The clock is ticking: On February 10th, Swedish modern metal visionaries IN FLAMES release their fourteenth studio album Foregone – the new masterpiece from a band whose artistry and influence on modern metal is undeniable.
Today, IN FLAMES release the fifth single from Foregone: “Meet Your Maker” is a pulsating track with hypnotizing power and furious anger. Like a raw nerve exposed, the song speaks of the desperation and frustration brought on by the chaotic dystopia of post-pandemic society.
Frontman Anders Fridén states, “When we started to write for Foregone, Meet Your Maker became the song that set the tone in terms of what we were aiming for sonically as well as thematically. You’ll see it’s everything you’ve come to expect from In flames and some. Enjoy and see you on the road in 2023!”
The new single comes with an outstanding video that features the bands impressive performance skills. You can watch the video here:
Following the successful return of their own festival, Dalhalla Brinner, IN FLAMES recently announced an extended edition of the event for the next year: Dalhalla Brinner 2023 will take place on August 25th and 26th in Dalhalla, Sweden. Aside from the host band, the lineup will feature special guests that will be announced soon.
The wait is over! UK’s Modern hard rockers ONE LAST DAY have released their new single and lyric video ‘As Time Stands Still‘, available now on all major streaming services at https://earache.lnk.to/AsTimeStandsStill.
Enjoy the lyric video here:
Singer Alex Willox on ‘As Time Stands Still’: “As Time Stands Still is a song is about the mental struggles of feeling like you are trapped in time. I feel this will resonate with a lot of listeners and I truly hope its enjoyed!”
Guitarist Gareth Stapleton adds: “The music was written with the intention of making a huge sounding, emotional song, which I feel Alex has accomplished with his lyrics and vocal melodies. We have added a subtle layer of strings to the song, which is a first for us, and has really helped give an extra sense of emotion and epic-ness to the track.”
Earlier the band shared on the single: “As Time Stands Still continues along the same path of the previous One Last Day songs, with catchy vocal hooks and huge choruses. The track is heavy and emotive, yet accessible.”
The single artwork depicts a man trapped in time, by way of being stuck inside the hourglass.
ONE LAST DAY’s next live shows:
3rd February – Headline show @ The Acoustic Couch, Bracknell – event page 4th February – The Factory, Worthing – event page 4th March – HMV – High Wycombe, acoustic set 11th March – Bucks Uni SU Wycombe 27th April – Bridgwater, Somerset, The Cobblestones – event page 28th April – Oldham, Bank Top Tavern – event page 29th April – Whitehaven, The Twisted Tongue – event page 30th April – Rotherham, Bridge inn rotherham – event page 6th May 2023 – VoodooFest, Liverpool – event page
Launching in early 2021, ONE LAST DAY are a modern hard rock act coming out of the South-East of England. A heavy and emotive band, their musicality is left wide open to a myriad of rock styles all wrapped up into their own distinctive sound. The band are a powerhouse live act, performing near sellout shows, growing a loyal legion of followers at each gig and getting invited to play increasingly larger shows across the UK.
ONE LAST DAY deliver heavy yet accessible music, combining an eclectic symphony of influences from Hard Rock to Grunge and Metal. This was demonstrated in their debut EP ‘CHAPTER 1: THE END IS THE BEGINNING’ which featured seven gargantuan tracks, including the successful single ‘THIS BOTTLE GOT ME’. From prog stylings to rock ballads, the EP is sure to sate the appetite of those wanting to hear more from this fresh and exciting band. The EP was produced by the band themselves, with mixing and mastering done by IgniteAMR.
It’s an interesting time to be setting out in the industry but ONE LAST DAY have accepted the challenge. These guys have already torn up stages from The Underworld, Camden and The Fleece, Bristol to The Fighting Cocks, Kingston and The Facebar, Reading. So come along for the ride and remember where you heard them first!
