LILLA VENEDA was initiated and founded in 2009 in Wrocław (Poland) by Virian. Band took the name from one of the most famous Polish romantic tragedies – Lilla Weneda written by Juliusz Slowacki.
Virian said: “We were looking for the name that will be unique but also adequate the musical atmospehere. Lilla Weneda is dark tragedy immersed in the pagan period of time (pre-Polish). It reminds the best tragedies written by William Shakespeare but with the slavic background.“
In 2012 Lilla Veneda released their first LP „Diagnosis” recorded at Monroe Sound Studio (Masachist, Illness) with Arkadiusz “Aro” Jabłoński. Second studio selftitled album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Impressive-Art Studio (Asgaard, Odraza, Outre) with Przemysław Nowak as producer and released by Via Nocturna (Hostia, Varmia, Zørormr). In the meaning time band played a lot of shows together with Decapitated, Lost Soul, Percival Schuttenbach, Hate and Virgin Snatch.
Lower Silesian band already unleashed brand new song titled “Colossi” from upcoming studio album. Once again band again used the services of Przemysław Nowak from Impressive-Art Studio. The album’s premiere is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024 and will be released independently.
Virian about lyrics and new album: “The core of the lyrics since the demo, then continue on the debut album is a riddle of existence. It’s a mixed of a science, philosophy and poetry. On the newest LP we try to present the lates discovers from the science and philosophical trends to explain who as humans we are, where the world comes from and where as a civilisation we are going. Probably it’s not hard to understand it but to accept it. Hence we don’t want to lie to ourselves but try to be as curious and rational as possible. Of course the rule of the science is to constantly questioning what we already know to make a progress.
That is in our DNA so be sure that musically and lyrically we always be a little different but it’s a natural evolution instead of revolution but never say never…“
UK Thrash/Death-Metal force SLAVE STEEL proudly presents the music video for “F(r)ail.” Directed by Lorenzo Gorini and written by Daniele Manganaro and Pil Nazar, this visually and musically captivating masterpiece delves deep into the intricate dance of life’s highs and lows.
“In a perpetual cycle of highs and lows, we crawl through life. We rise and fall, laugh and cry, come to life and die. It is not only a human condition but nature’s too, where order alternates with chaos and light gives way to dark. All the inevitable that makes us feel so frail,” says Slave Steel.
This music video was shot in the historic setting of St Botolph-without-Aldersgate’s Church, London, UK, and features the artistry of makeup artists Caitlin Ross and Andreia Somaiah, as well as a dedicated crew including Ilaria Foresi, Miriam Demir, Linda Latino, and Giulia Ferrero.
“F(r)ail” is a standout track from the album “In Fieri,” available on all digital platforms via Wormholedeath. Stream the album here: orcd.co/infieri
Save the Date for the CD launch on October 27, 2023, via Wormholedetah/Aural Music. “In Fieri” embodies Slave Steel’s unrelenting drive to redefine metal music. Embracing influences from thrash, death, and heavy metal, their sound is characterized by a steady rhythm section, infectious guitar grooves, and impressive vocals.
Italy’s LAST IN TIME announce their collaboration with Rockshots Records for the release of its debut album, “Too Late”.
Last In Time represents a fresh foray into melodic progressive and classic rock with strong AOR influences tocreate a one-of-a-kind and captivating musical experience.
“Finally, the long-awaited moment has arrived! We couldn’t be happier to present our debut album ‘Too Late’ to the world, in collaboration with Rockshots Records, of which we are genuinely proud to be a part” affirms Massimo Marchetti, the mastermind behind Last In Time.
“From the very first listen, it’s evident that this band aims to present itself with a level of maturity and confidence in its sound. We will do everything possible to earn the respect of fans with this record and our upcoming live performances. This album is a personal challenge, primarily to ourselves, and secondly to the conventions of music classification.” he adds.
The album “Too Late” is a journey, bringing together various musical influences. It’s a rock album that smoothly combines the melodious elements of AOR inspired by bands like Toto, Survivor, and Giant, the power of hard rock and metal, and a nod to 90s progressive rock.
Today the band shares their debut single, “The Way To Rock”, whichMassimo Marchetti, explains in further detail:
“In the lyrics of this song, I basically tell the story of what drove me to play music and what emotions led me on my musical journey. When I was a guitar teacher, I was struck by an image. My students who were preparing for a concert had incredible enthusiasm. They reminded me of what inspired me to play and what music meant to me. They unknowingly inspired me to write this song.
