After some previews in the past months and two compelling and solid singles, “Triple Six Revolution”, the new album from LILITH’S BLACK LOTUS, is out today on all online platforms.
The band is based in Germany and led by the Italian mastermind, Jackie J. Vampire. The full-length album features eight aggressive tracks showcasing sharp riffs and unstoppable grooves that support the melodic evolutions of the British lead singer, Evan Madgin. He effortlessly alternates between growls and clean parts, demonstrating technical mastery.
Released through Volcano Records & Promotion, the album is a synthesis of tradition and modernity within the realm of European heavy metal. Alongside the release, a lyric video for “The Undead Army” is available on YouTube, depicting darkness and brutality vividly, portraying an army of undead bringing relentless destruction.
For all heavy metal enthusiasts seeking intense and dark sounds, do not miss the powerful and dark experience of “The Undead Army”, below.
Initially written for PUTERAEON’s second demo, back in 2008, “Graverobber” is a sick dive into the mind of a graverobber. And is still a vital and twisted death metal tune; a real bonecrusher. Out this week as a digital single and a sick, fitting official video.
Now celebrating their 15th anniversary as a band, Swedish horror death metal stalwarts PUTERAEON don’t show any signs of slowing down or exploring new musical paths. Instead, they remain firmly in their bonecrushing Lovecraft-inspired death metal approach.
Join the “Graverobber” premiering here:
Coherent with this vision, the quartet looked back at their demos and debut album and re-recorded some of their old songs for this digital EP that celebrates a decade and a half of Chtulhian terror music, with the sound being mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö of Bloodbath and Edge Of Sanity fame. Five songs were chosen, from the first one Puteraeon ever written (“The Plague”, from their 2008 demo “Fascination For Mutilation” demo), until “Storm Over Devil’s Reef”, the opening track from the band’s 2011 debut album, with its rumbling intro and blasting velocity. “Whispers Of The Dead”, “Graverobber” (both from the second demo “The Requiem, released back in 2008), as well as “Dead Once More” (from the Re-Animator-inspired 2009 demo “The Extraordinary Work Of Herbert West”) complete “Quindecennial Horror”, with Puteraeon staring firmly at the abyss, while the abyss stares back at them.
“Quindecennial Horror” will be released in digital format via Emanzipation Productions on March 8th, 2024.
Lineup: Daniel Vandija – bass Anders Malmström – drums Jonas Lindblood – vocals, guitars Rune Foss – guitars
“Death Of Me” is the brand new single and official video from the Danish modern melodic hard rockers SILVERA. An addictive song that revolves around someone else’s influence on your mind, and the dire consequences of not being able to break free from it…
Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Pretty Maids, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, etc).
This captivating melodic hard rock composition that delves into the profound theme of the pervasive influence of external forces on one’s mind is the first sign of life from the band since their debut album “Edge Of The World”, released back in 2020. It examines the dire consequences that manifest when one finds themselves entangled in the inescapable web of another’s sway, struggling against the relentless currents of mental captivity. Notably, Silvera has also tried to expand their musical horizon in their upcoming album, from which “Death Of Me” is the first advance, while still maintaining the true core of their sound.
Watch the “Death Of Me” premiering here:
A new Silvera album will be released in 2024.
Lineup: Michael Krogh – guitar & vocals Simon Krabbesmark – guitar & backing vocals Rasmus Lindegård Hovde – bass & backing vocals Martin Nielsen – drums
ENTHEOS ring in the new year with a new single: a Drumcorps remix of “I Am The Void.” The original track is taken from the band’s critically adored Time Will Take Us All full-length offering, released in March of 2023 via Metal Blade Records.
Drumcorps is a metal/hardcore-inspired solo project of Aaron Spectre, an electronic musician, and DJ well known within the breakcore scene. His recordings and performances as Drumcorps mix explosive breakbeats and samples with his own guitar shredding, resulting in an aggressive, powerful hybrid of several styles of heavy music. Drumcorps has done remix collaborations with such scene giants as Converge, Code Orange, Animosity, and more. The remix of ENTHEOS‘ “I Am The Void” follows Drumcorps‘ reinterpretation of the band’s “The Interior Wilderness” (also taken from the Time Will Take Us All album), released last October.
Stream ENTHEOS: “I Am The Void (Drumcorps Remix)” at THIS LOCATION.
Pushing progressive death metal in ever more imaginative directions, ENTHEOS continues to stand apart from the pack. Incorporating elements drawn from myriad genres – including death metal, groove, grunge, electronica, slam, gothic rock, jazz, prog and more – the group has evolved with every release. Stripping down to a two-piece in 2020 has helped the band streamline and allow the core members – vocalist Chaney Crabb and drummer/guitarist Navene Koperweis – to make the music they want to with no compromise, resulting in the diverse and exhilarating, Time Will Take Us All.
