Zürich’s FUELED BY FEAR Unleash Hard-Hitting New EP “Ordinary Evil” – Out Now

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 2, 2026
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
Photo credit: Marcel Bruderer

The wait is over! Zürich’s FUELED BY FEAR have unleashed their long-awaited new EP “Ordinary Evil”! Produced by Oscar Nilsson (The Halo Effect, The Haunted), bringing the characteristic Gothenburg metal sound to perfection at Bohus Studio. His extremely broad and uncompromisingly hard production gives Fueled By Fear their final edge – like the missing puzzle piece of their sound.

Stream, download and add to your playlists the EP: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fI2HcU1Xn3qdXXiMGAu0g

Mauro Galasso (Drums) on “Ordinary Evil”:
“The title Ordinary Evil is inspired by Hannah Arendt’s book Eichmann in Jerusalem and her idea of the banality of evil. The realization that evil often doesn’t appear as an obvious monster, but emerges through conformity, thoughtlessness, and the abdication of personal responsibility.
These thoughts feel disturbingly relevant today. Authoritarian tendencies, power figures, and oversimplification show how quickly history repeats itself when people stop thinking for themselves and find resistance too exhausting.
This confrontation also shaped our work on the EP. During the creative process, we completely questioned ourselves musically and personally. What defines us? Where do we want to go? It was a process that forced us to let go of the familiar and approach things differently. There were moments when it would have been easier to give up rather than face this confrontation. This is exactly where Ordinary Evil comes in: Don’t give up. Keep going. Face the repetitions,
defend your own path, and don’t let indifference win. It’s worth staying committed. Creatively, humanly, defiantly. Ordinary Evil is our statement for that”

Manuel Elber (Guitar) continues:
“Imagine making a dough, only to discover that you don’t like the texture. You put it back into the fridge. The next day you add a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and after processing, your dough still sucks, but not so much to scrap it. So you put it back in the fridge, thinking about what to change. Then you try to learn all the insights a baker learns in a crash course. You add your dangerous half-assed knowledge you gained and surprisingly it starts to feel better. You keep going, learn, each time adding more to the dough and finally you have a bake-worthy consistency, so far from where you started, that it seems like magic.
For context: “Ordinary Evil” took about four years to come to life. Scrapped more times than I can count. Cost us blood, sweat and tears, caused literal breakdowns, frequent questioning of the reason why we do this. But it shaped us as musicians, as a family, as a team. The amount of things we learned, technical, recording-wise, in persistence, in constructive criticism, is something no one can take from us. And as for all endeavours this heap of maniacs is tackling: it’s always evolving, always changing, following the heart with an open mind. This one, we’re especially proud of!”

Daniel Zopfi (Guitar) adds:
“Ordinary Evil was written out of frustration, anger, and watching the same systems fail us over and over again. It’s about how cruelty gets normalized, how power hides behind routine, and how people learn to live with injustice as long as it’s quiet enough. This EP isn’t subtle and it’s not meant to be comfortable. It’s confrontational by necessity. These songs come from a place of distrust toward empty promises, authority without accountability, and a world that keeps demanding silence and obedience. It’s loud, raw, and uncompromising, fueled by everything we’re done ignoring: the hypocrisy, the violence beneath the surface, and our own complicity in letting it happen. This is us calling it out, refusing to soften the message, and turning that anger into sound exactly as we feel it right now.”

On the EP artwork Mauro Galasso shared:
“The cover of Ordinary Evil visually captures the central idea of the EP: Hannah Arendt’s realization that evil often doesn’t appear as an obvious monster, but hides behind an ordinary facade. The ancient bust, whose surface crumbles to reveal a demonic face, is deliberately chosen. Ancient busts are a core element of my visual language as an artist, but here an additional layer emerged: They represent history and human patterns that repeat themselves. The monumental decays and releases what has been repressed.
We had various approaches that were either conceptually too complex or didn’t properly convey the message. When I returned to my own visual language, it became clear: The rawness, the epic quality, and the bold impact of this visual language reflect exactly the musical identity we developed with this EP.
The series was planned from the beginning. With each release, the facade crumbles further until the true face is fully visible at the end. A visual evolution that runs parallel to the EP. That my own style represents the band best has confirmed me as a graphic designer and as the drummer of Fueled By Fear: We have taken the right creative path.”

