Alternative metal band based in Gothenburg DREAM DROP, has truly come out on top since the live scene made a comeback after the pandemic restrictions. They opened three shows for Blood Command in Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm and just got back from a long period of touring together with Smash Into Pieces and STARSET. With a constant presence on social media, and a close contact with their own community, the band shows a clear creative thinking that is required to get the attention of the outside world.
Dream Drop has also been busy in the studio finalizing their 2nd studio album ‘ACNE SUPERSTAR’, set to be released in November this year. The album is a tribute to the teenage years and today the band releases the third chapter called ‘Fold Under Pressure’, a perfect blend between a great rock riff and metal aggravation. The band wrote their new singel feeling on top of the world up in the Norwegian mountains, a feeling that is well reflected in the song.
“Fold Under Pressure is a tribute to Arctic Monkeys that took a very long time to write. The chorus was the absolute last thing to be finished on the entire record because we couldn’t find the right melody. It’s also the song that changed the most from the demo to the studio version” – Dream Drop
Promo picture by Viljami Kamppinen, edited by Kasperi Kinnunen
Finnish rocking metal band MISS VAIN released their first EP ‘Crocus Biflorus’ on August 11th 2023 via Inverse Records. Also a new music video One to Burn is released today and it can be seen below.
The vocalist Mikko Vilkman comments: “Here it is!
Miss Vain’s first EP – Crocus Biflorus as fresh as it gets!
The songs has been composed, written and recorded little by little from summer of 2020 to the fall of 2022…We know it took awhile but hey, what’s the rush?! Band was formed during the sessions in 2021, so the players on the record are not quite the same as our current lineup.
One To Burn is the only song on the album that hasn’t been released yet as a single, so we gave it a privilege to start this bumpy joyride! The song tells a story of sort of an own life antihero, who is struggling with depression, challenging relationships and explosive impulsiveness that might set the whole world on fire if unleashed. It’s pretty easy listening song with catchy and melodic chorus.
Second song on EP is called All the Same, which was the first single of the album we released via Inverse Records. It critizises the false and embellished reality, created especially in social media. Song has got very good feedback whenever played live or via streaming services. It’s a metal song leaning towards rock- and even pop-music.
Leap of Failed as a third song of the album will raise some horns with it’s modern thrash- metal like vibes and easygoing choruses. Lyrics are about failing and ones need of a change in life, even though it could be such a leap of faith, with ghosts of the past lurking in the mist of your mind and in the shades of loneliness. It was the second single from the album.
Song number four is called Song of Solitude. It’s also the third single of the album. This might be EP:s most toughest bite for a listener, as it holds elements from progressive-metal to pop-rock and much in between within. Lyrically we stick in with such a similar issues. It’s basically about loss, grieving the past and hope for a new… The cry for love and acceptance universally and/or personally.
Well I think that’s pretty much what whole life is all about! Isn’t it?
Hope you’ll enjoy your listening!
We´d like to thank:Joni / Inverse Records,Joel & Niko / Lindfors Productionsand also Minttu Haveri for an awesome cover art”
Miss Vain is a five piece rock – group from Tampere Finland, drifting in the maelstrom of metal. It´s music is a horns raising energy and catchy melodies with a featherlike delicacy.
Miss Vain was formed in 2019 as a two guy studio project. After two lighter pop – / rock – songs, we lowered our tune and in summer of 2021 Miss Vain grew into a real band… Finally.
Our mission is to deliver joyful moments with new awesome songs and live shows to all who are willing to be entertained by Miss Vains rumbling tunes.
Sweden’s masters of melodic, doomish death metal, OCTOBER TIDE, will release their seventh studio album, “The Cancer Pledge”, on October 6th via Agonia Records. The album will arrive four years after its predecessor, “In Splendor Below”, and will coincide with a headlining tour of Europe.
Recent output has seen OCTOBER TIDE tone down on the doom particle, and throw the listener in a colder embrace of a melodic death metal rainstorm. This trend remains consistent on “The Cancer Pledge”, and overlaps with the direction spearheaded by guitarist Fredrik Norrman (ex-Katatonia, ex-Trees Of Eternity, Thenighttimeproject), keen on rejuvenating OCTOBER TIDE with a touch of the past. “It’s a direct continuation of the previous album,” states Norrman. “Less doom and more death metal, yet melodic and with more layers. I’ve searched for inspiration in records I listened to in the 80’s and 90’s when I grew up. But it still sounds like October Tide.”
