Heavy metal heretics APOSTOLICA have released a video for ‘Gloria’, third single taken from the new album ‘Animae Haeretica’ to be released on September 22nd via Scarlet Records.
Heavy metal heretics Apostolica have founded a new cult based on a mysterious, intriguing image, a bombastic and pristine sound, ultra-catchy riffs and plenty of unforgettable hooks.
The prominent style of the new album is a dark Teutonic power metal, enriched with church choirs and thunderous organs and featuring epic orchestrations and majestic, powerful vocal lines.
Drawing inspiration from the obscure history of the Apostolics (a Christian sect founded in Northern Italy during the late 13th century by Gherardo Segarelli), ‘Animae Haeretica’ delves deep into the sinister tale of this enigmatic movement.
concept-album revolving around the Apostolics, an ancient religious movement with unorthodox beliefs
cover & artwork by Andrea Falaschi (Deathless Legacy)
Volcano Records recently introduced ULTRABLAST, a young band with a powerful grunge influence, and today the group is ready to make themselves heard with a new single titled “My Fault”.
The track is available on all online platforms and on YouTube, accompanied by a captivating music video. It showcases the strength of a band that, despite a distinct stylistic signature, can explore diverse musical territories. This includes adding European punk influences and echoes of David Bowie, filtered through a sharp vocal delivery and a powerful combination of rhythm and guitars that packs a punch.
The band’s description of the song is quite telling: “an dreamy guitar introduces an unstoppable groove that compels you to keep time, swaying back and forth. Clean and essential bass and drums. Closing your eyes, you could be in Berlin or New York. The progression of the vocals leads you, through admissions of guilt without apologies, towards an imperial finale.”
Listen to Ultrablast’s new track and watch the music video for “My Fault”, below.
CYNIC have been out on tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of ‘Focus’. Paul Masvidal and his band of aliens played the entire album at ProgPower USA last weekend, while also paying tribute to late members Sean Reinert and Sean Malone.
Today, they’re announcing the reissue of ‘Uroboric Forms’. This compilation collects seminal demos that Cynic recorded leading up to their groundbreaking debut.
“These demos are like sketches of young, aspiring artists”, Masvidal told Decibel writer Chris Dick. Although I can hear in them some fragment of my playing now”.
‘Uroboric Forms’ comes out on November 17. The LP includes a 7″ that has alternate versions of the title track and “The Eagle Nature”.
This compilation will only be pressed once, so don’t miss out on the chance to hear how this band evolved from death metal teens to prog mystics.
‘Uroboric Forms’ includes demos from 1988 through 1992. The ’88 demo glances back at the early days, when Cynic was still in its rawest form. It was recorded on a boom box while Masvidal and Reinert were high school classmates. Their next demo channeled enough teenage rage to kick up a buzz among fellow South Beach metal heads, but by 1991 they had elevated their technical skills to such death-defying heights, that they blew away the suits at Roadrunner Records.
“Hearing these demos is akin to looking at old pictures of yourself or reading historical diary entries and realizing you’re a different person now,” said Masvidal during that same interview. “Sometimes seeing those old pics or hearing this work can even feel embarrassing, as if they’re someone you don’t care to know anymore, but it’s who we were, and I’ve come to embrace how genuine the work actually is. There’s an earnestness in these recordings that’s particular to a space and time, and it will never happen again. We now have evidence exposing the roots of an artist’s journey and there’s nowhere to hide. That’s the beauty of it.”
Live Lineup: Paul Masvidal – Vocals and Guitars Max Phelps (Exist, Death to All) – Guitars and Vocals Brandon Giffin (The Faceless, The Zenith Passage) – Bass Matt Lynch (Nova Collective, Intronaut) – Drums & Percussion Zeke Kaplan – Keyboards
Formed in 2011 as Gyze, “Samurai Metal” band RYUJIN deftly deliver heavy metal from Japan to the international masses with their self-titled Napalm Records debut, RYUJIN, out January 12, 2024! Blending both Japanese and English lyricism and featuring production and several guest features by Matthew Kiichi Heafy (Trivium), the band’s high speed riffs and breakneck guitar descents pair with traditional Japanese elements, delivering a sound influenced by everything from ancient orchestral Gagaku to even modern anime themes.
