French extreme metal avant-gardists CELESTE have released a video for their new single ‘Il Se Vide Lentement‘, which is the first song from their upcoming new EP, Epilogue(s), due out on November 17th through Nuclear Blast Records.
The EP features three exclusive bonus tracks from their most recent album, ‘Assassine(s)’ (2022). Scroll down for the tracklist and available formats.
WATCH below ‘IL SE VIDE LENTEMENT‘ (OFFICIAL VIDEO):
Available Formats: Digital Album LP (Black & White Marbled)
CELESTE Live 2023: 12.07. CAN Quebec – Festival TEQC 13.07. CAN Montreal – Casa del Popolo 14.07. CAN Toronto – Hard Luck
13.08. BE Kortrijk – Alcatraz Festival 17.08. HU Mátra Kemping Sástó – Fekete Zaj Fesztivál 19.08. UK Glasgow – Core. Festival 16.09. ES Sopela – Inkestas Festival 23.09. PT Porto – Amplifest
… more dates to be announced soon
About CELESTE:
Having played more than 500 shows around the world, including appearances at several prestigious extreme music festivals, theaters and venues (Hellfest, Roskilde, Copenhell, SummerBreeze, Brutal Assault, Roadburn, Psycho Las Vegas…), with one EP and six albums under their belt, CELESTE have succeeded in creating their own musical atmosphere and are today considered to be one of the most important bands of the “French Avant-Garde Black-Metal” scene.
Napalm Records is more than proud to welcome DragonForce frontman MARC HUDSON to its growing roster, who has just signed a worldwide contract with the premier rock and metal empire. Along with the signing and after 12 years with DragonForce, MARC HUDSON presents his first solo album, entitled Starbound Stories, set for release on August 25, 2023! Starbound Stories is a sparkling, anime-inspired power metal ride, heavily influenced by both Japanese music and video game soundtracks, and featuring a horde of notable guests.
MARC HUDSON adds: “It is with great pride that I can finally announce my signing to Napalm Records. I’m very grateful for the label’s belief in me as a solo artist and can’t wait to have Napalm on my side to show Starbound Stories to the world!”
Today, MARC HUDSON’s brand new single, “Astralive”, marks the start of an exciting new chapter and serves as a first taste of his upcoming solo debut, accompanied by an official music video. “Astralive” lures with an undeniably catchy chorus whilst also featuring fast drum patterns, spellbinding guitarwork and keys, and skillful power metal vocals that reach for the skies.
MARC HUDSON on “Astralive”: “’Astralive’ is the first single from the album and takes the listener on a power metal journey through space and time. This song explores the cosmic mysteries of the universe and mankind’s eternal search for wisdom beyond the stars.”
“Starbound Stories is a soaring rocket ride of sparkling anime-inspired power metal and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!”- MARC HUDSON
Instrumental album opener “As The Twilight Met The Sea” acts as an introduction to the soundscapes of the album and features samurai metal master Ryoji Shinomoto (RYUJIN, previously known as Gyze) on traditional Japanese instruments. Shinomoto also lends his vocals on the following track, “Freedom Heart”, which also features a solo by guitar virtuoso Syu (Galneryus). Explosive power metal anthem “Dracula X” features a guitar solo by Jacky Vincent (ex-Falling in Reverse, ex-Cry Venom) and guest vocals by Adrienne Cowan (Seven Spires). Beautifully emotional successor “Stars” features classically trained violinist Mia Asano on electric violin. Energetic “The Siren” is led by a tingling melody and ballad-like vocals. “Swansong” starts off with a beautiful keyboard intro that could be pulled from a movie soundtrack. Sentimental vocals approach before the song progresses into a full-blown power metal ballad, with high screams and plenty of effects that further enhance the magical atmosphere while backing up the guitars and drums. Steve Terreberry, known on YouTube as Stevie T. (3.32M subscribers), performs a guitar solo on “Call Of The Martyrs” and is joined by prog guitarist Galen Stapley (Azure). Stapley also provides a solo on the following title track, “Starbound Stories”. “One More Sight Of The Sun With You” is sung in Japanese, staying true to the main themes of the album and closing the entire offering on an uplifting note.
MARC HUDSON’s debut solo album is an outstanding musical adventure balanced between power metal, video game soundtracks, Japanese music and even pop influences, showcasing virtuosity throughout all of its grand instrumentation.