The sound of OCTOBER TIDE, aside from being doom intertwined melodeath, is fronted by emotionally compelling guitarwork, known to subside into melancholic and introspective tones. Even though the band has shapeshifted over the years – starting off as a duo of Katatonia fame musicians, FredrikNorrman and Jonas Renske, back in 1994 – it has retained and evolved its trademark formula. The present-day line-up, intact since 2016, features said guitarist & founder Fredrik Norrman, second guitarist & Fredrik‘s brother Mattias Norrman (ex-Katatonia), vocalist Alexander Högbom (ex-Demonical), bassist Johan Jönsegård (Letters From The Colony) and drummer Jonas Sköld (Letters From The Colony / Thenighttimeproject).
“The Cancer Pledge” was recorded and produced in 2023 by OCTOBER TIDE and Karl Daniel Lidén (Bloodbath, Katatonia). The latter mixed and master the album, whose cover artwork was designed by Albin Högbom.
Tracklisting: 1. Peaceful, Quiet, Safe 2. Tapestry of our End 3. Unprecedented Aggression 4. Blodfattig 5. The Cancer Pledge 6. I know why I´m cold 7. Season of Arson 8. Breathe the Water
OCTOBER TIDE will hit the road on the day of album release, commencing the first part of the album-promoting tour in Germany, through Belgium, France, Czech Republic and Poland.
Tour dates: OCTOBER TIDE – “Cancer Pledge Europa tour – part I” 06.10 DE Berlin – ORWO Haus 07.10 DE Bitterfeld – Festung 08.10 BE Antwerp – Kavka 09.10 FR Paris – Le Klub 10.10 DE Essen – Don’t Panic 11.10 DE Hamburg – Logo 12.10 DE Osnabrück – Bastard Club 13.10 CZ Suchdol nad Lužnicí – House of Culture 14.10 PL Jarocin – Black Waves Festival
Line-up: Alexander Högbom – vocals Fredrik Norrman – guitars Jonas Sköld – drums Johan Jönsegård – bass Mattias Norrman – guitars
Spread the word. OTEP has returned! Alt metal renegade and force to be reckoned with, OTEP, breaks her silence with a brand new single, “Ostracized,” which arrives on the heels of her brilliant cover of Billie Eilish’s “You Should See Me In A Crown.” “Ostracized” is the first original single from the upcoming album, The God Slayer. Lead singer and creative mastermind, Otep Shamaya, harnesses the power of her raw, unapologetic emotion and passion-filled poetry, which act as the driving forces behind “Ostracized.” This dynamic musical masterpiece was forged in the fire of unadulterated rage, with an edge sharpened by an ear-shattering blend of high screams, death growls, and guttural vocals, galvanized by gritty guitar, pounding drums, and a face-melting solo, courtesy of Vigil of War guitarist, Kiki Wong.
This standout single serves as a taste of things to come, with the remainder of The God Slayer featuring a diverse mix of original songs and transformative takes on chart-topping hits from a variety of influences, including pop, rap, and grunge. The God Slayer is a testament to OTEP’s versatility and innovative expression, with the ability to take on any genre and make it uniquely her own.
The God Slayer will be available worldwide on September 15th and features OTEP’s signature nu metal-hip hop stylizing of an eclectic array of fan favorites across a multitude of genres, in addition to several original songs, and a poignant requiem in the form of a hidden track, paying homage to her one of her biggest supporters.
Midwest melodeath band ASTRALBORNE has today shared a new lyric video for their track The Pillars of Creation. The Pillars of Creation is taken from ASTRALBORNE‘s sophomore album, Across the Aeons, recently released via Prosthetic Records.
Speaking on the video release, ASTRALBORNE comments: “The Pillars of Creation are, literally, massive tendrils of cosmic dust and gas that sit within the heart of the Milky Way’s Eagle Nebula. From its breathtaking colors to its towering shape that spans light-years across the galaxy, this track captures humanity’s fear of our insignificance in the face of an incomprehensibly vast universe.”
After their 2020 debut album, Eternity’s End, introduced ASTRALBORNE as accomplished purveyors of both compellingly intricate melodicism and dexterous brutality in equal measure, Across the Aeons’ creative process began immediately following their lauded first full-length release. Commencing writing in spring of 2020, the group soon found themselves expanding upon the more grandiose passages of their sonic foundations, with conscious efforts made to accommodate cellist and composer Kakophonix’s contributions.
Recorded by bassist and vocalist Paul Fuzinki in 2021 between Call of the Yeti Studio in Swanton, OH and North Shore Studios in Fife Lake, MI, Across the Aeons was then mixed by Unnus Latif at Black Moon Recordings, Columbus, OH and mastered by Orden Ogan’s Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann at Greenman Studios in Germany. The end result of production sees ASTRALBORNE’s knack for lofty fretwork and rhythmic pummel shine among sanguine acoustic arrangements and beguiling orchestration.