With their new EP, Fueled By Fear deliver their most mature and uncompromising work to date. The five tracks move between dark groove steamrollers and melodically dense anthems – harder, more powerful, and more forceful than all previous productions. The band has sharpened their sound: hardness meets groove, tempo meets aggression, while melodic passages merge with modern pressure. The result is songs with enormous chorus quality and real singalong potential – dark, but irresistibly catchy.

BIO:
FUELED BY FEAR from Zurich have been combining the intensity of metalcore with the melodic depth of melodic death metal since 2011. The band manages to merge melodic passages with grooving rhythms into a sound that can both strike brutally and touch emotionally. Support performances for In Flames, Sepultura, and even Pantera underscore their international relevance. Their debut “Two By Eight” reached #5 on the Swedish rock charts and #22 in Switzerland.
Fueled By Fear stands for authentic metal without filters!

For Fans Of:  Heaven Shall Burn, In Flames, Caliban, Darkest Hour, At the Gates, The Haunted, Bleed From Within

Line-up:
Vocals: Marco Böhlen
Guitar: Manuel Elber
Guitar: Daniel Zopfi
Bass: Josh De Souza
Drums: Mauro Galasso

Social Media Links:
https://www.instagram.com/fueled_by_fear_official/
https://www.facebook.com/fueledbyfear/
https://www.youtube.com/@fueledbyfear2516
https://www.tiktok.com/@fueled_by_fear_official

Streaming Links:
https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/6trMH3h5QEeV4RkGJUTKkH
https://music.apple.com/ch/artist/fueled-by-fear/1175459666
https://soundcloud.com/fueledbyfear
https://music.youtube.com/channel/UChy74syl4Mi2XG03J0qyWkw

A Powerhouse Collaboration: NUCLEAR MESSIAH & RICK WAKEMAN Collide with ‘Dice & Thunder’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 2, 2026
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

RICK WAKEMAN has recorded with some of the greatest legends in rock history – David Bowie, Lou Reed, Cat Stevens, Al Stewart… Yes, of course, Elton John, and both Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne.

His latest excursion, however, might well be the heaviest record he has ever performed on.  “Dice And Thunder,” the latest single by all-star metal/prog aggregation Nuclear Messiah, sees Wakeman join forces with Megadeth maestro Chris Poland, Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Rainbow frontman Ronnie Romero, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Bumblefoot), and Fred Aching (Dead Groove, Kings of Thrash, BulletBoys), for three minutes of blistering, seething mayhem.

A sonic detonation that could crack the sky, “Dice and Thunder” is a driving skull-splitter – and with Poland’s screaming guitar to the fore, how could it not be?

But Wakeman’s keys give as good as they get, igniting the carnage with a portentous overture, and embedding themselves so deep inside the performance that, even as his organ leads the track to its fade, you should be cueing it up to blaze again.

SINGLE: https://orcd.co/diceandthunder

A thunderous all-star concept set, the full Nuclear Messiah album is called Black Flame – and how appropriate is that? The God of Hellfire himself, Arthur Brown, starred on Nuclear Messiah’s first single, a cover of Lucifer’s Friend’s classic “Ride The Sky,” before Christmas (watch it at  https://youtu.be/yEaLCjdy2hk); and the new year opened with the incendiary title track, “Black Flame” itself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mnhk1b_xxo&list=RD1Mnhk1b_xxo&start_radio=1).

Like that track, “Dice and Thunder” is a Chris Poland original and, for anyone schooled in the art of Megadeth’s most combustible albums, you can already guess what that means.

The heart of Nuclear Messiah, Poland’s melodic fluidity, experimental phrasing, and sheer command of tone, have inspired generations. From Megadeth’s Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? to his work in OHM and Damn the Machine, Poland’s guitar sound remains one of the most distinctive in modern music.

