PYRAMAZE are an exceptional phenomenon in the international prog- and power metal scene: Their sound brings along numerous traditional melodic and progressive metal trademarks, but gets an immensely high recognition value by their unique feeling for great melodies – in connection with a certain open-mindedness for contemporary arrangements and further development.
It’s no secret that the band is currently working on a new album – and already the first single “Broken Arrow” stands as the epitome of what PYRAMAZE is about. Cast in a first-class production by PYRAMAZE guitarist and renowned producer Jacob Hansen , the track is elevated to highest quality realms not least by the fabulous organ of singer Terje Harøy.
Says keyboarder Jonah Weingarten: “Broken Arrow represents the perfect mixture of Disciples of the Sun- Pyramaze era with a splash of our modern Epitaph sound. It has the big chorus, huge strings, big powerful vocals, and catchy melodies that we are known for. It was an easy choice for our first single for our upcoming album!”
Watch the brand new video for “Broken Arrow”, now streaming below, and stay tuned for many more album news and details to follow soon:
The power ballad “Alone” is the new single from the Finnish hard rock band BLADE‘s upcoming debut album.
“Alone” is composed by guitarist Pekka Viljanen and the band refined it into its final format. Singer Pepe Tamminen found an idea for lyrics and melody during his journey in Lofoten Norway. The amazing landscape fits perfectly with the mood of the song and the singing part of the music video was also made there. Alone begins as an atmospheric ballad with acoustic guitar and cello followed by a catchy chorus which is typical for example Scorpions best ballads. The outstanding guitar solo mirrors perfectly the emotion behind the song. This song is dedicated to all who’ve lost their loved ones.
The song was recorded and mixed at Magnusborg Studios by Marko Kataja. Mastering was done by Svante Forsbäck, who is a well-recognized and trusted professional by many hard rock and heavy metal bands (Velvet, Rammstein, Ville Valo, Sonata Arctica, Sunrise Avenue, Michael Monroe, etc.).
BLADE is a new Finnish hard rock band that differentiates from mainstream artists by its uniquely cheery and explosive sound.
The members of the band have been touring together as a cover band since 2016, playing well-known rock classics from Led Zeppelin to Guns and Roses for the ever-hard-rock-hungry Finnish audience. The idea of BLADE’s material started to form in 2021, as all the band members dusted off the material they had collected in their drawers, cumulating ideas for songs on the new album. Even the most dedicated hard rock fan’s expectations will be met with this charged rock album.
The members of the band live between Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, and Lahti, where the band also practices together, drawing raw power from the beautiful and brutal nature surrounding the city.
BLADE’s debut album is scheduled to come out in 2023.
Line-up: Pepe Tamminen (singer), Pekka Viljanen (guitar), Jaakko Paljakka (guitar), Janne Viljakainen (bass and keyboard), and Henrik Hyöppönen (drums)
Antwerp, Belgium -based death/thrash metallers Schizophrenia are gearing up for the release of the band’s upcoming new tribute EP “Chants Of The Abyss”, which will see the light of day on February 10th. “Chants Of The Abyss” features six cover songs and personal interpretations of timeless classics by cult acts such as Slayer, Judas Priest, Mistfits, Exodus, GBH and Morbid Angel and with the music video for GBH’s “Race Against Time” Schizophrenia have just released the fourth and last single before the EP will be out.
Drummer Lorenzo Vissol comments: “The whole concept behind doing our cover EP ‘Chants of the Abyss’ was of course to have fun recording and playing songs we love, but it was also to shine a light on what we think are the essential roots of the music we play now and extreme metal in general. We believe one of those elements to be Punk and more precisely the Hardcore Punk influences. For instance, giving a certain idea of how they managed to separate themselves from the contemporary Hair Metal scene and be one of the originators of Thrash Metal, Dave Lombardo and Jeff Hanneman have explained several times how they were constantly exchanging Punk and Hardcore Punk bands they discovered during the inception of Slayer. (It is hence no surprise that Dave Lombardo now plays for the Misfits and Suicidal Tendencies). Metallica was also seen wearing GBH and Misfits shirts repeatedly during the 80s and early 90s. Furthermore, within Schizophrenia we often ponder as to what makes modern or actual Metal different than the old school Metal, musical judgment aside. I believe personally that, arguably, one of the most important elements is the progressive lack of Punk and Rock’n’Roll influences throughout the decades. All of this is why we decided to include two Punk songs out of the total 6 songs included in this EP.“