Last in Time is a project that was formed in 2021 as a studio band, with the goal of recording original songs in the Progressive and Classic Rock/AOR genre. Leading the project is Massimo Marchetti, the songwriter, producer, and arranger of the group’s songs.
The project has a diverse lineup, as it was managed as an All-star band, in order to ensure that each song had the right artistic touch. In fact, the ability to have multiple voices, including a female voice, greatly expanded the compositional proposal of the songs, allowing for a range of genres and nuances.
However, the group’s sound, while diverse, remains anchored to a common thread, which is a passion for Classic Rock in its various forms.
The presence of experienced and motivated musicians made the album recording process a wonderful journey, which will continue with live sessions and the start of a true project focused on recording more albums in the future.
Recommended for fans of Toto, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Symphony X, Trans Siberian Orchestra, and Savatage, Last In Time‘s debut album “Too Late” will be released on January 12, 2024.
Track Listing: 1. The Way To Rock 2. How Long? 3. Road To Redemption 4. Believer In Love 5. Moonlight Dreamers 6. The Animal 7. Too Late 8. Mr.Fantastic 9. Winter In May
Album Credits: – All songs and lyrics are written, arranged and produced by Massimo Marchetti – Mixed by Mike Suzzi. – Drums recorded at Pri Studio. – Vocals and Guitars recorded by Massimo Marchetti with Execptions of: – Acoustic Guitars, recorded by Mike Suzzi; – Vocals on “The Way”, “How Long” & “Believer”, recorded by Mike Suzzi; – Vocals on “The Animal”, Mr. Fantastic”, recorded by Andrea Lo Verde @ALV STUDIO; – Vocals on “Winter in May “, recorded by Michele Luppi. – Mastered by Giovanni Versari – La Maestà Mastering – Cover Artist: Aberto Zimino
Last In Time are: Massimo Marchetti: Guitars and Choirs (All) Igor Piattesi: Vox and Choirs (1,2,4,6,7,8,9) Caterina Minguzzi: Vox and Choirs (1,2,4,5) Mirko Marchetti: Vox and Choirs (Song Nr. 9) Luca Nicolasi: Bass Guitar (All) Giacomo Calabria: Drums (All) Alessio Mosconi: Keyboards (1,2,4,5) Emanuele Lo Verde: Keyboards (6,7,9) Andrea Lo Verde: Keyboards (8) Special guest, Samuele Benini: Piano solo (5)
2005 founded metal band KAOS KREW from Finland has returned to its roots as a one man band with its upcoming sixth album “Blackout”. The full length will be released at the end of 2023. The songs are made and performed by the bands founder Ulf Skog accompanied with a number of visiting session musicians.
“The song deals with the world of social media and the fact that almost all of us constantly have our faces stuck in some kind of screen. Anyone can be anyone there on social media. The song also deals with the fact that the technology that has been developed to help us humans has its flip side.” Ulf Skog tells about the song’s theme.
CORRODED is a heavy metal band from Ånge, Sweden. The break came in 2009 with the song Time And Again and debut album ‘Eleven Shades of Black’. Since then they’ve released four more albums, toured relentlessly (including several European tours, both on their own and as support for bands like Airbourne), had the théme song for the Swedish TV show Survivor (Expedition Robinson in Sweden) and music in the globally popular video game Battlefield. Their latest (5th) album ‘Bitter‘ was released in 2019, was followed by a European tour and ended the year with a slight change in line-up (long time member Tomas Andersson left the band).
As for most bands, the pandemic hit hard, but the band dug themselves into a black hole and recorded their sixth album – ‘Plague’. They comment:
”-We’ve got 5 ”children”…each and everyone as much important as the other ones…but this one is our lovechild, our very special ”late bloomer” or ”trailing child”, born out of the anxiety and boredom of the plague…and, except from mastering, all done by ourselves…welcome to the dark soul of CORRODED..enjoy the ride..”
The third and last taste of the new album is the single ‘Rain‘. The singer/guitarist Jens Westin writes:
– “Rain is like beauty and the beast. On one hand you have these simple yet beautiful vocal parts that almost rock you to sleep like a lullaby, and on the other hand you have a hellhound that will chase you to death. In short it is a song by CORRODED.”
TEMIC are prog’s new supergroup, but all four members navigated quite the career maze to reach this point. These guys have played with Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, Neal Morse, SHINING and Maraton. It’s fitting then that their debut album is layered with twists and turns.
Today, TEMIC are releasing the album’s epic closer. Watch the video for “Mothallah”, a seven-minute epic that never stops reaching for the stars.