“Chris isn’t just a guitarist — he’s a spirit of sound,” says Brian Perera, Cleopatra’s founder and the album’s executive producer. “Nuclear Messiah was built around his brilliance and brought to life by an army of legends who share his passion and precision.”

Poland isn’t the only Megadeath-er in sight, either. Elsewhere on the album, we hear from Marty Friedman, David Ellefson, Shawn Drover, Glen Drover (guitar)  and Chris Adler (drums), alongside 30 more metal and prog legends, truly the greatest – and heaviest – ensemble ever gathered for one single project.

Black Flame itself is released on April 24. For now, roll the dice and crash with the thunder, because Nuclear Messiah demand nothing less.

STABBING Celebrate Release of New Album with ‘Nauseating Composition (Feat. Ricky Myers)’ Single

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 1, 2026
Posted in: News, Int. News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
Photo by Matt Rush

Brutal death metal rising stars STABBING are celebrating the release of their latest full-length, ‘Eon of Obscenity,’ which is now available worldwide via Century Media Records! In honor of the band’s onslaught today, they are now sharing a visualizer for their latest single, “Nauseating Composition,” which features guest vocals by SUFFOCATION’s own Ricky Myers!

The brutalizing track can now be found HERE.

The band comments, “We’re glad to have Ricky be apart of this song and album with us, so huge thanks to him as well as everyone else for the support! We hope you all dig the new stuff!”

STABBING does not merely define the term “Brutal Death Metal,” they exceed it. The Houston Texas newcomers have plundered the crypts of claustrophobia and darkness, only to surface with ‘Eon of Obscenity,’ STABBING’s Century Media debut and a benchmark for modern death metal.

‘Eon of Obscenity’ is due on January 30, 2026 via Century Media Records and can now be ordered, streamed and/or downloaded HERE.

The album artwork was created by Rudi Yanto.

Tracklisting + Running Times:

  1. Rotting Eternal (01:24)
  2. Inhuman Torture Chamber (02:58)
  3. Masticate the Subdued (02:41)
  4. Eon of Obscenity (02:10)
  5. Reborn to Kill Once More (03:16)
  6. Ruminations (01:34)
  7. Nauseating Composition (Feat. Ricky Myers) (03:09)
  8. Their Melted Remains (04:04)
  9. Sonoluminescent Hemoglobinopathy (01:52)
  10. Symphony of Absurdity (04:12)
  11. Sinking Into Catatonic Reality (03:33)

STABBING does not merely define the term, “Brutal Death Metal” – they exceed it. The Houston Texas foursome has plundered the crypts of claustrophobia and darkness, only to surface with Eon of Obscenity, STABBING’s Century Media debut and a benchmark for modern death metal. “It’s just more extreme,” says vocalist Bridget Lynch, when asked to define the band’s infernal sub-genre, Brutal Death Metal (AKA B.D.M.). “It’s everything that’s extreme about death metal, just taken a little bit further. The vocals. The drums. The riffs. It’s just faster and more boundary pushing.”

When STABBING came together in 2021, the goals were simple. “We were really just having fun and wanted to emulate the style of the bands we really liked,” says Lynch. “Old school 90’s and early 2000’s brutal death metal bands like. Disgorge, Deeds of Flesh, stuff like that.” Coming from local bands and projects including guitarist Marvin Ruiz’s Nephilim Grinder and Dysmetria with Lynch dabbling in area grindcore outfits, from their first demo and 2021’s Ravenous

Psychotic Onslaught EP, it was clear that STABBING was immediately pushing boundaries. On the road they distinguished themselves, giving tour mates including Defeated Sanity more than a run for their money. Not only was STABBING a bloody, clear-cut step above most, they wrapped it all in songs and blistering live performances that were as memorable as they were bellicose and brutal.

