Italian heavy metallers REVOLTONS have unveiled the lyric video for their new single “Nany John Skennon,” taken from their sixth studio album “Celestial Violence” released in May via Sleazy Rider Records.
The band comments: “This video is about a great man, the one who named Revoltons back in 1991. During the lockdown Alex’s uncle committed suicide. He suffered a lot during his life, losing two children and a lots of friends during the Vajont catastrophe. A life of excesses which during the lockdown led him to the extreme action! He was extraordinarily sensitive, but also a great artist and one of the last true rockers! This song is dedicated to him and his life! Goodbye Uncle Nany!!”
The video was conceived, filmed and edited by Alex Corona featuring images by Simone Sut.
“Celestial Violence” was produced, recorded and mastered by Ivan Moni Bidin and Christopher Burelli at Artesonika Studio. The artwork was designed by REVOLTONS bassist Simone Sut of N.B.S. Imagination & Design.
track listing: 1. 2020 Alternative 2. Escape or Drown 3. Generation Mask 4. The Darkfall 5. Nany John Skennon 6. Low Ranking Businessman 7. The Game 8. Reality is a Crime 9. Spiritual Monster 10. Cosmic Disabled 11. Lockdown Diaries 12. Violentia Patris Caelestis?
REVOLTONS are: Antonio Boscari: Voce Alex Corona: Chitarra Carlo Venuti: Chitarra Elvis Ortolan: Batteria Simone “Zimon” Sut: Basso
Long Island sludge metal trio RESTLESS SPIRIT have released the third and final advance single ‘The Fatalist’, which features legendary SAINT VITUS and THE OBSESSED frontman Scott “Wino” Weinrich on guest guitar. The track is taken from RESTLESS SPIRIT‘s forthcoming third album “Afterimage”, which is scheduled for release on October 6, 2023via Magnetic Eye Records. The album pre-sale is now available at THIS LOCATION!
RESTLESS SPIRIT talk about ‘The Fatalist’: “Growing up, I found this incredible band called The Obsessed and they changed my life”, guitarist and singer Paul Aloisio reveals. “I tried for years to copy, steal and emulate Wino’s legendary wailing guitar solos. Sadly to no avail… there’s only one Wino, after all. Later on, after befriending the legend himself, we approached him to play on a song for this album. The idea to trade dueling guitar solos with Wino is a dream come true, and 17-year-old me would be freaking out if he knew about this happening. As a 32-year-old, I’m still freaking out. It’s a heavy, introspective song that delves further into the dealings of grief and loss. At the same time, it’s a headbanger for sure. We wanted to find a good balance between rocking and real life experience, and I think we did. Not just on this song specifically, but on the entire album.”
Tracklist
Marrow
Shadow Command
Of Spirit and Form
All Furies
Brutalized
The Fatalist
Hell’s Grasp
From the Dust Returned
In the case of RESTLESS SPIRIT, the band name says it all, and in more than just one way. Their third album, “Afterimage”, embodies the East Coast trio’s aim of never wanting to sound exactly like before. Long Island deep-fried guitars meet pounding rhythms and emotionally raw vocals. Where the predecessor “Blood of the Old Gods” (2021) sometimes ushered the listener into twisted complexity, “Afterimage” delivers short, sharp shocks that hit straight home.
Lyrically, “Afterimage” is also born out of a restless spirit. Driven by tragedy and personal loss, singer and guitarist Paul Aloisio has put his heart and soul into the album. Confronted with a choice to deal with his pain in a healthy way or go down a destructive path, the singer and guitarist opted for the former but months later found his words to be prophetic for doing the latter. Deciding that artistry requires honesty, Alosio wanted to share his experience as a message to others in similar situations that they’re not alone in their despair. “Afterimage” might well be read as a cautionary tale.
Embarking on their musical journey very early in life, the band’s core of Aloisio and bassist Marc Morello met the summer before Kindergarten and grew up discovering music side by side. Channelling influences like BLACK SABBATH, TYPE O NEGATIVE, and THE SWORD and incorporating aggressive modern metal, unabashed stoner-doom pummelling, energetic changes, and stirring, earnest vocals, their band was finally christened RESTLESS SPIRIT in 2019. Their debut full-length “Lord of the New Depression” (2019) fit equally well into the stoner, doom, and sludge molds, while on “Blood of the Old Gods”, the three-piece developed a more varied, melodic approach with added complexity.
Discontent at being sometimes labelled ‘progressive’, RESTLESS SPIRIT, true contrarians that they are, avoided overly-long songs and excessive ornamentation on “Afterimage”, intentionally eliminating anything that might distract from the new album’s direct, crushing immediacy.