“Terror Management Theory” puts a proggy and positive spin on a new psychological theory. Instead of falling into despair over thoughts about our own mortality, the album finds a sense of purpose by recognizing that life is too precious not to live every moment to the max. Its grand closing statement,”Mothallah”, presents TEMIC at their peak.
At just under eight minutes, the song has room for twinkling keys, riffing synths, zero-gravity double bass kicks, two choirs and a classic arena rock solo that will have you down on both knees shredding your air guitar. “We will fight until the rays of light stand high”, sings Fredrik Bergersen with such booming, keening conviction, that even a nihilist would have no choice but to believe that this band is truly divine.
Here’s what TEMIC have to say about their new single:
“The lyrics in ‘Mothallah’ come from the personified perspective of our inner survival-seeking selves, encouraging us to reconcile and reconnect with our inner strength and self-confidence, especially when facing great challenges or fighting fears.
The choir brings to life a sense of community and belonging, realizing that not only as individuals, but also as a species, do we all face challenges and ‘fight through the darkest night…’
For this self-produced video, we wanted to emphasize that the band members come from very different backgrounds, nationalities and ethnicities. Even when living thousands of kilometers away, it is music that bring us all together.”
Cover artwork: Hicham Hamzi
Track list: 1. TMT (2:02) 2. Through the Sands of Time (7:00) 3. Falling Away (4:58) [WATCH VIDEO] 4. Count Your Losses (6:13) [WATCH VIDEO] 5. Skeletons (7:00) 6. Acts of Violence (5:52) 7. Friendly Fire (5:57) 8. Paradigm (6:33) 9. Once More (5:45) 10. Mothallah (7:27) [WATCH VIDEO] Total: 58:54
TEMIC came together from across the globe, but they also share a wide variety of influences.
Check out the playlist that the prog supergroup update each month on Spotify. The September edition features GoGo Penguin, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Periphery, Mastodon, Gojira, Infected Mushroom and Vangelis.
Introducing TEMIC—prog’s newest, most ambitious, and most adrenaline-fueled act. TEMIC melds the creative minds of keyboardist and sound designer Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken), guitarist Eric Gillette (The Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress), drummer Simen Sandnes (SHINING, Arkentype), and vocalist Fredrik Klemp (Maraton, 22).
The origins of TEMIC date back to 2017, when Tejeida and Gillette toured the world as band members of Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress. From the very first chords they exchanged, their musical chemistry both on and off stage was undeniable, leading them to discuss the prospect of starting a new band together. Unfortunately, conflicting tour and recording commitments forced them to turn their attention elsewhere for years—that is, until the world came to a standstill in 2020, and Tejeida called Gillette to ask a fateful question: “Remember how we said we should make music together? Well, how about now?”
Thus, the first demos for what would later become TEMIC’s 2023 debut album, Terror Management Theory, began to emerge. Within a few weeks after that initial phone call, the musical vision of TEMIC had become clear: Let’s create progressive music that is heavily influenced by high-energy electronic music, but arranged and orchestrated for a 5-piece modern prog rock/metal band—where, at last, the pulse can be the focus, and the vocal melody can be king.
Eager to join forces with the very best bandmates, Tejeida and Gillette first summoned the rhythmic power of their friend and drummer Sandnes. With characteristic enthusiasm, Sandnes seized the opportunity, prepared to contribute his percussive prowess as the heartbeat of TEMIC. When it came time to find the singer that would carry TEMIC’s melodies to new heights, Sandnes recommended vocal powerhouse Klemp, whose emotive delivery and unmatched intensity left no doubt that he was destined to be the voice of TEMIC. Finally, to round out the rhythm section of Terror Management Theory, dynamic bassist Jacob Umansky (Intervals) was invited on board as a guest player, gracing the album with an unrivaled groove and a signature low-end sound.
Together, this mammoth lineup is TEMIC, a high-energy, electronic-inspired, modern melodic prog metal band for the next generation.
Line-up: Fredrik Bergersen (Maraton, 22) – Vocals Eric Gillette (The Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress) – Guitars and Backing Vocals Simen Sandnes (Shining, Arkentype) – Drums and Percussion Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken) – Keyboards and Sound Design
Recording Studio: Drums and vocals recorded at Top Floor Studios (Gothenburg, Sweden) Producer: Produced by TEMIC. Drums and vocals engineered by Jakob Herrmann Gothenburg, Sweden) Mix/Mastering: Mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House (Los Angeles, USA)
Guest musicians: Jacob Umansky (USA) – Bass guitar on the whole album Mosaic Gospel Choir (Norway) – Mothallah Garden State Threshold Choir (USA) – Mothallah
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