Line-up: Alex Willox – vocals Gareth Stapleton – rhythm guitar and backing vocals John Harmsworth – lead guitar and backing vocals Jim Hutton – bass guitar Andy Scott – drums
As part of their 20th anniversary celebrations, Swedish power trio MÄRVEL will release the double vinyl compilation “Double Decade” in the beginning of 2023. Packed with Märvel’s patented take on high-octane and super catchy rock’n’roll, the double vinyl contains Märvel‘s greatest hits, previously impossible to get B-sides, and rare tracks, all newly mastered by Magnus Lindberg (The Hellacopters, Imperial State Electric, Cult Of Luna, The Datsuns, Tribulation, Lucifer).
The compilation also includes two brand new, previously unreleased songs, mixed by Robert Pehrsson (Dundertåget, Death Breath, Robert Pehrsson’s Humbucker). One of these new tracks is called “Catch 22” and is released as a digital single on the 20th of January.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try you end up with your beard in the mailbox or pants down to your ankles with a school-bus full of idiots laughing at you. You just can’t win. And even more sometimes, you’re in a relationship where you can’t stand each other but still can’t exist without each other.
Catch 22 was recorded during the studio sessions for the album Graces Came With Malice. We felt it didn’t quite fit the theme of the album but it was still a strong song that we wanted to highlight in a special way. By including it in Double Decade we’re looking backwards and forwards at the same time. Like a rear-view mirror facing forwards.
The double vinyl “Double Decade” will be available in two different set of colors, one containing 2x transparent clear vinyl, and the other containing one transparent orange and one transparent purple vinyl. Both versions come in a luxurious gatefold with an exclusive booklet. “Double Decade” will be released on The Sign Records on February 24, 2023, and can be pre-ordered now. The album is available for pre-order through Bandcampor at THIS LOCATION
Italian doom metal outfit SHORES OF NULL is gearing up for the release of the band’s highly anticipated new album “The Loss of Beauty“, which will be coming out on March 24th via Spikerot Records. “The Loss of Beauty” is Shores Of Null’s fourth album and follows the acclaimed “Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying)”, unanimously considered by fans and critics as one of the doom metal gems of recent years. Both albums were recorded between 2019 and early 2020, and although “The Loss of Beauty” was initially conceived as the band’s third album, “Beyond The Shores” took its place as it better reflected the doom and gloom sentiment of the “annus horribilis” 2020.
Across 11 tracks (plus two bonus tracks), Shores Of Null once again submerges listeners with tempestuous and turbulent riffs. The band continues to hone its sound and take its melancholic dark metal to new heights by mastering an assorted palette of genres with inbred poignancy. The lyrics celebrate beauty in imperfection and transience and are meant to be an invitation to seek beauty in little things, especially those unexpected and ephemeral.
After the previously released first single “Nothing Left To Burn”, the band follows up today with a brand new music video for “The Last Flower”, directed by Sanda Movies.
Vocalist Davide Straccione on “The Last Flower”:
“This song has, in my opinion, one of the best choruses of the album, and I also feel very connected to the lyrics. I pictured a future where everything is dying and there’s but a flower left alive in this world that must be saved at all costs, even with our own life if it means saving our future. It’s a metaphor that encloses the main theme in ‘The Loss Of Beauty’, which is preserving beauty no matter what. It is a reminder that everything is ephemeral.“
“The Loss of Beauty” is dark and heavy, tinged with feelings of despair and melancholy. An album not to be missed and highly recommended for all fans of Amorphis, Enslaved, and Paradise Lost.
The album was recorded by Marco “Cinghio” Mastrobuono at Kick Recording Studio (Hour Of Penance, Inno, Fleshgod Apocalypse). Cover artwork by Sabrina Caramanico.