After releasing four highly acclaimed albums and appearing at major festivals worldwide, RYUJIN have developed their own identity, expressed with accents of tasteful traditional Japanese instrumentation (i.e. Shamisen, Dragon Flute, Erhu, Taiko), and lead guitar god Ryoji Shinomoto’s incredible shredding technique and ripping vocals!
Today, the band launches their new album announcement alongside a brand new single, entitled “Raijin & Fujin”, accompanied by a high-energy music video. The track is an epic power metal storm featuring guest vocal contributions from Matthew Kiichi Heafy, shifting into a swirling tornado of rattling double bass and catapulting solos!
RYUJIN mastermind Ryoji Shinomoto says about the album and new single: “This is the first album of the evolution from Gyze to RYUJIN! We want everyone to enjoy Samurai Metal from the Far East! Produced by Matthew, it opens new doors for us and we are honored to release it on the legendary Napalm Records!”
Featured guest Matthew Kiichi Heafy adds: “RYUJIN delivers music unlike anyone else on the planet. It was their original sound that initially grasped my attention and left me needing to have more and more of what they do. I am humbled and honored to have been able to contribute to this upcoming masterpiece… this opus!
This is the album the world needs.”
RYUJIN features production by Matthew Kiichi Heafy and mixing/mastering by Mark Lewis, with guest appearances by Heafy (vocals and conducting on various tracks) and Mukai Wataru of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra (cello). Blending both Japanese and English lyricism, RYUJIN’s tracks feature titles based on the words of the Ainu people of Hokkaido (RYUJIN’s home region), as well as famous Japanese paintings and idioms.
Opening instrumental track “Hajimari” sets an ominous stage for blistering burner “Gekokujo” – a tastefully thrash-ified death metal riff-fest colliding with expressive folk-inspired passages and head-spinning technique. Ryoji’s blazing leads are met instantly with the peerless skills of drummer Shuji Shinomoto and bassist Aruta Watanabe. First single “Raijin & Fujin” is an epic power metal storm featuring guest vocal contributions from Matthew Kiichi Heafy, shifting into a swirling tornado of rattling double bass and catapulting solos, while “The Rainbow Song” also features soaring clean vocals by Heafy blended between modern melodic heavy metal and power metal innovation. Tracks like “Dragon, Fly Free” and “Kunnecup” invite the listener to sing-along with RYUJIN as they paint musical canvases of adventure and positivity. “Scream of the Dragon” returns to extreme influences amid uplifting choruses and a story blending English and Japanese lyrics, before “Gekirin” ventures into darker death metal influences – cascading into nautically-inspired melodies (as “Ryujin” is a dragon god of the sea in Japanese mythology, these oceanic musical themes weave seamlessly throughout the album).
The album nears the end with three heart-gripping, primarily Japanese-language opuses – the rock-opera-like ballad “Saigo No Hoshi”, the powerfully victorious and traditionally-inspired “Ryujin” and a cover of Linked Horizon’s“Guren No Yumiya” – widely known as an opening theme of popular anime series Attack On Titan. The album finishes with a bonus English-language version of “Saigo No Hoshi”, with vocals once again performed by Matthew Kiichi Heafy.
RYUJIN illustrates an exotic sonic experience that will transport music lovers to a world of fantastic adventure and technical extravagance!
RYUJIN track listing: 1. Hajimari 2. Gekokujo 3. Dragon, Fly Free 4. Raijin & Fujin 5. The Rainbow Song 6. Kunnecup 7. Scream of the Dragon 8. Gekirin 9. Saigo No Hoshi 10. Ryujin 11. Guren No Yumiya 12. Saigo No Hoshi (feat. Matthew K. Heafy) (Single Edit)
RYUJIN supporting Pain European-Tour:
05.10.2023 Cologne, DE @ Essigfabrik 06.10.2023 Drachten, NL @ Iduna 07.10.2023 Hengelo, NL @ Metropool 08.10.2023 Antwerp, BE @ Kavka Zappa 10.10.2023 Glasgow, UK @ Ivory Blacks 11.10.2023 Manchester, UK @ Rebellion 12.10.2023 Birmingham, UK @ The Asylum 13.10.2023 London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington 14.10.2023 Amstelveen, NL @ P60 15.10.2023 Paris, FR @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge 16.10.2023 Nantes, FR @ Le Ferrailleur 18.10.2023 Porto, PT @ Hard Club 19.10.2023 Lisbon, PT @ RCA Club 20.10.2023 Madrid, ES @ Chango Club 21.10.2023 Pamplona, ES @ Sala Totem Aretoa 22.10.2023 Lyon, FR @ La Rayonne 24.10.2023 Ljubljana, SI @ Cvetlicarna 25.10.2023 Adda, IT @ Live Music Club Trezzo Sull‘ 26.10.2023 Zagreb, HR @ Klub Mocvara 27.10.2023 Bucharest, RO @ Quantic Club 28.10.2023 Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Form Space 31.10.2023 Sofia, BG @ Club Mixtape 5
A few months passed by since SYMPHONY OF SWEDEN released a new track, but they’ve just broken their radio silence: their new song, “That Night” hopefully will be another fan favorite – if so, the band could consider 13 their new lucky number!