“DIO: Dreamers Never Die,” the first-ever, career-spanning documentary on the life and times of the late legendary metal icon Ronnie James Dio, will be released worldwide by Mercury Studios on DVD and Blu-Ray+4K and as a special Deluxe Edition featuring the DVD and Blu-Ray packaged with exclusive merchandise on September 29, 2023. All of these configurations of the film will include a 20-minute selection of deleted and extended scenes restored from the cutting room floor to create a special fan experience.
The limited Deluxe Edition will be packaged in a two-piece lift-off lid box containing both the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the film plus branded DIO merchandise that will include logoed trading cards, guitar picks, lapel pin, coasters and a fold out poster from the film.
The DVD, Blu-Ray+4K and the Deluxe Edition are now available for pre-orders HERE ahead of the September 29 release date.
Additionally, fans will be able to purchase the film along with bundles of exclusive Dreamers Never Die merchandise, including a Limited Edition Screen Print Movie Poster, Dreamers Never Die T-Shirts, Hoodies, Trucker Hats and Beanies, Etched Beer Stein, Mousepad, Tote Bag, Replica of “Dio Way” Street Sign, and Word Magnet set as well as a Raglan Shirt and Dome Pin celebrating Dio’s first band, Elf.
“DIO: Dreamers Never Die,” which world premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, enjoyed a special event theatrical release in more than 600 cinemas worldwide last fall and is available on SHOWTIME.
Of the film, Reel News Daily wrote: “This film stunned me from the first frames. I expected to like it, but I never expected to fall madly in love with the film and the man. This is truly one of the best music docs I’ve seen. I can’t recommend this film enough.”
“DIO: Dreamers Never Die” delves deep into the singer’s incredible rise from a ‘50s doo-wop crooner to his early rock days in Elf and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and finally cementing his rock star status with his own band, DIO. The film incorporates never-before-seen footage and personal photos, as well as offering intimate scenes with his closest peers, family, and friends, among them Wendy Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, Lita Ford, Rob Halford, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk, and Jack Black, as they bring viewers inside the life of one of rock and roll’s true heroes and most beloved figures.
Dio’s widow and longtime manager, Wendy Dio, who executive produced the film, commented: “I wanted this documentary to be authentic, for the fans to see the roller coaster ride that was Ronnie’s life—the good times, the bad times and everything in between, especially including events that even the most diehard fans would not have known about. It’s all in there, right up to the very end.”
In addition to SXSW, the film was showcased at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, IFF Boston, DocsLisboa International Film Festival, the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival in Korea, the Athens International Film & Video Festival and Gimme Shelter Film Festival in Athens, Greece. Last October, it won the Audience Award at the In-Edit International Music Documentary Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
Fully authorized by the artist’s estate, “DIO: Dreamers Never Die” was directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton (Framing John DeLorean, Believer, Last Days Here), produced by Don Argott and Sheena Joyce for 9.14 Pictures, and executive produced by Wendy Dio for Niji Productions and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG.
Photo by Gene Kirkland
Ronnie James Dio, who died of gastric cancer in 2010, reigns as one of the most influential rock artists of all time and one of the greatest vocalists ever. With an illustrious recording career spanning from the 1950’s through to the 2000’s, the documentary follows his trajectory from sideman into singer, songwriter and frontman of not one, but three, of rock’s internationally-renowned, multi-Platinum-selling arena attractions: Rainbow, Black Sabbath and DIO. Famous for popularizing the ‘devil horns’ hand gesture that is now synonymous with hard rock and heavy metal music, Dio was known for not wavering in his pursuit of his rock and roll dreams and continues to influence a new generation of music artists. His fans the world over remember him not only for his massive talent, but for his kindness, resulting in millions of dollars raised for cancer research in his memory via the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.
Argott and Fenton said, “People who have conviction, talent and heart like Ronnie James Dio are in short supply these days. It is refreshing to share his inspiring story of believing in yourself and chasing your dreams. As life-long DIO fans, it is incredibly humbling to bring Ronnie’s journey to the screen, and we can’t wait to share it with audiences.”
Even though the Southern German melodic doom / post-black metallers SARLIC BLISS were founded only in 2021, they already have put a big exclamation mark on their first sign of life, the single “Darkest Desire”, released in March last year.
The sound, characterised by dark, aggressive-melancholic sounds, is immediately convincing, which is not surprising, since the members have many years of band experience, among others with Midnattsol and Bann.
The work on the album, which will be released in Autumn, is largely finished. After constructive talks, the quintet has finally signed with MDD Records to release the atmospheric, epic-tinged songs of the debut album. More info soon – stay tuned!
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to Voivod Drummer Michel ‘Away’ Langevin about the bands new special anniversary studio album ‘Morgoth Tales’ that will be released July 21, 2023 via Century Media.