STABBING’s reckoning moment came in November 2023, as first band on for the “Ancient

Unholy Rising Tour” with co-headliners Incantation and band favorites, Suffocation. Not only had STABBING’s lineup begun to solidify with then newly joined bassist Matt Day, but when

Suffocation vocalist Ricky Meyers had fallen ill and had to miss a string of shows, it was Lynch who stepped in to save the day. STABBING’s vocalist simply took the stage with the New York death metal legends and gave the absent Meyers a run for his guttural money. “That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to do,” states Bridget. “Suffocation was one of the first death metal bands I ever got into as a fan, so jumping onstage and blasting through maybe six songs was a crazy moment. I was terrified when they asked!”

It was also on that tour that the band also caught the ear of Century Media Records who inked the band several months later. With a string of shows in 2023 and 2024 including landmark appearances at the celebrated Maryland Deathfest and Milwaukee Metalfest, as well as a U.S. tour with 200 Stab Wounds, Ruiz (who also plays with Texas Brutal Death Metal, OG’s Devourment) started putting together riffs that would serve as the foundation of Eon of Obscenity. Compared to Stabbing’s more primal origins, Eon of Obscenity. is a clearcut next step that elevates not only the band, but the genre itself. From the outset of opener, “Rotting Eternal” straight into “Inhuman Torture Chamber”, which showcases Lynch’s inhuman vocal prowess and ability to shift gears from the guttural to something chittering that barely registers as human, STABBING have taken their brutal arts to new heights. Even the album’s instrumental inclusion, “Ruminations” shows an unexpected technicality as riffs and time-signatures coalesce in unexpected ways.

Recorded at Houston’s Southwing Audio by engineer Ben Gott with Chris Kritikos mixing and mastering, the production of Eon of Obscenity is as strident as the music itself. It’s eleven tracks that are as raw as they are extreme. “It feels more refined,” says the vocalist. “The album shows the potential of what the band started as. It’s not overly produced. There’s not a lot of effects or over-editing. We wanted to keep the raw sound that the classic bands had. We wanted to go for that, for something very honest and very us.” The album title itself also ties into Eon of Obscenity being not merely a second album from STABBING but a massive step forward.

“It’s representative of this being a new era for the band,” Lynch states. “An improvement of the STABBING sound and us as musicians. On the last album [2022’s Extirpated Mortal Process], I wasn’t really happy with what I did vocally,” she admits, “And I really wanted to really improve.

One of my favorite songs on the album is called ‘Reborn to Kill Once More’, which sums up how good and how strong we feel about the band and the album now.”

Being one of the rare female voices in modern death metal isn’t lost on Bridget. She’s quick to admit that she approaches lyrics and delivery in a way that differs from most. “When I was in high school, first getting into brutal death metal, I discovered the band, Cerebral Bore” she recounts. “When I saw that they had a female singer, I was like, ‘What the hell?’ I was like, I have to be that! I had to emulate her. I was so inspired. My hope is that when people, particularly younger girls hear STABBING for the first time, we have that same effect on them.

“It’s pretty obvious that metal, in general, has been pretty male dominated,” Lynch states. “I won’t really entertain the misogyny of brutal death metal in what we do, for obvious reasons. I try to turn it around. One of our older songs is about the first female serial killer I ever read about, Aileen Wournos. If you look at other female-led death metal bands like Castrator or Emasculator, they also try to turn the tables and present things from a different perspective.”

With Eon of Obscenity, the Texas four-piece have delivered on everything their earlier releases and live shows have hinted at. B.D.M. has an unmistakably brutal new voice and it is STABBING. “I never expected it, there is a new wave of slam bands and brutal death metal bands,” says Bridget. “But I never thought people would think of us as an important band to that or any other scene! We have younger bands come up to us all the time and say, ‘Your first demo really inspired us,’ and that blows my mind. I never thought my brutal death metal band would have that kind of impact.”