When it came to penning the lyrics, Crabb knew that she was going to write about her own “experience as a human” and approach the album based on the lingering awareness that there is so much world out there but so little time. The idea hit home in August 2021 when Crabb got into an accident on her electric scooter on the day she started tracking vocals. Because of this accident she found herself in a strange place mentally, juggling between feeling truly happy and grateful for every second that she was alive and got to spend with the people who she loved, but also feeling completely depressed, because of all of the uncertainty surrounding her injuries.
This resulted in songs such as “Absolute Zero,” which is about the battle between mental darkness and lightness, when darkness begins to take over. “In Purgatory” references the state of temporary misery that getting in the accident put her in and more broadly the unknowing of whether an individual will come out of a situation for the better or for the worse, while “Oblivion” discusses the state of being stuck in the day-to-day of life and the lack of awareness that comes along with it.
Cover art: Eliran Kantor
Ultimately, Time Will Take Us All was received by fans and media alike with open arms. New Noise Magazine hailed, “one of the best versions of modern riff-y progressive death metal we have now,” Metal Hammer (UK) lauded a band “poised to morph from a promising project into tech metal titans,” while Loudwire gushed, “the band plays with lockstep precision, turning the gears of their technical death metal machine as it steamrolls forward.” Much of 2023 found the band on tour supporting the record, including separate support runs with labelmates Whitechapel and Revocation and three sold out shows last month with Lorna Shore.
Prog Legends GENTLE GIANT‘s “The Missing Piece” Steven Wilson Remix is set to be released on CD, 5.1 Blu-Ray and 180g Vinyl on February 16, 2024 via Chrysalis Records.
In 1977 Gentle Giant recorded their ninth studio album “The Missing Piece”. It was a time of change. Punk, disco and rap were altering the musical landscape and even this well-established progressive rock band were willing to explore new directions. Side one saw them experimenting with quirky pop (“Two weeks in Spain”), a grandiose power ballad (“I’m turning around’), syncopated funk (“Who do you think you are?”) and even the punky aggression of “Betcha thought we couldn’t do it.” Meanwhile the call and response soul shouting of “Mountain Time” hearkened back to the “big sound” of their Simon Dupree R & B revue days.
Normal service was resumed on side two with some of their most sublime and intricate progressive stylings to date. The breezily baroque “As old as you’re young” led into the yearningly elegiac “Memories of Old Days” with a particularly heartfelt vocal from Derek Shulman. The percussive tour de force of “Winning” then set up the blazing finale of “For Nobody,” another mind blowing complex collection of driving intertwining riffs that the band would nonchalantly thunder through with apparent ease.
It remains a polarizing effort amongst fans to this day, some bemused by its diversity, others enchanted by its versatility and sense of humor. “The Missing Piece” certainly proves that Gentle Giant could play anything they set their minds to. It was the last Gentle Giant album to chart in the USA.
Award winning producer and musician Steven Wilson continues his association with the band, remixing the album in Dolby Atmos, Stereo and 5.1 surround sound. In addition, the digipak CD/Blu-ray version also contains an instrumental mix, the original 1977 stereo mix and videos for each track. All remixes except the Atmos contain a bonus track, a previously unreleased outtake of “Winning.”
Gentle Giant’s “The Missing Piece” Steven Wilson remix will be released on CD, 5.1 Blu-Ray and 180g vinyl on February 16, 2024.
Personnel: Derek Shulman – Lead Vocals Kerry Minnear – Keyboards, Vocals Ray Shulman – Bass Guitar, 12 string Guitar Gary Green – Electric and Acoustic Guitars John “Pugwash” Weathers – Drums and Percussion
Track Listing: SIDE A 1. Two Weeks in Spain 3:04 2. I’m Turning Around 3:58 3. Betcha Thought We Couldn’t Do It 2:16 4. Who Do You Think You Are? 3:37 5. Mountain Time 3:21 SIDE B 1. As Old As You’re Young 4:21 2. Memories Of Old Days 7:22 3. Winning 4:15 4. For Nobody 4:09 5. Winning (Outtake) 3:31 (Bonus Track)
Moldova’s INFECTED RAIN return with their massive sixth modern progressive metal opus, TIME, on February 9, 2024 via Napalm Records! Following their most successful album to date, 2022’s Ecdysis – which garnered prime media acclaim, hundreds of thousands of streams and views, and debuted in the Top 20 on the US Current Hard Music charts – INFECTED RAIN climbs even higher with TIME.
