With “Ultrawave”, Dust Mice take us on a journey into the vastness of space and the unknown. The single is taken from the band’s new album “Room Within A Room”, out via Epictronic worldwide.
Room Within A Room finds Dust Mice at the crossroads between the vacuum of space and the eternal fire of the soul. The album has a more focused sound, with the same space-rock and garage roots, but there is a darker edge, a looming sense of dread in the spaced-out jams.
Good things take time – more so if you want to create something timeless. This undoubtedly applies to German black/death metallers PAINFUL. After an extended period of tinkering, the band, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, have announced the release date of their upcoming album Nefarious Monarchy– May 25th. The somber foursome have now come up with something special for their fans: On February 9 (Osnabrück, Bastard Club) and February 10 (Oberhausen, Helvete), the entire album will be performed live by the band for the first time as part of two “sneak prelistening” shows, revealing the complete tracklist on stage. A Nefarious Monarchy shirt, limited to 300 pieces, will also be available at the shows.
Anyone who is curious can now get an impression of what the ever evolving PAINFUL – including their new singer Latura – will stand for in 2024 with the brand new video single Liberty (Dies):
The song is the fastest track on Nefarious Monarchy, drawing heavily from the band’s black metal roots, both musically and in terms of its lyrical content. Embedded in the dark – and also human – abysses of the French Revolution, Liberty (Dies) is the direct follow-up to the opener of the concept album and describes the crippling omnipotence of the church, of which Voltaire and other contemporaries tried to warn the royally ruled people in various ways. With the fury of a shackled animal, the song contributes to the backdrop that would later implode in blood and fire, giving way to a new age of enlightenment and grassroots power.
The band thus resolutely pursues its path, completely dispensing with (anti-)religiosity and fantasies, searching for the horrifying in the history of mankind and dragging it into the light under an incantatory mosh: from the Black Plague (Imagines Pestis) to the decade-long cultural firestorm at the end of the 18th century, to which we owe our liberal democracy.
PAINFUL’s new album Nefarious Monarchy will be available everywhere from May 25th and is now up for pre-order here: https://linktr.ee/painfulmetalofficial. An official album release party and live show will also take place on that date. Don’t forget to grab PAINFUL’s new single Liberty (Dies) here and throw it on your playlist(s)!
Ever since its formation in 2004 as a grimy-brutal bastard of black and death metal, the band has stood for raw, bloody pain, true to its own name. However, they soon began to turn the melancholy of the abyss into something entirely of their own, leading to the creation of powerful symphonies, which have earned PAINFUL a steadily growing fan base at countless gigs – including performances with acts such as Belphegor, Behemoth, Atrocity and Amon Amarth, as well as many of their own headlining shows.
Three albums later, and with their fourth already in the oven, they have successfully crossed iconic festivals such as MetalDays, Metalfest and even the 70000TONS OF METAL Cruise off their checklist. So it’s no surprise that genre legend Alexander Krull took notice and produced a PAINFUL album for the second time in a row.
Finnish groovy trad rockers, Jackie’s Land, are releasing their new born debut album later this month. ‘Fortune & Fame’ is the last 4th single with a nice warm vintagey Black Crowes, Rolling Stones vibe, groovy riffs and a great chorus.
‘Fortune & Fame’ starts with some easygoing open tuned electric guitar which delivers nice warm “vintagey” vibes with hints from bands like the Black Crowes and even the Rolling Stones. After the peaceful intro the song rolls into a grooving main riff and some true to the style slide guitar licks. Like the earlier single releases ‘Fortune & Fame’ also delivers a nice and crisp sounding old-school rock song with a groovy main riff and a melodic chorus that’s guaranteed to stick in your head for the rest of the day.
“I guess the message of the song is kind of self-explanatory and represents our attitude quite well; we’re not here for the fortune or the fame but just want to do our own thing as best as we can and have fun while doing it. With this song we had a pretty strong sense how we wanted the finished track to sound like, and producer Jussi Vuola really did a great job with capturing those sounds.” says guitarist Jouni Möysä.