Line-Up:
Matt Day – Bass Guitar
Aron Hetsko – Drums
Bridget Lynch – Lead Vocalist
Marvin Ruiz – Guitar

Special Guest:
Guest vocals by Ricky Myers (SUFFOCATION) on “Nauseating Composition”

Cover Artist: Rudi Yanto

Credits:
Recorded at Houston’s Southwing Audio by engineer Ben Gott
Mixed and mastered by Chris Kritikos

EDGE OF SANITY Announce Re-issue of “Cryptic” Album + Release of Second “Elegy” Compilation & Launch ‘Uncontroll Me (Remaster 2026)’ Single/Video

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 1, 2026
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Completing the final “Fourth Chapter” of the comprehensive catalogue re-issue campaign for Dan Swanö fronted Death Metallers EDGE OF SANITY as well as Prog/Hardrock outfit NIGHTINGALE, it’s now time to announce the pre-sale start for EDGE SANITY’s “Cryptic” album as well as the “Elegy – Chapter II” compilation, both out April 3rd, 2026 via Century Media Records worldwide.

Next to a careful full remastering treatment by Dan Swanö himself for all of the recordings, these two releases again come with plenty of bonus material and in the following formats:

EDGE OF SANITY – “Cryptic (Re-issue)”

  • Ltd. Deluxe 2CD Jewelcase in O-Card (Incl. 8 album tracks on 1st disc and 10 bonus tracks on 2nd disc)
  • Dark green LP (180g vinyl, 8 tracks)
  • Digital Album (Remaster, 8 tracks)

Note: The 1997 death metal album featuring then new vocalist Roberth Karlsson (Scar Symmetry, Pan.Thy.Monium, Facebreaker, Darkified), replacing Dan Swanö. Available for the first time ever on vinyl.

EDGE OF SANITY – “Elegy – Chapter II (Demos Comp.)”

  • Ltd. Deluxe 2CD Jewelcase in O-Card (19 tracks / 73 minutes on 1st disc and 18 trcaks / 74 minutes on 2nd disc as bonus)
  • Gatefold 2LP (180g black vinyl, 19 tracks)
  • Digital Album (Remaster, 19 tracks)

Note: Compilation of mainly previously unreleased EDGE OF SANITY rarities (pre-production demos, remixes, rehearsal/live-cuts, previous bonus tracks or alternate song versions, etc.) created between albums from 1990 until 2003, as well as a string of newly prepared instrumentals of the group’s most popular compositions as special bonus. Available with classy hand-drawn cover by visual artist Mark Rudolph (Carcass, Undeath).

For exact track-listing of these releases as well as the entire “Fourth Chapter” (and all the previous chapters) of re-issues, please visit:
https://www.danswano.com/track-listing/
https://www.danswano.com/edge-of-sanity-rereleases/
https://www.danswano.com/nightingale-rereleases/

You can pre-order these re-issues and also obtain all other previously launched re-issue titles here:
https://edgeofsanity-nightingale.lnk.to/ReIssues
https://edgeofsanity-nightingale.lnk.to/reissues2026-bio

Available as digital audio single today, you can also check out EDGE OF SANITY’s “Uncontroll Me (Remaster 2026)”, taken from the “Cryptic (Re-issue)” album, in a video clip here:

Dan Swanö commented about “Cryptic (Re-issue)” as follows: “This album is so much better than I thought! Since I was out of the band before they started working on these songs, there was only one song I had heard in its entirety before and some odd snippets of some tunes from it over the years. Since the guys were fine with me remastering it, I had to hear it so many times over a short period that I knew every note at the end of it and I must say that I like this version of EDGE OF SANITY more than what “the other guys” wrote for “Infernal”, where I just threw my vocal on top of what they had written, most of it first takes, and that was that. This is really potent writing from the guys, and you can hear that they really rolled up their sleeved and created the best version of what they believed to be what EDGE OF SANITY was all about. Changing singers is never easy for a band, but there are those times like this, when it works out…and the band is revitalized and reborn into something different, but still very potent. I find it sad that the guys never got to make more records with this line-up. We were lucky to get a hold of the original 1/4” master tapes and had them transferred at 96k/24b for a killer vinyl version. The first ever for this album. The original CD release was also made a bit too loud for its own good, in its original mastering, and now it can breathe again and the most expensive production ever for the band can be heard in all its glory. And I know it might be a strange thing to say, but it might well be the best sounding EDGE OF SANITY album, recorded and mixed by the legend Ronny Lahti! The bonus CD has some cool unreleased alternate mixes that we found on the tapes and there’s a pretty around the edges sounding, yet awesome live recording of their gig at the Motala Metal Festival in 1999.”

