Finnish death metallers OF SPITE have released second single from their upcoming sophomore full length album “Riddle Redemption” to be released on March 31st 2023. The theme of the album is madness and twisted reality. Of Spite was founded in Finnish city Kotka in 2014 and they combine elements of 90’s death metal and progressive rock in their sound.
Senufo is a tragic story about a deception that leads to a murder-suicide. Musically the track is a combination of a verse with a kind of squiggly riff combinet with a straight to face melodic chorus.
New York City black metal collective BLACK ANVIL has announced several additional live performances in conjunction with the band’s upcoming North American run in support of ENSLAVED and INSOMNIUM. The band will be joining INSOMNIUM on this run as direct support. The updated itinerary can be found below!
The trek will kick off on April 5 in the band’s hometown of New York City and will conclude on April 30 in Baltimore, MD.
BLACK ANVIL is supporting their recently released full-length, ‘Regenesis,’ which is out NOW! Stream/order/download the record HERE.
BLACK ANVIL (w/ ENSLAVED + INSOMNIUM): 04/05: New York, NY @ Irving Plaza [TICKETS] 04/06: Boston, MA @ Big Night Live [TICKETS] 04/07: Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre [TICKETS] 04/08: Toronto, ON @ The Opera House [TICKETS] 04/09: Lakewood, OH @ The Foundry* [TICKETS] **JUST ADDED** 04/10: Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall [TICKETS] 04/11: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues [TICKETS] 04/12: Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater [TICKETS] 04/14: Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre [TICKETS] 04/15: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex [TICKETS] 04/17: Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile [TICKETS] 04/18: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre [TICKETS] 04/19: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre [TICKETS] 04/21: Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre [TICKETS] 04/22: Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre [TICKETS] 04/23: Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Theater [TICKETS] 04/24: El Paso, TX @ The Rockhouse Bar & Grill* [TICKETS] **JUST ADDED** 04/25: Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live [TICKETS] 04/26: Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall [TICKETS] 04/27: Memphis, TN @ Growlers* [TICKETS] **JUST ADDED** 04/28: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse [TICKETS] 04/29: Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre [TICKETS] 04/30: Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage [TICKETS] *No Enslaved
The artwork for ‘Regenesis’ was created by Metastazis.
Track-list: 1. The Gates Of Brass (1:18) 2. In Two (5:39) 3. The Bet (4:32) 4. 8-bit Terror (4:18) [WATCH] 5. 29 (4:07) [WATCH] 6. Silver & Steele (5:43) 7. Castrum Doloris (4:12) [WATCH] 8. Echoes & Tapestry (5:31) 9. VV (1:56) 10. NYC Nightmares (4:04) 11. Grant Us His Love (4:28) 12. Regenesis (4:26)
Formed in 2013 by pianist Herborg Rundberg as part of her Masters degree in Rhythmic Music at the Tromsø Conservatory, LEAGUS became the contemporary and experimental music duo that it is today when Herborg was joined by guitarist Kristian Svalestad Olstad, who coincidentally also received his Masters degree in the same subject two years earlier.
Following the release of two albums, LEAGUS were commissioned by the NORTH NORWEGIAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE in 2021 to write a piece for a ten-member orchestra, which resulted in Herborg and Kristian composing and arranging the piece “Flora Eallin”, which will now be released in full by Is it Jazz? Records.
By way of introduction, the label has released the track “Hyperion” from the album, and you can stream it, or download it from a variety of services at https://link.isitjazzrecords.no/Leagus_Hyperion
A video of LEAGUS performing the track “Hyperion” directed by Norwegian photographer and artist Martin Losvik, and featuring the NORTH NORWEGIAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE, can be seen below.
Losvik is well known for his distinctive style that can contain elements of humour, surrealism and darkness. The video is the result of Martin being given free hands to do his visual interpretation of this musical project.
As regards the track itself, LEAGUS had this to say:
This song is the final track of the one hour long commissioned piece “Flora Eallin”, which we wrote for Nordnorsk Jazz Ensemble. The piece is an ode to plant life. The song “Hyperion” is named after the world’s tallest living tree and therefore marks the symbolic ending of the piece.
“Flora Eallin” features the NORTH NORWEGIAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE and will be released on the 28 April in CD, Digital and Double LP formats. With cover art and design by Martin Losvik, track listing is as follows:
Over the years the duo have worked extensively on finding new, and different, interactions between the piano and the guitar, leading them to develop for LEAGUS a new and progressive kind of musical togetherness. LEAGUS’ sound is thus highly dynamic with musical contrasts playing a big part in their concept, and alternates between formal composed parts, open structures and free improvisation that at times feel like subdued, minimalistic psalm-like pieces, whilst at other times makes use of more rock-oriented improvised parts.
The name LEAGUS is actually Sami slang for asking for something, and originates in the area in which Herborg herself was born. It is her Sami background, and her work with traditional and classical music, along with Kristian´s extended use of guitar and electronics, that forms the basis of LEAGUS’ sound, which has, over time, developed into an exploratory and complex sonic universe.
International death/funeral doom metal act MESMUR have returned to release their fourth album, entitled “Chthonic”.
The title is based on the Greek word for “underworld”, and where the band’s previous albums have explored themes of cosmic entropy and earthly apocalypse, “Chthonic” looks to the spirit world for its inspiration. Formed as a collection of paranormal horror tales, it speaks of fabled entities making contact through the veil of sleep, summoning prey to subterranean depths, or haunting a post apocalyptic landscape.