Music Video by Petri Vilen
Along with the song there’s a high-quality music video the band made with videographer and film maker Petri Vilen. “We wanted to make a video that represents us as a band and has a feel-good attitude. Standing in front of a green screen looking serious and grouchy with our instruments didn’t really feel natural for us so we decided to go the other way and do something totally different. The basic idea for the plot came to us pretty easily somewhat through the song title. Together with Petri Vilen we crafted the screenplay, and the finished video is something way beyond all our expectations.” says the singer Ilmiö with a grin on his face.
Music by Jouni Möysä Lyrics by Jouni Möysä, Ilmiö Oksanen Recorded & produced by Jussi Vuola, V.R. Studio Mixed by Jori Saloranta, V.R. Studio Mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde, Virtalähde Mastering Distributed by Playground Music Scandinavia
Endline is a melodic hard rock band formed in January 2023, whose musicians are long-time professionals. Janika Rissanen the lead vocalist, was recruited through a performance in Voice of Finland and despite the title of the band’s youngest member, she has accumulated experience for several years also.The band has released their debut single called Lost.
”The Voice of Finland was one of the best experiences of my life from start to finish. The entire production, the coaches and above all our own and other teams’ singers genuinely wanted to develop and strive for the best possible performance every single time. I also made good friends from this trip, with whom we will stay in touch for a long time. In Endline, I started almost immediately after finishing my TVOF-journey. Markus sent me a message, asking if I would be interested in coming and trying out how singing in their band would feel. The experiment quickly stretched into a year-long journey, which we are still on. We’ve been welded together well with the boys, and I couldn’t wish for a better team for myself. I have always dreamed of singing as a profession, of performing songs on big stages and above all, a great band that stands as support and security in the middle of everything. I would never have thought that a song sung by me could ever be found on Spotify, let alone on any other streaming service. So, here’s a clichéd message to all our listeners, fans and support teams: believe in yourself and work for your dreams! Sometimes it might take you in situations like this.” – Janika Rissanen – Vocals
The brand-new single “Lost” is a combination of longing and loss. Different memories give a perspective on the search for one´s own path. However, the catchy melody and interpretation of the song also give hope and leave room for interpretation to the listener.
”The song’s lyrics were created one evening when I was staying at the home. There’s absolutely no personal connection in the lyrics, but I guess that the passing of a loved ones and a friend that happened within the last years subconsciously influenced the creation of the lyrics. With the song and the lyrics, I want to tell you that even though it sings about longing and loss, the memories will still remain forever and you can use them to seek comfort and strength on this path of life. Go check out our song and best regards to all of our listeners!” – Julle Tikkanen, Drums
Endline released their debut single” Lost” on all streaming services on 9th of February 2024. There are new releases to come, which we will be waiting for with interest.
Trevor Rabin, the South African guitarist, singer, multi-musician, writer and producer, released ‘Rio’, his first solo album of vocal material in 34 years, in October last year. The deluxe edition of the album included 3 bonus tracks, including a demo version of a track titled ‘Fragile’.
Trevor had this to say about the track: “I’m particularly pleased with the space, in terms of production, and happy with the simplicity of the lyric. Life is harsh, fickle and Fragile. My intention regarding the guitar solo was for it to drip onto the “page” so to speak.”
‘Rio’ is available as a Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray (including 8-page LP-booklet and obi strip), both featuring bonus material, 5.1 surround sound & liner notes. Also available as Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g 2LP+LP-booklet (with etching on side D), and as Digital Album. The cover for the album was created by Trevor himself: “I dabble with digital art so I sent some images of mine to the label and was pleasantly surprised when they liked them.”