Roberth Karlsson, EDGE OF SANITY vocalist on “Cryptic”, had the following to add: “Almost 30 years ago, after intense rehearsals, we recorded the EDGE OF SANITY “Cryptic” in Stockholm during a couple of weeks in the summer. Serious recordings every day and partying in the evenings. It feels so good to release this sound-updated album once again, and finally on vinyl!”.

Dan Swanö additionally checked in about the “Elegy – Chapter II (Demos Comp.)” release as follows: ““Elegy – Chapter II” is a feast for the die-hard EDGE OF SANITY fan. Where “Elegy – Chapter I” focused on the early demos, this one is covering the entire career of the band. There are previously unreleased remixes of “Black Tears” and “Blood Colored”. 2024 remixes of “Murder. Dividead” and “I Wanna Go Home”. The pre-production of the “The Spectral Sorrows” album and the 1992 remix of “When all is Said” was transferred from their original masters at 96kHz/24 bit for a maximum fidelity LP master. The 1992 re-recordings of “The Dead”, “Angel of Distress” and “Blood of My Enemies” can also be found here, straight from the master DAT. The Bonus CD contains some really cool stuff that I didn’t even know existed when we started working on these re-issues. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew there was a recording of “Immortal Souls” from our very first rehearsal as a five piece. I checked every cassette I had (and found lots of other cool stuff…), but that version was gone. I got in touch with a guy from the U.K. that I know bought the “Euthanasia” demo from me, and not only did he still have the demo, with the version I was looking for on it, there was one more track on there! My jaw dropped when I heard “The Day of Maturity” for the first time in 36 years! There’s some other very lo-fi but magical sounding stuff on here: A Rehearsal version of “Jesus Cries” that I found on an old cassette and when I asked an old friend if had the very first demo of “When all is Said” (that I sadly never found…) instead he found two live tracks from our first ever gig in Stockholm. I had no idea that gig was even recorded! So, you’ve got “Everlasting” and “Immortal Souls in crushing live versions! A super early, previously unreleased demo of “Lost”. An unreleased “video edit” of the 1992 remix of “When all is Said”. The Cryptic Death cover “Kill the Police” in a shorter, more grinding version and as if that one wasn’t necro-sounding enough, there’s the “written-while-it-was-being-played” track “Belgium in Hell” from…well, you guessed it…Belgium. You can read all about that fantastic trip along with memories from our first gig in March 1990 to the final gig I made with the band in June 1996 and all the ones in between throughout the massive booklet! There are also tons of unseen photos in the booklet and on the Gatefold of the LP. There are also lengthy liner notes about all the songs and lyrics for all the tracks on the LP and CD1. And of course, the instrumentals! A total of eight instrumental versions, perfect for every death metal karaoke night! And it’s all topped off with an excellent cover artwork by Mark Rudolph, which has details from all other album covers blended into one! I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in making this re-issue campaign such a magical journey…I hope you enjoyed listening and reading as much as I did tweaking and typing?!”.

Previously announced, a definitive version of the ground-breaking first solo album “Moontower” by DAN SWANÖ, originally released in 1999, will also be out on March 6th, 2026 via Century Media Records as Ltd. Deluxe 2CD Jewelcase in O-Card (Incl. the original 8 tracks / 43 min. on 1st disc and 16 bonus tracks / 71 min. on 2nd disc), Transparent light blue vinyl LP (180g, 8 tracks) and Digital Album (Remaster, 8 tracks). You can check out the new single “Uncreation (Remaster 2026)” in a visualizer created by Costin Chioreanu / Twighlight13Media here:  https://youtu.be/Ken5QNe8Ew0

Stay tuned for further news regarding the upcoming re-issue title of this final chapter of the catalogue re-issue campaign to follow soon…

DAN SWANÖ, EDGE OF SANITY & NIGHTINGALE online links:
https://www.danswano.com
https://linktr.ee/eos1
https://linktr.ee/nightingale1

HÉR Release New Video ‘Going Down’ from New Album “Monochrome”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 1, 2026
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
Photo by © Daria Szczygieł

HÉR return with “Going Down”, a compact, rhythm-driven track taken from their newly released debut album Monochrome. The track distills movement into sound, favoring pulse and repetition over narrative, and framing descent not as collapse, but as passage toward resolve and freedom.