Lee’s statement: “We have had this song for a while… We really liked it, but didn’t know if we were gonna release it as a single or have it as an album track. So we waited but later decided to share it with the world.
The story is about a deal I did with myself. I have always known where I want to go and who I want to be. But it’s a damn hard road to get there… And life is no cakewalk either way.
But after I got sick and started to get better I just felt it was time, now nothing was going to stop me.
So I wrote the story of the promise I made to myself “That Night”.
Evan had the music ready so I wrote the lyrics and the melody. But I felt like something was missing. So I asked, “What about a solo”? I have really missed playing guitar. So I wrote a solo and we both felt like the song got even better.”
Evan’s statement: “This track started with a drum recording with Eric Günther. I believe I asked him to play along with another song, it could have been a Disturbed track or something similar… Then I asked Henrik Bodin-Sköld to lay down some guitar ideas which basically built the fundament for most of the song parts. Then Lee got this rough music background and came up with lyrics and vocal melody. First, we had some trouble getting the vibe right and we had an idea to go back in time, a bit to the golden era of the 80s hair metal sound… So another round of production and this track is our first track ever with 3 different guitarists in a single track! Henrik plays most of the guitars but I play the ”chugga chugga” guitars in the verses and Lee plays the solo!
I had a quite busy summer involving both work in the studio and holidays…I have been to Milano, Florence, Rome, Corsica, and Budapest this summer! And yes, we recorded some really good songs as well!” – Evan reflected on the past few months.
What does the future holds? “Now I look forward to lock myself in in the studio for the rest of the Autumn and finish the album!” – Evan added.
Welcome to the musical world of Symphony Of Sweden!
Coming from the North of Sweden with winter and ice bears all over the place, the music is the other way around. Grand and epic with huge arrangements, the missing link between pop and metal – this is Symphony of Sweden! Add the powerful voice of Linus “Lee” Wester and the creative talent of Pontus “Evan” Hagberg you will have a concept that brings you on a journey from here to eternity.
Symphony Of Sweden is: Pontus „Evan” Hagberg Linus „Lee” Wester
Evan and Lee lived in the same small town up north in Sweden. Lee had his own little service point, betting shop, tobacco store nearby which also happened to be Evan’s local service point where he went to get his parcels. After saying hello to each other for a couple of years, there was one day Evan had a parcel to get – which obviously was music-related. They fell into conversation with each other, a few days later Evan invited Lee to his studio. Evan: „he had found one of my instrumental tracks on Youtube and sang it with a new melody on top and lyrics for me in the studio, right there when he just arrived! I was blown away, and a week later we had our first ever track produced and completed. As soon he sang his first two words in the studio I wanted to work with him!”
The band released their first album, Inner Demons in January 2021, and their second album, Saints Of Yesterday came out on the 3rd of February, 2022.
Finnish melodic death metal band Superdeathflame‘s new single A Tale Of Disclosure is a song about a person who is closed in his shell and hides his true self inside. What happens when a person really opens up? This is a tale of disclosure. The song carries the story along like a train on its tracks. This one is a blast!
From Southern Finlands gray landscapes rises SUPERDEATHFLAME, the Style-Masters-of-Metal ready to conquer the world with our mature and melodic music that catches the ear. Founded in 2007 and released two full length albums and a batch of singles. Their songs are made for listener, no bullshit. The songs are hard, every piece tells a real story of life. The foundation, the Four Pillars of our Metal are Rock solid guitar riffs and punchy drumbeats coloured with flowing synths and world class choruses that are infectiously catchy. Superdeathflame is building their music with an increasingly determined focus to make every song sound simple and easy to a listener. Not forgetting multidimensional interpretation in the lyrics, that gives “the deep” to the songs.
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