The full track-listing is as follows: 1. Big Mistakes 2. Push 3. Oklahoma 4. Paradise 5. Thandi 6. Goodbye 7. Tumbleweed 8. These Tears 9. Egoli 10. Toxic
The Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray also features the following bonus tracks: 1. Spek & Polly 2. Fragile (Demo) 3. Georgia
Given that his previous vocal-led solo album, ‘Can’t Look Away’, was released in 1989 (2012’s ‘Jacaranda’ was all-instrumental), Rabin has kept us waiting for more than three decades for a follow-up. Trevor admits that there was pressure from all sides, including his own family, to have speeded up the process. However, the delay is excusable. Since leaving Yes following the ‘Talk’ album in 1994 and largely as a prequel to touring as part of ARW in 2016, the guitarist entered the time-consuming world of movie soundtracks. Not just any old movies, either. Trevor’s name appears as composer for such blockbusters as Con Air, Armageddon, Remember the Titans, Enemy Of The State, Deep Blue Sea, Glory Road, and Gone In 60 Seconds and both National Treasure movies, amongst many others. “Over the past ten years I was having ideas, concepts that I couldn’t implement due to my busy schedule,” he explains, adding: “To be honest, those years flew by in a flurry. I knew that this was the time, and once I found my momentum I worked on the album 24/7.” The process proved a labour of love and as with his first and second solo records, ‘Trevor Rabin’ and ‘Face To Face’ (from 1977 and ’79 respectively), Rabin handled just about all of the instruments himself.
Stylistically, ‘Rio’– is tough to categorize. Besides guitar-driven rock-meets-pop, ‘Goodbye’ is Country & Western with an edgy drive, while ‘Tumbleweed’ begins in a burst of harmonies. No wonder its working title was ‘The Demographic Nightmare’.
“I wanted to get into many different areas,” Rabin states. “Of course there are ‘prog things’, but overall there are a lot of styles going on.”
Italy’s brutal tech-death masters HOUR OF PENANCE unveil details of their highly-anticipated ninth studio album “Devotion”, set for release on April 5th via Agonia Records.
“It has been almost five years since Misotheism [last studio album], but we are finally ready to unveil our new opus,” comments HOUR OF PENANCE. “Devotion is our anthem to the futility of war, with no light at the end of the tunnel. The main theme of the album is the misguided devotion which we, the people, give to our leaders, who mercilessly send us to our deaths under the pretense of democracy; while being guided only by imperialist ambitions and greed. The faceless crowd of the artwork stands in worship of these deformed statues of false deities. Musically, the album builds on the 20-year-old, fast-paced trademark style of Hour of Penance, and enhances it with more technicality and catchiness, interspersed with epic landscapes. We cannot wait to share these 10 songs with you all; stay tuned for more news and the release of the first single!”
HOUR OF PENANCE is a blackened technical & brutal death metal outfit formed in 1999, widely considered as one of the most intense and talented representatives of the genre to emerge from Italy. The band needed three albums to surpass its local character and transform humble beginnings into international following, which triggered massive touring across Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and Asia, with heavyweights such as Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Devildriver, Deicide, Nile or Behemoth.
From early output, through trademark installments – “The Vile Conception” (2008) & “Paradogma” (2010) – up to 2019’s “Misotheism”, HOUR OF PENANCE has been consistent in crafting their sonic identity through a complex, crushing and surgical brand of death metal. Whilst tailored for hyper speeds and untamed brutality, the group doesn’t shy away from perceptive social metaphors in their dark imaginary and lyrics.
The new album “Devotion” features long-standing members Giulio Moschini (guitars), Paolo Pieri (vocals & guitars) and Marco Mastrobuono (bass), alongside new drummer, Giacomo Torti. Recordings took place at Bloom Studio and Kick Studio in Italy, with mixing and mastering handled by Hertz Studio (Vader, Decapitated, Behemoth) in Poland. New band photos were shot by Massimiliano Rocchi.
Tracklisting: 1. Devotion for Tyranny 2. Parasitic Chain of Command 3. Birthright Abolished 4. Retaliate 5. Breathe the Dust of their Dead 6. The Morality of Warfare 7. Severance 8. The Ravenous Heralds 9. A Desert Called Peace 10. Spiralling into Decline
Tour dates: 10th Feb 2024: Firenze Metal, IT 16th -18th May 2024: Nice To Eat You Deathfest, CZ 1st – 2nd June 2024: Grabbenacht Festival, DE
Line-up: Giulio Moschini – guitars Paolo Pieri – guitars and vocals Marco Mastrobuono – bass Giacomo Torti – drums
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 ) 