As vocalist and lyricist Maciej Świniarski explains, “This song is about persistently fighting to become a better version of oneself. It follows a path of digging deeper and deeper, reaching the core of inner darkness in order to break free and evolve.”

Built on earthy percussion and a grounded, forward-moving groove, “Going Down” advances with deliberate economy. Drums and low-register instruments interlock into a muscular cadence, while voices operate as percussive forces, repeating the “yo ho” refrain with ritual insistence. Texture, weight, and momentum carry the emotional charge, lending the song a physical, processional quality where each repetition reinforces endurance and shared intent.

Lyrically minimal, the chant reduces language to breath and rhythm, allowing meaning to emerge through repetition. Within the wider arc of Monochrome, “Going Down” marks a point of kinetic release, counterbalancing the album’s contemplative passages with raw, communal motion. It embodies the record’s central tension between stillness and force, grounding introspection in effort, movement, and collective drive.

The track also holds a particular place within the album’s narrative. Violinist and co-founder Tomasz Chyła notes, “It was a long road to finally bring this album into the light, so releasing it now feels like a huge joy and relief for all of us. It makes it even more special that the new single and video are for the last track written specifically for this album. It truly closes the journey in the way we always hoped it would.”

Monochrome is out now via Season of Mist. Order & stream here: https://orcd.co/hermonochrome

Tracklist:
1. Chant (10:47)
2. Needles and Bark (4:57)
3. Going Down (4:19)
4. Patience in Observation (3:02)
5. Slipknot (6:24)
6. Praise the Day (6:08)
7. Farewell (6:32)
Full runtime: 42:11

“Hér” in Icelandic means „here”. It is a very clear calling from the band to the audience: be here, experience, be inspired, it is happening now, and it is the essence of participating in our artistic expression. The bad was formed in Gdańsk, northern Poland. Five independent, strong musical personalities met “here”—in a specific place and time—to create communitas that are both unique and harmonious.

The music they propose carries the listener to 11th-century Old Norse wisdom poetry. The first inspiration for this artistic meeting were the poems of the Poetic Edda. Hér reveals wild, root-like, undiscovered musical spaces, the clash of worlds, and a glimpse of the otherworld. It uses raw means of expression and sounds, as raw as the North itself: trembling throat singing, increasing trance-like rhythm, gliding over the violin strings like over an ice surface. We start here: Iceland, the beginning of Europe. It is a musical meditation on a place, growing out of specific soil, reaching to the roots of Norse mythology but not stopping there. It is not only the wisdom of the Vikings, Odin’s recommendations for those who stand at the gates of Valhalla. The threshold of the otherworld leads further to universal, human, fundamental experiences.

By exploring the human nature described in Norse mythology, the musicians make a deep insight into the emotions embedded in its verses. They bring out the dark beauty of the North and its extremes: fire and ice, violence and tenderness, bravery and care, the brutality of war and the solace that peace brings, struggle and feast, the milky sweetness of honey and the salty tang of blood, love and hatred, birth and death, beginning and end, terror and awe…

Sestu hérna, sit here… sit here and listen, sit here and grow, sit here and drift away.

Line-up:
Maciej Świniarski — Vocal, Percussion
Tomasz Chyła — Vocal, Violin, Synth Percussion
Piotr Chęcki — Saxophone, Percussion
Tomasz Sadecki — Bass Guitar, Synth, Percussion
Sławek Koryzno — Drums, Percussion

Production Credits:
Recorded at Monochrom Studio, Gniewoszów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland.
Produced & Engineered by Ignacy Gruszecki.
Mixed & Mastered by Marcin Bors at Fonoplastykon, Wrocław, Poland.