The 12 tracks on offer chart a journey of acceptance in the face of humankind’s impermanence within a cosmic void, be it Fuzinski’s bellowing promise of hell itself, “chaos, death and fire” on lead single War Vessel or interdimensional overlap on Gemini’s celestial death metal pomp. Elsewhere ASTRALBORNE team up with labelmates Steve Redmond (Foretoken, The Day of the Beast) and Yegor Savovin (Fires in the Distance) on December Flower and the resplendent mid-album instrumental Promethean Fire respectively.
ASTRALBORNE’s interstellar voyage is visually brought to life in evocative fashion by Spanish artist Juanjo Castellano (The Black Dahlia Murder, Voidceremony, Coffins). For as alone as we may be in the cosmos of Across the Aeons, the band’s second album shirks the nihilistic connotations of such a realisation, opting instead to revel in the totality of all beings and things.
Across the Aeons tracklist: 1. Exordium 2. War Vessel 3. Nocturneous 4. Skybreaker 5. Gemini 6. December Flower 7. Promethean Fire 8. Star of Extinction 9. Paradigm Shift 10. The Pillars of Creation 11. Across the Aeons 12. Cadence of Sorrow
ASTRALBORNE is: Paul Fuzinski – Bass and vocals Derik Smith – Guitar Jayson Cessna – Drums
Dutch contemporary metal outfit AUTARKH (with ex-members of DODECAHEDRON and members of INFERUM and DEAR MOTHER)are now unveiling the details from the upcoming album “Emergent”! This new industrial offering will be released via Season of Mist underground activists on November 10, 2023.
A first track an pre-order for the album will be coming to you soon.
AUTARKH frontman Michel Nienhuis comments: “We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of our sophomore full-length album Emergent. The songs and storyline took shape in 2022 and were eventually funneled into an album with nine tracks that we recorded this year. We feel this is a next step in our artistic development – Emergent has a more open, diverse and radiant imprint that sheds light on different musical influences that inspire us. We are satisfied with the increased versatility and contrast this album has to offer, and we can’t wait to share it with the world!”
Artwork by Arno Frericks
With nine tracks, Emergent is a sonic exploration of the inner universe where all things light and dark can be encountered. With exciting vocal harmonies, bold contrasts and a vivid imagination, AUTARKH sheds a bright light on the inner self and exposes it to the world with intensity and conviction.
Dutch contemporary metal adventurers AUTARKH are back with their sophomore full-length album Emergent. Michel Nienhuis, founder of AUTARKH and DODECAHEDRON, teamed up again with guitarist/producer David Luiten (INFERUM), bassist Desmond Kuijk (DEAR MOTHER) and electronics wizard Tijnn Verbruggen to create the follow-up to their highly acclaimed debut album Form In Motion, released by Season Of Mist on 12 March 2021. Monica Kendrick (Chicago Reader, US) on the relevance of the group’s debut:
“And I’ll call it now: given the time to flourish and sink into the ears of an audience, Autarkh will become highly influential on the next generation of extreme metal.”
Emergent is another testament to AUTARKH’s imagination and creativity. It delivers increased versatility and contrast, and sees the band expand towards more uplifting and consonant territories. Form In Motion explored the boundaries of sonic extremes; on Emergent, AUTARKH broadens its horizon and shows diversity and nuance while preserving its intense and razor-sharp edge.
With nine tracks, Emergent is a sonic exploration of the inner universe where all things light and dark can be encountered. The listener is lured into an Open Focus (a meditative state of mind) in preparation for an inward journey along the physical energy centres. From the thumping synth basses of Strife and the menacing sludgy melancholy of Duhkha, we move into the bewildering blasts of Trek, where stellar harmonies will eventually burst through the oppressive atmosphere. The trip continues with the crushing downtempo groove that enforces Refocus, as well as the mind-bending a capella interlude Aperture and the frivolous Eye Of Horus and Countless Kaleidoscopes, to finally deliver all-encompassing enlightenment with Ka.
Composers Nienhuis’s and Luiten’s statements and states of mind capture the same capriciousness and unease of Form In Motion, this time leaving a more open, diverse and radiant imprint. With exciting vocal harmonies, bold contrasts and a vivid imagination, AUTARKH sheds a bright light on the inner self and exposes it to the world with intensity and conviction. That makes Emergent an evocative release with a multilayered yet crystal-clear production that promises a bright future for AUTARKH.
Recording Studio: David Luiten Studio, Monodisc Studio, Moonbear Music & Engineering Mix/Master: David Luiten
Line-up: Michel Nienhuis: vocals & guitars David Luiten: vocals & guitars Desmond Kuijk: bass Tijnn Verbruggen: synths & beats
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
