Mexican Thrashers STRIKE MASTER unleash their fast and furious single “Crystallized” as the spearhead of the 2023 full length album – Tangram Apocalypse, which will be released through singles leading up to the release date. The album will be released September 1st physically and on all major platforms.
Crystallized recently premiered via Metal-rules and can be found here.
In addition, Strike Master has also released a Bass play-through of the track performed by Walter Kleinert which can be found on the bands YouTube channel here:
Recorded in Mexico City at Confederate Musick Studio MiX and Mastered by Erick Monzonis at Dark House Audio
“Tangram Apocalypse” will be released through singles starting on June 1st 2023, Final release date and CD sale: September 1st 2023.
Tracklist:
Crystallized Here Comes the Incubus We die Tonight Lost within Compass Heavy Metal Black to the Future Prototype God Save the Fire
Strike Master is: KMU – Guitars and Vocals Konspirator – Drums Walter Kleinert – Bass
Greek progressive alt-metal heavyweights SiXforNinE are back with a jaw-dropping, animated music video for their song “Out of the Blue”, directed by visual mastermind John Nikolopoulos. This is the fourth music video taken from their latest full-length album Parallel Universe which was released via Eclipse Records on August 2, 2019. The album was produced by Fotis Benardo (Septicflesh, Nightrage), mixed by Paul Pavao (Disturbed, Stone Temple Pilots, Breaking Benjamin), and mastered by Tom Baker (Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue).
Watch the new “Out of the Blue” music video via YouTube, and stream the album on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music at this location.
“We were in absolute awe – jaw dropping, eyes wide open – when John Nikolopoulos (director/creator) presented to us the Out Of The Blue music video” says bassist Herc Booze. “This song has a very powerful story behind it, very personal for us. It has to do with the loss of a beloved person, the effort to get back in balance, at the same time not trying to forget, but to handle the pain. There was no one better than Zee to handle this journey… a robot with emotions, travelling through parallel universes, seeking his parents!” Director John Nikolopoulos adds, “I always had it in my mind to do a video for this song, envisioning a different format than the classic performance clips we did for Bullet off it’s Course and Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining. What I came up with involved creating a video with a vertical orientation, specifically for mobile viewing, using the stop-motion technique. During the Autumn of 2022, I started experimenting with creating AI-generated images through Midjourney. It didn’t take long for me to make the connection with the Out Of The Blue project. From January until early March 2023, I had gathered over 5,000 designs, writing prompts related to the lyrics of the song and its story, but also related to other songs from this and the previous album of the band. The style I chose for all the designs is a retro futurism style, inspired by old posters of vintage sci-fi movies and comics that I liked, because I believe it both suited the story of Zee (see below) and the technical aspect of vertical orientation for mobile viewing. Subsequently, these designs went through some initial processing using Photoshop and Lightroom to prepare them for the final video editing stage alongside the song. That’s how the story of Zee was born. Zee was a little robot created by a pair of scientists to help them discover a parallel universe. Zee had spent its entire life in the laboratory, with the scientists taking care of it and teaching it everything about life and human emotions, making it a member of their family. But one day, a terrible accident occurred during an experiment, and the scientists vanished, leaving the little robot all alone. Not knowing what else to do, Zee decided to venture out of the laboratory for the first time in its life and travel through multiverse to find the ones it missed. This video is a story of his journey longing to reunite with those dear to his robotic heart.”
(Cover art by Vagelis Petikas)
Parallel Universe by SiXforNinE contains nine high-energy active rock anthems and when released, received critical acclaim from the likes of People Greece, Rock Overdose, Metal Injection, Rock Hard, and dozens more. From the very first single “Bullet Off Its Course”, one can see how this seize-the-day anthem of positivity could easily push this band towards the top. Other highlights from the album include “Counting Stars” which is about galactic travel via astral projection, and “Sea of Lies” which tells the story of a refugee hoping for a better future. Parallel Universe was produced by Fotis Benardo at DevasoundZ Studios in Athens, Greece, mixed by Paul Pavao (Disturbed, Stone Temple Pilots, Breaking Benjamin), and mastered by Tom Baker (Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, Motley Crue).
