaks new technical ground that’s never been seen before by the band. Thunderous drums and dueling guitars meet iconic vocals on this long-awaited new album – don’t miss “Heart Of Darkness” !
Tracklist:
Devil’s Whore
Red Ripper
Call Of The Wild
Torso
The Cycle
Heart Of Darkness
Cold Embrace
The Witching Bell
Night Demon
Dark Path
Album Line-Up: Mario Montechello – Vocals Jared Smith – Guitar, Bass Alex Young – Guitar, Bass Kyle Smith – Drums
ZOMBEAST Live: 19.0 5.2024 DE Köln – Valhalla Metal Pub 20.05.2024 DE Leipzig – Wave-Gotik-Tref fen 31.05.2024 US Phoenix, AZ – Pub Rock Live (Record Release Show) 01.06.2024 US West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go Go 02.06.2024 US San Diego, CA – The Casbah
Swiss black metal duo ERNTE has announced the release of their upcoming album “Weltenzerstörer” along with the release of a video for their first single, “Ruler of Chaos, Bringer of Storm”. The album is set to drop on June 7th through Vendetta Records.
Following the band’s previous two albums (“Geist und Hexerei” / “Albsegen”), “Weltenzerstörer” represents a further development of ERNTE‘s earlier work, emphasizing its melodic and atmospheric elements while remaining true to its black metal origins.
ERNTE about the upcoming album, its aesthetics and meaning: “The cover was created by a graphic designer we came across on social media. His image immediately appealed to us and, in our eyes, fits the album title perfectly: Next to the sea monster, the ‘world destroyer’, the few humans seem tiny and almost disappear. This world destroyer is also conjured up in a satanic ritual in the form of Leviathan in our first single/video ‘Ruler of Chaos, Bringer of Storm’, for example.
But Weltenzerstörer (‘world destroyer’) doesn’t just mean the destruction of our earth – the plural ‘worlds’ is a deliberate choice. The world of sick thoughts. The world of false feelings. The world of consumption, or the world of manipulation. The world of religions, which we all deeply despise.
Weltenzerstörer is not a concept album, yet it can be said in general that the lyrics on the album embody a misanthropic attitude. It is about consciously chosen loneliness and the search for a higher meaning. But it is also an invocation of ancient powers and spirits in order to create new ones with the destruction of today’s sick world(s) and to give nature more space again.“
Watch the video for “Ruler of Chaos, Bringer of Storm” here:
“Ruler of Chaos, Bringer of Storm” is a satanic ritual in which Leviathan is conjured up,” the band comments. “He is the ruler of chaos, the bringer of storms, he embodies the destructive power of water. But when one world is destroyed, a new one is created.“
Tracklist:
The Witch (Was Born in Flames)
Ruler of Chaos, Bringer of Storm
Silent and Bleak
Trip to a Solitary Moon
Vessels of Sacrifice
The Fire Lake: Death of Souls
Profound Eyes
“Weltenzerstörer” was recorded and mixed by ERNTE‘s guitar player & main songwriter Häxär at Inferno Studio, Switzerland. Master by Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studio, UK. The album will be out on June 7th via Vendetta Records.
SIX FEET UNDER today unveils their latest single, “Ascension.” The annihilating new track comes by way of the band’s upcoming fourteenth studio album, Killing For Revenge, set for release on May 10th through Metal Blade Records.
A gnarly beast of a record that’s not for the faint-hearted, Killing For Revenge dishes up nightmare-inducing imagery courtesy of legendary frontman Chris Barnes via the vocalist’s trademark guttural vocals. Both the album title and darkly detailed red-hued album cover by artist Vince Locke are perfect containers for the brutality within.
Forged as a side project for Barnes during his final years with the band that he co-founded, Cannibal Corpse, SIX FEET UNDER became the frontman’s sole focus in 1995, coinciding with the release of their debut, Haunted. Only Barnes remains from SIX FEET UNDER‘s original incarnation, but the quality has remained remarkably consistent. The current lineup of Barnes, guitarists Jack Owen (ex-Cannibal Corpse) and Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell, and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.
Killing For Revenge marks the second album that Barnes and Owen have created together since reuniting for 2020’s Nightmares Of The Decomposed. Owen also produced the record. The chemistry between the five men is palpable; listening to Killing for Revenge, one could be forgiven for assuming that they hid themselves away for a couple of months and hammered it out in creative seclusion. Not the case. “We all recorded it on our own, in different parts of the country since we’re all spread out,” says Barnes. “I think the most important thing is to put everybody in a comfortable space so that they get a great performance. That’s what you want to capture. It’s really hard nowadays to afford everyone being in the studio recording like we used to back in the ’90s. It can be done just as effectively this way.”
From the opening moments of “Know-Nothing Ingrate,” which kicks off the vile proceedings, it’s immediately clear that SIX FEET UNDER focused their energies into something that’s as brutal, lyrically visceral, and musically dazzling as one would hope for from the ground-breaking Tampa-bred death metal lineup.As a special bonus, SIX FEET UNDER also recorded a cover of Nazareth‘s “Hair Of The Dog,” which appears on all formats of Killing For Revenge with the exception of vinyl.
Elaborates Owen of today’s “Ascension” single, “I wrote the music first, with no lyrical ideas in mind. I wanted a small musical phrase that linked the parts together throughout the song, so I wrote a little chord/drum fill thing to segue riffs from the start of the song, through to the end. It turned out sounding like early Possessed, according to listeners. I have an archive of riffs, so I dug for some fast-picking parts that would be easy to sing to.
“I had recently found a vinyl box set of works by Shakespeare, and listened to Macbeth,” he continues, “It’s pretty violent! So while ‘Ascension’ isn’t a direct interpretation of the story, it’s my take on the classic tale of influence, revenge, and the fate you face. As with many of the songs, Chris lent his lyrical talents to make the song that much better.”
Watch the lyric video for first single, “Know-Nothing Ingrate,” HERE.
Killing For Revenge, which features a guest appearance by guitarist Jason Suecof on “Neanderthal,” was mixed and mastered by Chaz Najjar at Badlands Recording in Denver, Colorado.
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 ) 