On the live front, the Long Island band has undertaken several tours in support of “Blood of the Old Gods” and shared stages with the likes of CROWBAR, THE OBSESSED and CANNIBAL CORPSE. They will return to the road in winter 2023/24 to present “Afterimage”.
With “Afterimage”, RESTLESS SPIRIT deliver a massive punch to the gut that actually feels damn great once the initial pain subsides.
Line-up Paul Aloisio – guitar, vocals Jon Gusman – drums Marc Morello – bass
Guest musicians Scott “Wino” Weinrich – guitars on ‘The Fatalist’ Mike Hill – vocals on ‘Shadow Command’
RESTLESS SPIRIT Live 19 SEP 2023 Memphis, TN (US) Hi-Tone Cafe 21 SEP 2023 Austin TX (US) RippleFest Texas 25 SEP 2023 Mesa, AZ (US) Nile Underground 26 SEP 2023 Los Angeles, CA (US) Knuckleheads 27 SEP 2023 Sacramento, CA (US) Cafe Colonial 28 SEP 2023 Springfield, OR (US) The Spot, 29 SEP 2023 Portland, OR (US) Highwatermark 30 SEP 2023 Seattle, WA (US) Funhouse, 01 OCT 2023 Bellingham, WA (US) The Shakedown 29 OCT 2023 Amityville, NY (US) Amityville Music Hall
Cult heavy metal outfit CIRITH UNGOL will unleash their sixth full-length, Dark Parade, on October 20th via Metal Blade Records today unveiling the record’s cover art, track listing, and first single!
Few bands in the history of the heavy metal underground have a story as remarkable, improbable, or uplifting as that of CIRITH UNGOL. Formed in Ventura, California in the early 1970s, CIRITH UNGOL created a sound the world had never experienced before. Rather than passively channeling their influences, the band was driven to forge an altogether heavier, darker, more apocalyptic sound. It was obscure and arcane, mysterious and eccentric, epic and expansive, but most of all, unfailingly, bone-crushingly heavy, dark, and doom-filled.
Wasting no time to ride their molten wave they started with their 2020 studio comeback Forever Black, CIRITH UNGOL started writing songs for Dark Parade as soon as Forever Black was released. Then, like everyone else, CIRITH UNGOL were hamstrung by the global pandemic, struggling through illness, seclusion, grief, and depression in their quest to create dark, vibrant art. And like the greatest warriors, they persevered, working on one song at a time – distractions be damned. The first track composed was the crushing “Relentless,” which reinforced their confidence and clarity of vision. The rest of the album came naturally, fueled by personal misery and the tragedy of worldwide collapse.
“Band members lost close relatives and we struggled as best we could through the pandemic which ravaged the earth’s population and economies,” drummer Rob Garven notes. “As horrifying as it was, it was the perfect backdrop for our doom-laden message of a world on the edge of destruction.”
With all eight demos finished — which are included on the expanded edition of the album — CIRITH UNGOL started recording Dark Parade in October 2022. The end result is an unrelenting triumph of pessimism and pain; a charred vista rooted in the crunch-and-crash templates of classic doom metal and NWOBHM but delivered with contemporary production and perspective. The album is propulsive and insistent, reflecting the band’s love for metal, instinct to destroy, and disgust for mankind.
From the majestic eight-minute-long “Sailor On The Seas Of Fate,” which starts with a reflective arpeggio and builds into a pounding, near-tribal volley before segueing into a bleak, slow burn of retribution and agony, to the final three movements of the “Dark Parade” saga (comprised of “Dark Parade,” “Distant Shadows,” and “Down Below“), CIRITH UNGOL‘s latest album offers a metallic soundtrack of societal decay and environmental collapse that foreshadows nothing less than total extinction.
The first single from Dark Parade is opening track “Velocity (S.E.P.),” a compact, mid-paced blast of crunching riffs and deft hooks that act as a microcosm for much of the doom-laden album. “While talking with [vocalist] Tim [Baker] and Rob about what kind of song was needed, a decision was made to stop doing the galloping chugs, as done many times on previous albums, and start doing down-picking chugs while keeping some sort of tie to the CIRITH UNGOL sound,” reveals guitarist Jimmy Barraza. “Straying toward a Sabbath or Priest vibe is not far off and happens subconsciously.“
The track is about promises made and debts paid. Faust and Robert Johnson both knew what to expect on their visit to the Crossroads – great rewards and great loss. A bit of suffering in Dante’s Inferno will always remind us that the earthly pleasures we seek always come at a price. Sell your soul, take the deal, suffer the consequences.
“It’s about what happens when we sell that which we hold dear,” Baker notes. “Our soul — if such a thing exists — our dignity, pride, and whatever else we have that will help seal the deal in an endless pursuit of money, power, glory and dominion over others.”