“The Loss of Beauty” is available for pre-order HERE and will be available in the following formats:
April 28, 2023 will see the masters of heavy metal, pagan, folk and melodic death metal, Elvenking, return to fantasy with their epic, new album “Reader Of The Runes – Rapture”, through AFM Records! The band’s eleventh studio album marks the sequel to their 2019 blockbuster record “Reader of the Runes – Divination”.
Elvenking set sail to horizons more distant than ever before, boldly taking the world by storm with their quintessentially unique approach to heavy, powerful music. As guitarist Aydan and vocalist Damna recently revealed, “Part 2 is darker, it needed to be tragic and violent and this gave us the chance to fully breathe the soundscape we already had in mind as we started to write songs in early 2020. We feel that with this album, we have cast a milestone and set a further limit in what we can do by mixing wisely what we deeply love in metal. We are very satisfied with all the shades that compose these eleven songs; altogether they make a canvas we are very proud of.”
But give ear, following the previously-released, first album single “Rapture”, today, Elvenking premiered a haunting lyric video for the epic track “The Hanging Tree”! Watch the new clip here:
Says the band: “The Hanging Tree is a song that sets a violent darker tone as we dive deep into the core of the story narrated in the second part of the “Reader of the Runes” trilogy. If “Rapture” was more epic, slow paced and filled with many different shades and textures, “The Hanging Tree” is a merciless fast cavalcade that goes straight to the point with a heavy fast riffing, melodic yet aggressive vocals, big choirs in the chorus, two insane guitar solos and a folk break in the middle that our dear EK fans will definitely love. It will surely be a highlight in our forthcoming live shows.”
Ever since their inception in 1997, Elvenking mastered their way to their own identity with courage and bravado, leaving behind the shackles of genres step by step before they truly broke out with their 2014 monument “The Pagan Manifesto”. Elvenking have been defying all genres, now feeling quite at home in their very own enchanted realm. With “Rapture”, the Italian collective delivers part two of their monumental “Reader of the Runes” trilogy, and an epic metal quest of woe and despair, wrought with mysterious figures, dark magic and an altogether mesmerizing autumnal flair reminiscent of a forest glade during an Indian Summer. It’s more than just a metal album. It’s a moving story set to fabulous songs, bridging the gap between fantasy and reality. Many times before, Elvenking have weaved powerful magic into the world. This time, they truly came into their own, wresting their best effort yet from a global pandemic.
“Reader Of The Runes – Rapture” was written between 2020 and 2022, and was recorded between May and October 2022 by the band and renowned producer Scott Atkins (Cradle of Filth, Behemoth) who also took over mixing and mastering duties. Set to be released on April 28, 2023 through AFM Records, the album pre-sale is available at THIS LOCATION!
Finnish alternative metal band GOLDEN ROT was formed during the spring of 2022 by the guitarists and lead vocalists Pauliina Vuolanne and Ville Haavisto. What started out as a duo, quickly grew into a strong four-piece band with the addition of Olli Paajanen (bass) and Samuel Arola (drums).
The band members each have gained experience in various projects in heavy music and brought different influences and styles with them. The songs ring out with a fresh blend of 90´s alternative, metalcore, progressive metal and early 2000´s catchy radio rock.
Their debut song revolves around the environmental chaos we are bringing forth.
“Reap What You Sow” was written by Pauliina and Ville to express the choices that we make as a society that have brought us to this point, and which we never seem to stop making.
“While the riffs and the themes are quite dark, there is a sense of comfort in the idea that we are all in this together”, the two said.
The heart of the song lies in the vastly different, yet beautifully merging voices of Pauliina and Ville, both of which seamlessly navigate through gentle clean parts to raw and aggressive screams.
This is backed up with heavy hitting band instruments and discreet electronic production.
The singer duo had been making music together for several projects, but with the addition of Olli and Samuel the group really became whole, and the writing process is now a joint operation to voice each one’s feelings and ideas. The band is planning to hit the stages in the near future, while working on some new material.
Watch the official ‘Reap What You Sow’ visualizer, below.
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