Away also spoke about Voivod’s upcoming album re-releases, AI and gave an update on writing new music and the releaser date of the upcoming Voivod documentary.
When asked about the new album’ Morgoth Tales’ that features re-recordings songs from the band’s catalog “The result is really great. The whole album you can really see the progression of the band over the years because we did the album tracks in chronological order, plus we wrote a song on tour for this album to show who we are now. Morgoth Tales is a great sounding album but the challenge is not to recapture the youthful energy and all that but it’s to give the people our impression of these songs now.”
When asked about choosing the songs for the new re-recording studio album ‘We just picked a bunch of songs that could fit onto Vinyl. Then we decided to add a bonus track for the CD, which is a cover of P.I.L. called ‘Home’. We wanted to do a P.I.L. cover and when we read the lyrics of that song we understood that it was the right one to do cause it’s really relevant, talking about what is going on right now. Johnny Rotten has always been a hero for Snake and I in particular.”
When asked about the Jason Newsted era and how he joined the band ‘Well what happened was a year after the band split (around 2000), Piggy and I got anxious and checked out with Snake if he wanted to join the band again. So we thought let’s phone Jason (Newsted) because we had done so many records with him in the past and he immediately got excited and ended up joining the band. The funny thing is when I phoned him to ask him to be a guest bassist on the album (originally), he said how did you know I just left Metallica? But it was just a very strange coincidence. We are also looking into re-releasing the self titled Voivod album with Jason Newsted (2003). We secured the rights but I think we will save this re-release of this self-titled album for next year.”
When asked about when the Voivod documentary will be completed “It is near completion, just a little more editing here and there. I am sure it is going to be out next year (2024), same with the book. “
When asked about if Voivod started writing new music ” So on the last tour we just did, on the road we have been writing some ideas on our computesr. In October to January we might be able to write a new album hopefully”
When asked about AI and technology today in music “I will always try to use technology as much as I can use it in music and video but what I am most afraid of is AI controlling high tech weaponry, this is my main fear. “
Once more recorded and mixed by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio, mastered by Maor Appelbaum and produced by VOIVOD, Morgöth Tales includes fresh studio (re-)recordings by the band’s current line-up of 9 especially selected, not-so-obvious picks from the band’s hyper-classy and extremely diverse back catalogue (between 1984 and 2003) as well as a brand-new song in the album’s title-track, “Morgöth Tales”.
VOIVOD – Morgöth Tales
Condemned To The Gallows (2023 Version) [Originally on Metal Massacre V Compilation, 1984]
Thrashing Rage (2023 Version) [Originally on “Rrröööaaarrr”, 1986]
Killing Technology (2023 Version) [Originally on “Killing Technology”, 1987]
Macrosolutions To Megaproblems (2023 Version) [Originally on“Dimension Hatröss”, 1988]
Pre-Ignition (2023 Version) [Originally on “Nothingface”, 1989]
Nuage Fractal (2023 Version) [Originally on “Angel Rat”, 1991]
Fix My Heart (2023 Version) [Originally on “The Outer Limits”, 1993]
Rise (2023 Version, feat. Eric Forrest) [Originally on “Phobos”, 1997]
Rebel Robot (2023 Version, feat. Jason Newsted) [Originally on “Voivod”, 2003]
METALITE have announced the release of their forthcoming studio album. Expedition One has been scheduled for release via AFM Records in January 2024, the album pre-sale is now available at THIS LOCATION!
In order to translate the vision of a thoroughly impressive concept album into reality, a band requires not only an exciting theme and a number of haunting songs but also plenty of musical experience and skill. All these criteria apply to Expedition One, that tells a fictitious story about life on our planet in the year 2055. Expedition Oneinspires with a wide range of diverse compositions and an intelligent sci-fi story that couldn’t be more topical. In addition, their fourth release manifests the musicians’ amazing artistic development. METALITE‘s visionary sci-fi trip is told over sixteen multi-faceted songs that combine the quintet’s many strengths: powerful and at the same time delicate guitar riffs and solos, anthemic melodies courtesy of vocalist Erica Ohlsson, driving rhythms and cleverly positioned keyboard parts.
“In the past four or five years, our sound has evolved considerably,” explains Edwin Premberg, mastermind and producer of the band, which was founded in 2015. “The quality of our production in particular has progressed considerably since our debut.”
A first single, “Disciples Of The Stars”, is now available on all digital services HERE. To dive deeper into the concept and vision behind Expedition One, an official trailer has just been released here:
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 ) 