Dark Parade Track Listing: 01. Velocity (S.E.P.) 02. Relentless 03. Sailor on the Seas of Fate 04. Sacrifice 05. Looking Glass 06. Dark Parade 07. Distant Shadows 08. Down Below
CIRITH UNGOL will play a special record release show on October 20th at The Roxy in West Hollywood, marking the band’s first Los Angeles live appearance in thirty-five years. The performance will commemorate The Roxy’s 50th anniversary and find the band playing Dark Parade in its entirety followed by a full set of classic material. Additionally, the set will be filmed and recorded for a future live release.
CIRITH UNGOL Live: 10/20/2023 The Roxy – West Hollywood, CA * Record Release Show [Tickets]
CIRITH UNGOL: Tim Baker – vocals Jimmy Barraza – guitar Greg Lindstrom – guitar Rob Garven – drums Jarvis Leatherby – bass
RIBOZYME produced by Spidergawd mastermind, Per Borten, you say? What a great idea!
After great reviews for their hard rock jem “Argute” released in 2019, the Bergen quartet have spent their time writing and going on cabin trips with guitars in their luggage.
The goal with having Per Borten produce this was to capture the live energy, and also to have more of an organic sound to the recordings.
So isn’t it pretty awesome that Ribozyme is delivering shamelessly catchy rock tunes in 2023? We think so!
So enjoy and wait for the band’s return with their upcoming album “Celestial Low”, coming out October 20th via Apollon Records.
Instrumental Melodic Metal Artist AARON CRAVENS has inked a groundbreaking deal with Wormholedeath to reissue his masterpiece album “Regenerate” to the world. The re-release is set to unleash its sonic power on October 27th, 2023.
Aaron Cravens has carved a niche for himself with his distinctive musical style – a symphonic blend of technical prowess, melodious grandeur, and an invigorating aura. The album “Regenerate” is an embodiment of this unique fusion, culminating in an exhilarating journey through melodies, power, and cinematic elements that reverberate through the soul.
Looking ahead to this important step, Aaron expressed his enthusiasm and vision for the collaboration, saying, “I am thrilled and deeply honored to join forces with Wormholedeath for the release of “Regenerate”. This journey has demanded unyielding dedication and unwavering effort, and I’m profoundly grateful for the chance to unite with a label that resonates with my artistic aspirations. My goal is to grow synergistically with Wormholedeath while sharing my artistic vision with a global audience. “Regenerate” is an album that mirrors my path back to music and signifies not only my evolution as a musician but as a person. Each composition encapsulates concepts that have threaded through my life, woven into the very fabric of my music. The album, with its distinctive fusion of melody, potency, and intricate musicianship, delivers a cinematic experience that I hope resonates with listeners, allowing them to not only perceive but feel the emotions and messages infused within.”
Legacy
Progression
Awaken
From Minutes to Seconds
The Road Ahead
False Images
Dreamer
September (In Memory of Norman Cravens) ft. Joel Hoekstra
Escape Route
Immerse yourself in the powerful world of “Regenerate” by watching the music video for “Escape Route”:
Hailing from Southern Illinois, Aaron found his passion for music at the age of 7 and started playing guitar at the age of 13. He was involved in many local area bands throughout the next 8 years playing in the tri-state region. While Aaron was writing, performing, and building his guitar skills, he started audio engineering at age 16 and is currently producing and engineering all of his own material to date. After playing in many local acts, Aaron decided to break off and work on his own material. Aaron started writing his debut solo album “Regenerate” in May 2019 – a concept album about finding his way back to personal and professional growth as a musician. During this time, he also honed in on his skillset and direction as a guitarist. The album was released in May 2022 and featured Whitesnake/Trans Siberian Orchestra guitarist, Joel Hoekstra. Aaron’s musical style is described as technical, melodic, powerful, and uplifting. You can listen to Aaron Cravens’ songs on all online streaming platforms.
Aaron Cravens is renowned for his technical finesse, melodic tapestries, and empowering resonances, all of which can be experienced across various online streaming platforms.
The live manifestation of his creativity features the extraordinary talents of Dalton Webb on bass, and Kyle Parks and Jeremy Aparicio on drums.
Stay connected with Aaron Cravens through his official channels:
Originally released through Nuclear Blast Records on 27 July 2012; “A Girl Called Cerveza” by the German thrash metal band TANKARD is now being reissued by ROAR! Rock of Angels Records on vinyl version again! This time, after eleven years of its original release, the album will be released on October 27, 2023 on limited to 300 copies world-wide white/black/red splatter 2LP vinyl!
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