He continues: “GBH is possibly the most influential Hardcore Punk band and has been my personal favorite band since my teenage years. Covering a song by them seemed not only crucial but almost mandatory. We chose to cover ‘Race Against Time’ as this song had the perfect energy we were looking for and the lyrics could be reinterpreted as a testimony to their legacy explained above “Time is immortal, and we’re forever”. It is also the opening track of their first record released in 1981 ‘Leather, Bristle, Studs and Acne’ quite surely being a direct influence to the following Thrash Metal originator albums. The song was extremely interesting for us to work on and adapt to our own style. I took quite some liberty when composing the drums and for the story was highly influenced by Exciter, another band with explicit Punk influences, for which I had drum-teched on their European tour just a couple of weeks before recording. We tried making the song overall more brutal and simply better fitted for a Death/Thrash Metal band. We can only hope you will enjoy our own version but also feel the need to spin all those classic influential Punk records again!“
“Chants Of The Abyss” is available for purchase at THIS LOCATION
Tracklist:
Necrophiliac (Slayer cover)
Maze Of Torment (Morbid Angel cover)
Metal Meltdown (Judas Priest cover)
Bullet (Misfits cover)
Strike Of The Beast (Exodus cover)
Race Against Time (GBH cover)
Schizophrenia live w/Warbringer and Evil Invaders:
24/03/2023 BE Aalst – Oilsjt Omploft 25/03/2023 DE Essen – Turock 26/03/2023 FR Colmar – Le Grillen 28/03/2023 DE Kassel – Goldgrube 29/03/2023 DE Mannheim – 7er Club 30/03/2023 DE Leipzig – Hellraiser 31/03/2023 DE Hamburg – BHF Pauli 01/04/2023 DK Copenhagen- BETA 02/04/2023 DE Berlin – Cassiopeia 03/04/2023 PL Warsaw – Hydrozagadka 04/04/2023 PL Krakow – Kamienna12 05/04/2023 DE Munich – Backstage Halle 06/04/2023 CZ Prague – Modra Vopice 07/04/2023 HU Budapest – Barba Negra 08/04/2023 CH Sursee – Kulturwerk 118 09/04/2023 AT Dornbirn – Schlachthaus 10/04/2023 AT Vienna – Viper Room 11/04/2023 CH Martigny – Cave Du Manoir 13/04/2023 FR Lyon – Rock n Eat 14/04/2023 FR Pau – L’Ampli 15/04/2023 ES Barcelona – La Nau 16/04/2023 ES Madrid – Nazca 17/04/2023 ES Mos Pontreveda – Sala Rebullón 18/04/2023 ES Granada – Sala El Tren 19/04/2023 ES Zaragoza – Sala Lo Intento 20/04/2023 FR Nantes – Le Ferrailleur 21/04/2023 FR Paris – Backstage By The Mill 22/04/2023 NL Arnhem – Willemeen 23/04/2023 NL Helmond – Cacaofabriek 24/04/2023 DE Hannover – Cafe Glocksee 30/04/2023 NL Rotterdam – Baroeg
SCHIZOPHRENIA is: Ricky Mandozzi: Bass & vocals Romeo Promos Promopoulos: Lead & rhythm guitar Marty Van Kerckhoven: Lead & rhythm guitar Lorenzo Vissol: Drums
ENFORCER have returned with gigantic news! Four years after their last studio album Zenith, and two years after the release of their second live album Live By Fire II in 2021, the Swedes now announce their sixth studio album, Nostalgia. Due out on May 5th this year, the pioneers of the ‘new wave of traditional heavy metal’ movement return with a hard-hitting album reminiscent of the band’s original roots. To get an immediate taste of the new masterpiece, the Swedes have also delivered the first single from the record, titled ‘Coming Alive‘, accompanied by a brand-new music video.
ENFORCER‘s Olof Wikstrand comments: “We’re super happy to announce the first new music in four years! Heavy metal is ‘Coming Alive’. After the experimental ‘Zenith’ we feel securely back to our roots again with another uncompromising heavy metal album for the masses. ‘Nostalgia’ is a heavy metal trip of 13 aggressive heavy metal anthems. It’s recorded and mixed in analogue fashion in Hvergelmer Studios, Arvika and produced yet again by the band and with some help from long time producer Rikard Löfgren. The artwork is made by insanely talented Adam Burke.”
Pre-order or pre-save the new album Nostalgia at this location.
ENFORCER‘s new album Nostalgia was recorded at Olof and Jonas Wikstrand‘s own Hvergelmer Studios, where the most recent ENFORCER records also first saw the light of day. All 13 album tracks were captured between October 2020 and February 2022. The entire record was produced, mixed, and engineered by the band. The artwork for Nostalgia is made by Adam Burke. With Nostalgia, ENFORCER are embracing their speed metal roots, fusing extreme guitar riffing with catchy stadium choruses.
Nostalgia tracklisting 01. Armageddon 02. Unshackle Me 03. Coming Alive 04. Heartbeats 05. Demon 06. Kiss of Death 07. Nostalgia 08. No Tomorrow 09. At the End of the Rainbow 10. Metal Supremacia 11. White Lights in the USA 12. Keep the Flame Alive 13. When the Thunder Roars (Cross Fire)
About:
Swedish heavy metal band ENFORCER formed in 2005 by lead vocalist and guitarist Olof Wikstrand. The first two albums Into The Night (2008) and Diamonds (2010) established the band’s loyal fanbase and left a long-lasting imprint in the heavy metal world. With increasing success in the underground scene, ENFORCER led and created a worldwide movement later referred to as ‘the new wave of traditional heavy metal’. In 2012 the Swedes were recognised for their impressive musical repertoire and signed a worldwide record deal with the biggest metal label in the world, Nuclear Blast Records. Since then, the band have released three more studio albums with Death by Fire (2013), From Beyond (2015) and Zenith (2019). To date, ENFORCER have toured the world over, playing the biggest festivals and garnering a global fanbase. The culmination of their tireless work ethic resulting in the release of two live albums, Live By Fire (2015) and Live By Fire II (2021). ENFORCER have proved themselves both live and on record, and in 2023 they stake their place amongst the world’s most renowned heavy metal bands.