Musically, the album continues the trajectory that MESMUR have established through previous works. Featuring viola and cello performances from Brianne Vieira and guest organ from Kostas Panagiotou of UK funeral doom act Pantheist (for whom Jeremy and John of Mesmur recently contributed guitars and drums on their 2021 record “Closer to God”), “Chthonic” strikes a careful balance between melody and dissonance as it displays its haunted imagery. Crushing doom riffs are overlain with ethereal synths and cavernous vocals to build a dark and vivid atmosphere, and the intricate compositions utilize a narrative approach influenced as much by 70’s progressive rock as by extreme doom metal. Like the band’s previous two releases, the album features beautifully eerie and vibrant cover art from Ukrainian painter Vladislav Cadaversky.
Working in collaboration with Solitude Prod. (RUS) and Aesthetic Death (UK), “Chthonic” will be released initially on digi CD on 14th April 2023, with plans for a vinyl release to follow later.
Initially started in 2013 as a side project of Jeremy Lewis and John Devos (of progressive black metal act Dalla Nebbia), MESMUR is an international collection of musicians with a shared artistic goal to create immersive and unpredictable death/funeral doom metal. Dense, with vivid atmosphere that carries a constant sense of foreboding and unease, and with riffs and melodies that straddle the line between accessibility and obscurity, MESMUR‘s music draws inspiration from a diverse set of influences ranging from Esoteric and Ea to King Crimson and Univers Zero.
Today sees the release of IX, the debut album from burgeoning dark wave duo HOST. To celebrate the release, the band have revealed the AI generated video for ‘Divine Emotion’. The video, directed by Pär Lundkvist, pairs the oldest portrait photographs ever taken with the newest technology to bring them to life.
Greg Mackintosh comments: “Finally our debut album IX has been released. The culmination of 2 years of poignant reflection.”
IX Tracklist 1. Wretched Soul 2. Tomorrow’s Sky 3. Divine Emotion 4. Hiding From Tomorrow 5. A Troubled Mind 6. My Only Escape 7. Years of Suspicion 8. Inquistion 9. Instinct
IX Digipack Tracklist 1. Wretched Soul 2. Tomorrow’s Sky 3. Divine Emotion 4. Hiding From Tomorrow 5. A Troubled Mind 6. My Only Escape 7. Years of Suspicion 8. Inquistion 9. Instinct 10. I Ran (A Flock Of Seagulls cover) 11. Hiding From Tomorrow (Lustmord Remix) 12. Tomorrow’s Sky (GosT Remix)
The origins of HOST do not trace back to the 1999 PARADISE LOST album bearing the same name but instead to the West Yorkshire music clubs of the mid-to-late 1980s. While Holmes and Mackintosh were already certified heavy metal fanatics (“metal thrashing mad” as Holmes equates), they were equally drawn to the New Wave and Goth music scenes. The pounding rhythms, sublime melodies and undercurrent of darkness drew them in, creating immediate earworms and a desire to delve further.
Mackintosh finally put plans into motion during the pandemic for a venture that would merge his penchant for sound design with the moods and atmosphere of 1980s dance-pop and Goth. The project was originally a solo pursuit until he asked Holmes, his longtime PARADISE LOST songwriting partner, to join. HOST was selected as the name as a tip of the hat to the aforementioned album that found PARADISE LOST in an unprecedented period of experimentation that eschewed their metal roots and also challenged their fanbase in ways like never before.
“We always stood by Host as an album,” says Mackintosh. “This project is not totally connected to that album, but some of the ideas are extrapolated. We’re taking the basic premise and trying it out now. And, really, it was something fun and interesting for us to do. We’ve been doing PARADISE LOST for a long time and got an itch to try something different from where PL is now. I could take PL down this route again. Who knows? It may happen if we live long enough, but I thought, ‘Why not now?’ I had the time to do it.”
HOST is: Nick Holmes – Vocals Greg Mackintosh – Guitars, Synths & Programming
Italian rockers HANGARVAIN have released today, February 24th, their fifth record, “Soul Desire”. The album is out through Volcano Records/The Orchard/Sony, and is available both in digital and physical.
“Soul Desire” was produced between Italy and Los Angeles by Fabrizio “Fab” Grossi (Billy Gibbons, Supersonic Blues Machine, Steve Vai), and mixes the original alternative and southern rock influences of the band, with bluesy and melancholic moods.
HANGARVAIN anticipated the album with three singles in the past weeks. ‘The Sinner’ is the opener track with a strong attitude and a perfect balance between power and groove, while the song ‘Soul Desire’ ends the record in the most epic way. Big names of international rock scene collaborated to the production of the album featuring Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Jorn Lande, Edge Of Forever) and Mark Basile (DGM).
Hangarvain will play the new songs on an Italian tour between March and May, and after that they will hit England in the summer and Central Europe in Autumn.
“Soul Desire” is a sonic journey through voodoo sensations and psychedelic vibes.
SOUL DESIRE – Tracklist
The Sinner
Red Zone
Bad Intentions
Life
Mother’s Blues
Way Back Home
Out Of The Shadow
Soul Desire
HANGARVAIN – Born in 2013, Hangarvain is an Italian alternative rock band with heavy southern and rootsy rock influences. Between 2014 and 2020 the band released several albums and played hundreds of shows all around Europe, opening and extensively touring with legendary international artists such as L.A. Guns, The Darkness, Y&T, Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses), Hardcore Superstar, Skillet, Niterain, DGM, and many others. At the end of 2019, the band joined Danish rock veterans D.A.D. (Disneyland After Dark) on their entire European tour, treading legendary stages such as the Academy (Manchester), the Z7 (Pratteln), the Hard Club (Porto) and the Docks (Hamburg), while in 2022 Hangarvain played at Hills Of Rock Fest in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) together with Testament, Sabaton, Mercyful Faith, Behemoth and Slipknot.
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 ) 