Download or listen to “Out of the Blue” and the entire Parallel Universe album by SiXforNinE at https://ffm.to/sixfornine
After recently performing as direct support to Metallica for two spectacular shows in Paris and Hamburg, Symphonic metallers EPICA return with a another new live single from their European headline tour. The bombastic ‘Unleashed’ was recorded at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live in January 2023. Ahead of the band’s performance at Download Festival this weekend, they have released the live video for ‘Unleashed (Live at the AFAS Live)’.
“Unleashed has been a band and fan favourite live song ever since its release on Design Your Universe”, comments Coen Janssen.“There was no question about playing it on our biggest indoor show to date, and with the amazing images on the big LED wall, the song got lifted to an even higher experience.”
Watch the video for ‘Unleashed (Live at the AFAS Live)’ and stream on all platforms now here.
EPICA have a busy festival summer ahead of themselves before going back into the studio early next year to record the follow-up to 2021’s Omega.
SUMMER FESTIVAL 2023 09.06.23 | Download Festival | Donnington, UK 15.06.23 | Graspop Metal Meeting | Dessel, BE 25.06.23 | Topfest | Abraham, SK 02.07.23 | Midalidare – Rock In The Valley | Mogilovo, BG 07.07.23 | Exit Festival | Novi Sad, RS 13.07.23 | Dong Open Air | Neukirchen-Vluyn, DE 15.07.23 | The Return of The Gods Festival | Milan, IT 28.07.23 | Kuopiorock | Kuopio, FI 29.07.23 | Q-Stock | Oulu, FI 06.08.23 | Rockstadt Extreme Fest | Rasnov, RO 16.08.23 | Summer Breeze | Dinkelsbühl, DE 18.08.23 | Motocultor Festival | Carhaix, FR 20.08.2023 | Rock The Lakes | Vallamand, CH
Fall dates 26.10.23 | Floyd | Athens, GR 28.10.23 | Kucukciftlik Park | Istanbul, TR 05.11.23 | Rock Circus Den Bosch, NL 18.11.23 | Metal Hammer Paradise | Weißenhäuser Strand, DE
Photo Credit: Jan Bunning (Headbangers Open Air, Germany, 2022)
Metal Hall of Fame inductee, Blaze Bayley, releases a brand new live album, featuring versions of songs from his last studio album ‘War Within Me’ and also songs he wrote and/or performed during his time in Iron Maiden (1994-1999).
The 5 songs from ‘War Within Me’ were recorded on tour in the UK, and the remainder were recorded in France.
The album title, ‘Damaged Strange Different and Live’, is taken from the lyrics of the song ‘Warrior’. Official release date is 7th July and the album is available to order on vinyl LP, CD and digital platforms.
Having started his career as a professional singer with Wolfsbane in 1984, Blaze went on to front Iron Maiden, touring worldwide and releasing two studio albums – ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Virtual XI’, both of which achieved top twenty status in many countries. During his time with Iron Maiden, Blaze co-wrote the single ‘Man on the Edge’ (from ‘The X Factor’ album), a top ten hit in the UK, as well as charting successfully across Europe.
Following his exit from Iron Maiden he has pursued a solo career, beginning with his now legendary solo debut album ‘Silicon Messiah’ in 2000, followed by a further ten studio albums, including particular interest in his sci-fi based ‘Infinite Entanglement’ trilogy (released in consecutive years 2016-2018) and the critically-acclaimed ‘War Within Me’ released in 2021.
Starting in 2013 and exclusively since 2016, Blaze records and plays live with Manchester (UK) melodic metal band Absolva, featuring lead guitarist Christopher Appleton and his brother LukeAppleton who is formerly of American metalheads Iced Earth. This consistent line-up is completed by drummer Martin Mcnee and bassist Karl Schramm.
As with all Blaze’s more recent works, he co-produces with Christopher Appleton and mastering is handled by Ade Emsley (Iron Maiden, Tank, Voodoo Six). With this team Blaze has been able to develop his passion for loud heavy metal guitars. Artwork is provided by Akirant Illustration (Iron Maiden, Star Wars).
On 25th March 2023, just 2 days before the intended start of a European tour, Blaze suffered a serious heart attack. Following the necessary quadruple bypass surgery it’s expected his recovery period will be several months, so the tour diary is currently being reconstructed. Details of a return to the live arena will be confirmed at a later date, as will a new studio album which is in the works for 2024.