Guest Musicians:
Magdalena Kuraś „Freya”

Cover Art:
Mary Zaleska

Photography:
Daria Szczygieł (https://dariaszczygiel.com/)

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ROBIN TROWER Celebrates Release of New Live Album with Live Version of ‘Bridge of Sighs’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 1, 2026
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment

The iconic, award-winning British blues icon Robin Trower has released his new album, One Moment In Time: Live In The USA, via Artone/Provogue.  Listen and order the album HERE.

One Moment In Time: Live In The USA, is a document of Robin Trower in full flight, just as powerful when experienced through your home speakers as it was for the fans on the front row. “At the very least, you want the audience to be feeling entertained by the end of the show,” he considers. “But I’d really like them to walk out feeling elated. I want them to get something emotionally out of this as well…”
 
The evergreen guitar icon unveils a live rendition of his pièce de résistance, Bridge of Sighs. Originally released on the 1974 album of the same name, the track has long since taken on a life of its own—effortlessly bridging generations through its tasteful, soulful, and sophisticated guitar work. Over the years, it has been reinterpreted by artists such as Opeth, Ann Wilson, and Steve Lukather, and even makes a subtle appearance on the end of  Metallica’s 1998 covers album Garage Inc. as a hidden segment featuring part of the song.

From the 14-song setlist whistlestop tour of Trower’s fabled career, the bluesman has already revealed roaring renditions of Too Rolling Stoned , and the previously released live version of Day of the Eagle. “That album is still a very powerful piece of music. You’ll find no fewer than four songs from 1974’s gold-selling masterpiece, Bridge Of Sighs, still universally hailed amongst the greatest albums from the golden era of blues-rock. “Those songs have to be in there, because they’re the audience’s favourites. “That album is still a very powerful piece of music.”   

Track Listing

1. The Razor’s Edge
2. Too Rolling Stoned
3. Wither On The Vine
4. Somebody Calling
5. Distant Places Of the Heart
6. One Go Round
7. It’s Too Late
8. Day Of The Eagle
9. Bridge of Sighs
10. No More Worlds To Conquer
11. Daydream
12. Little Bit of Sympathy
13. Rise Up Like The Sun
14. Birdsong

In the summer of 2025 and riding high on the acclaim for his latest solo album, Come And Find Me (“Trower is to be treasured,” wrote Classic Rock), the guitarist crossed the Atlantic for a 25-date run in the nation that has welcomed him since the start. Almost 60 years have passed since Trower first performed in the Land Of The Free, but as a British gunslinger raised under slate-grey South London skies, he still remembers the culture shock. “I first came here with Procol Harum in the late-Sixties. Back then, it was a different world,” he says.
 
Trower honed in on the material caught at the Music Box At The Borgata, Atlantic City, New Jersey (14 June) and the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, New Hampshire (24 June).

Other old favourites include Daydream (from 1973’s solo debut, Twice Removed From Yesterday) and Somebody Calling (from 1977’s In City Dreams). Elsewhere, Trower plays the aces up his sleeve with surprise airings of Rise Up Like The Sun (from 1994’s 20th Century Blues) and Distant Places Of The Heart (from his 2007 collaboration with the late Cream bassist Jack Bruce, Seven Moons).

Trower is no heritage artist, and the cheers are just as loud for the four songs from 2022’s No More Worlds To Conquer, not to mention his stalking take on One Go Round (from Come And Find Me). “I love to play One Go Round live – it’s like a hot knife through butter,” he says of the soul-in-fingers strut.

“I prefer this format because I have more freedom,” he explains. “In a three-piece, everybody is trying to make up for the missing instrument. We’ve got Richard Watts on bass and vocals: a wonderful voice, great musician. Then there’s Chris Taggart on drums, another fantastic musician. I’m very fortunate to play with guys of this calibre. We’ve been working together now for a good ten years. They have to watch me a bit, because obviously I’m leading and they have to follow – but they do a brilliant job.”

Robin Trower Online
http://www.trowerpower.com
http://www.facebook.com/RobinTrower/
https://twitter.com/robintrower