ENFORCER is: Olof Wikstrand | vocals, guitars Jonas Wikstrand | drums, piano & keyboards Jonathan Nordwall | guitars Garth Condit | bass
Swedish/Norwegian melodic power metal band SAINTDEAMON has announced to return with a brand new studio album, entitled “League Of The Serpent”, about three and a half years after their quasi-“comeback” album “Ghost”.
Known for their high-quality sound and an individual touch (which is often hard to find in the power metal genre), also “League Of The Serpent” clearly shows the great quality of vocal wonder Jan-Thore Grefstad, guitarist Toya Johansson, bass player Nobby Noberg (ex-Dionysus) and new drummer Alfred Fridhagen (Gaia Epicus). Tracks such as the upbeat first single “At Break Of Dawn” showcase the typical SAINT DEAMON compositions, in addition the band skillfully incorporates progressive nuances and makes “League Of The Serpent” an album that will be most likely one of the genre highlights in 2023! Due out April 21, 2023 as Digipak CD and limited (500 units) colored vinyl edition via AFM Records, the album pre-sale is now available at THIS LOCATION!
Watch the brand new lyric video for first single, the album opening track “At Break Of Dawn”, now streaming HERE:
“At break of dawn is the 4th song about Captain Saint Deamon and his crew. This time while they were out pirating“, the band reveals. “A rival or enemy if you will – came to the captains home island to rob and destroy the captains town and the captain goes for revenge.
The fights are happening while the town is on fire. In the end our captain takes back what was his.”
International extreme metal collective NIGHTMARER has announced the release of the band’s highly anticipated sophomore full-length record, entitled ‘Deformity Adrift’, which will see the light of day on May 5th via Vendetta Records and Total Dissonance Worship.
Clandestinely conceived by (former) members of Gigan, WFAHM and The Ocean in 2014, NIGHTMARER set out to derive only the most extreme elements of their previous musical endeavors and take them to a much more miserable and punishing level. Seemingly out of nowhere, NIGHTMARER hit the extreme Metal underground with their first EP ‘Chasm’ in early 2016. The furious whirlwind of low end dissonance and pulverizing heaviness immediately took the scene by storm and paved the path to a record contract with Season of Mist. The band’s following full length debut ‘Cacophony of Terror’ (2018) and their appearance on the 2019 edition of the Devastation on the Nation Tour, earned the band a strong, die-hard following, while the addition of guitarist Keith Merrow (Merrow, Conquering Dystopia) in the same year, only further cemented their reputation as a band to watch closely. In early 2020, NIGHTMARER parted ways with Season of Mist to go independent and start their own label Total Dissonance Worship. Under that banner, the band released the single ‘Primordial Grit’ and 2021 EP ‘Monolith of Corrosion’ to critical acclaim from fans and press alike, while also finishing up their brand new full length record.
‘Deformity Adrift’ is NIGHTMARER‘s most diverse work to date, venturing far beyond the conventions of the already unconventional genre of Dissonant Death Metal, without sacrificing even an ounce of viciousness. Strong undercurrents of Industrial and Doom Metal can be found throughout this 32 min behemoth of a record, which ends with an oppressive wall of sound that will leave you bruised and battered.
In support of the upcoming album, NIGHTMARER have unleashed the first single ‘Throe of Illicit Withdrawal’. Listen to the track via your favorite streaming platform or right here:
NIGHTMARER on ‘Throe of Illicit Withdrawal’:
“This song is about having to give yourself up entirely, in order to function as a cog in a machine that exploits every last bit of your body, mind and soul. It’s a constant battle between oppressive tension and the promise of a release that never comes. The result is a misery so deep, any attempt at disassociating from it is futile. Drawing from Death-, Black- and even Industrial Metal-influences, ‘Throe of Illicit Withdrawal’ not only embodies that lyrically, but sonically as well.”
Tracklist reads as follows:
Brutalist Imperator
Baptismal Tomb
Throe of Illicit Withdrawal
Tooms
Suffering Beyond Death
Taufbefehl
Hammer of Desolation
Endstadium
Obliterated Shrine
‘Deformity Adrift’ was mixed and mastered by Raphaël Bovey at MyRoom Studio. Cover art by Jeanne Comateuse. The album will be released on vinyl, CD, cassette tape, digital and streaming formats by Total Dissonance Worship (US) and Vendetta Records (EU).
‘Deformity Adrift’ is now available for pre-order at THIS LOCATION
Line-up of the recording: John Collett – Vocals Simon Hawemann – Guitars Keith Merrow – Guitars Brendan Sloan – Bass Paul Seidel – Drums
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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
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