Track listing… 1. War Within Me 2. Pull Yourself Up 3. Warrior 4. The Power of Nikola Tesla 5. 18 Flights 6. Lord of the Flies 7. Judgement of Heaven 8. Fortunes of War 9. Como Estais Amigos
DeWolff have produced the world’s fastest Studio-to-store record yesterday afternoon. The Dutch band started recording at 1 pm in the Artone Studio at Record Industry, and exactly 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 38 seconds later, the first 12-inch vinyl single Rosita Rápida was sold at Sounds in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
DeWolff played a 20-minute live version of the song Rosita with a 6-piece band, in front of an audience, resulting in two sides of a 12-inch direct-to-disc. After that, the Record Industry team quickly got to work making the molds with which the vinyl was pressed. In the meantime, the cover was also printed and folded. After pressing, the band cycled from Record Industry to Sounds in the center of Haarlem in 10 minutes, where the first copy was sold to the lucky fans, and the clock was stopped.
DeWolff: “It was really cool to be able to do this in front of the audience. Recording live is great, but to also see the entire production process up close and to be able to bring your music to the store in the form of a fresh record is something else.”
Anouk Rijnders (CCO Record Industry): “It feels very special to be able to do this in-house with DeWolff and our team on the 25th anniversary of Record Industry. In the process from recording to store, we go through about eight steps, where everything has to fit together seamlessly. The fact that everything succeeds even within three hours is an incredible team effort.”
The old studio-to-store world record stood at three hours, fifty-five minutes, and twenty-one seconds and was held by Jack White, known from The White Stripes. The Third Man Records owner responded during the attempt saying “wishing you the best of luck on this attempt. Please post pictures of the metal work being made and the records being pressed, everyone at Third Man would love to see and are all wishing you luck as well. I hope you break the record (not literally).”
Rosita Rápida can now be ordered everywhere.
25 Years of Record Industry Record Industry is one of the largest vinyl pressing companies in the world and will celebrate its 25th anniversary on June 1, 2023. The factory produces more than 11 million records per year.
The enchanting solo artist, TIMEA GÖGHOVA, is thrilled to announce the release of the lyric video for her track, “There’s a Boy,” taken from her highly anticipated album, “Wild Storm.” The album, set to launch on June 17th, 2023, will be available on all major streaming platforms via Epictronic.
There’s a Boy” is a heart-wrenching masterpiece that unravels a gripping tale of a young boy’s profound loss and his relentless battle within his own family. The song delves into the universal themes of recurring patterns and the indomitable presence of pain and darkness in our lives, reminding us that life can sometimes feel like an unending cycle. The emotional journey in “There’s a Boy” is further enriched through Timea Göghova’s poignant drawings, which capture the essence of the boy’s struggle.
“There’s a Boy” along with “Wild Storm” & “I Thought” hold a special place in Timea’s journey, as they are among the oldest songs that sparked the idea of producing ballads. Originally written at a young age, these compositions have ripened over time, resonating with a depth and maturity that transcend their origins. The piano arrangement by Carolina Melisa Gonzales adds another layer of beauty and emotional impact, intertwining seamlessly with the evocative lyrics and melodies.
To bring the lyrics to life in a captivating way, the video was skillfully crafted by Volume Agency, led by Riccardo Ceppari and Martina Pizzi.
Timea Göghova is a versatile artist who covers several genres of music. She is known for singing clean, screaming, and singing classic songs. She is also the frontwoman of Still Awake (Melodic Metal) and Passion Control (Jazzfunk). As a solo artist, she composes ballads and R&B songs.
Timea Göghova has been passionate about music from a young age. With a background in choirs and a love for the German language, she moved to Germany in 2021. Her talent has gained recognition through appearances on TV shows like Sztárban Sztár Leszek and The Voice of Germany, as well as winning the South German Finals of Emergenza Bandcontest. Her latest album, “Wild Storm,” is a captivating blend of ballads and rock songs that highlight her vocal prowess. Timea has also collaborated with notable guests including Alex Beyrodt, Dominik Krämer, Alex Scholpp, and Dara Zusko, adding a special touch to her music.
Fans can follow Timea Göghova on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for all the latest news and updates on her upcoming album and other exciting projects:
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 ) 