Trailing their successful latest singles “NEVER TO RETURN” and “BECAUSE I LET YOU” – which have garnered over a combined half million cross-platform streams and views on Spotify and YouTube alone – the band ushers in 2024 with the eerie, crushingly heavy “VIVARIUM”. The track boasts electro-laced djent rhythms and spine-tingling passages whilst frontwoman Lena Scissorhands warns of so-called freedoms that are not truly free.
INFECTED RAIN says about “VIVARIUM”:
“VIVARIUM is about feeling trapped in a world we’ve built ourselves.A perfect world full of illusion, gimmicks and fake promises, like a beautiful but restricting glass garden.It’s about overcoming these barriers, and seeing through the thick air and tall walls.This song is for everyone trying to break free from their own limits and create their own path.”
INFECTED RAIN exercise their trademarks withTIME, tastefully accenting the introspective musical journey with effectively-placed progressive, electronic and even nu-metal features amid ethereal passages. The album was once again produced, mixed and mastered by Valentin Voluta, and combines the deft talents of returning members Vidick (guitars, cover artist), Eugene Voluta (drums) and famed frontwoman Lena Scissorhands (vocals), plus introduces new member Alice Lane (bass) to the fold.
INFECTED RAIN says about TIME:
“TIME is not just an album, it’s a journey, a testament to our evolution as INFECTED RAIN.Time isn’t just a measure; it’s an ever-flowing river, a constant reminder of our fleeting moments and enduring legacies.This subject resonates deeply throughout the record, offering to you a chance to reflect on the past, embrace the present, and dream of the future.With TIME, we invite you to experience the phenomena of time with us, in all its haunting beauty and raw power.”
First track “BECAUSE I LET YOU” bursts in with undeniable energy, boasting aggressive lyrics and Lena Scissorhands’ swift, menacing delivery, before previously released first single “DYING LIGHT” marches with subterranean heaviness and rhythmic grooves beneath eerie vocals and keys, and even snaps into an EDM passage, showcasing the dynamic delivery of the band in 2024. Melodic ode to self-empowerment “LIGHTHOUSE” then crashes in to juxtapose soft verses and intense auditory shifts. Album standout and djent driven “VIVARIUM” warns of society’s fickle freedoms as Lena Scissorhands delivers some of the album’s most hair-raising screams amid a haunting, ominous atmosphere, while fast-paced burners like “THE ANSWER IS YOU” and “ENMITY” flash between various EDM, synthwave and even drum and bass brushed transits amid bludgeoning rhythms. Intense “GAME OF BLAME” explores themes of hypocrisy and emotional pain delved out by those we love while boasting one of the album’s most searing breakdowns, while tracks like “PANDEMONIUM” and “UNPREDICTABLE” detail the uncontrollable energy of the future and past, respectively – boasting lofty, angelic verses with hard-hitting guitars and punching drums. Italian/English-language journey “PAURA” closes out the album with a path to self-discovery – beckoning the listener to understand that we limit ourselves with our own fears, and must harness the pain to overcome. TIMEends in a state of calm with ambient finisher “A SECOND OR A THOUSAND YEARS” – drawing the curtains closed on yet another fantastic, experimental expedition by rising stars INFECTED RAIN.
INFECTED RAIN will begin their upcoming European/UK tour supporting Amaranthe and label mates DragonForce on February 21 in Hamburg, DE. See below for all currently confirmed tour dates!
02/21 Hamburg, DE @ Große Freiheit 36 02/22 Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt 02/23 Leipzig, DE @ Haus Auensee 02/24 Oberhausen, DE @ Turbinenhalle 02/25 Tilburg, NL @ 013 Poppodium 02/27 Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio 02/28 Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene 02/29 Gothenburg, SE @ Trädgår’n 03/02 Helsinki, FI @ Black Box 03/03 Riga, LV @ Melna Piektdiena 03/04 Warsaw, PL @ Progresja 03/06 Brno, CZ @ Sono Centrum 03/07 Vienna, AT @ Gasometer 03/08 Budapest, HU @ Barba Negra Red Stage 03/09 Munich, DE @ TonHalle 03/10 Milan, IT @ Live Club 03/12 Madrid, ES @ Sala La Riviera 03/13 Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo I 03/15 Wiesbaden, DE @ Schlachthof 03/16 Zurich, CH @ Komplex 457 03/17 Brussels, BE @ AB Box 03/19 Stuttgart, DE @ LKA Longhorn 03/20 Paris, FR @ Bataclan 03/22 Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy 03/23 Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy 03/24 London, UK @ The Roundhouse
INFECTED RAIN are: Lena Scissorhands – Vocals Vidick – Guitar Alice Lane – Bass Eugeniu Voluta – 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
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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
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 