Last year, Bay Area metal icons MACHINE HEAD unleashed their incendiary 10th studio album, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN. Today, the band releases the music video for the track ‘ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY’. Directed by Jon (Jern) Watson and edited by Mike Sloat, the mobile-friendly video features live footage from the band’s 2022 U.S. and European tours.
Watch the mobile-friendly music video for ‘ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY’, here:
MACHINE HEAD’s Robb Flynn comments: “The last few videos have been very artistic and thematic continuing the black & white scope of the concept record. For this we just wanted to have an old school, 90’s style live video, that is more or less a tribute to our absolutely insane fans (the Head Cases) going bat shit crazy, mixed with some good ol’ life-on-the-road-getting-hammered-backstage-vibe. Enjoy!”
Canadian Tech Death outfit ARCHSPIRE have just announced a brand new Tech Trek down under! Together with INGESTED and WEREWOLVES, the band will wreak havoc in 6 Australian cities in October 2023. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.
Tickets are now on sale.
ARCHSPIRE recently announced new European tour dates for the Summer of 2023. The ‘Europe Summer’ tour includes festival appearances such as Party.San, Brutal Assault, Alcatraz & Summer Breeze!
ARCHSPIRE EU Summer 03 Aug 23 Velenje (SI) Metaldays 04 Aug 23 Munich (DE) Backstage (+Shadow Of Intent +Within Destruction) 07 Aug 23 Dresden (DE) Reithalle (+Shadow Of Intent +Within Destruction) 08 Aug 23 Kraków (PL) Kwadrat (+Fit For An Autopsy +Within Destruction) 09 Aug 23 Warsaw (PL) Hybrydy (+Signs of the Swarm) 10 Aug 23 Schlotheim (DE) Party San 11 Aug 23 Jaromer (CZ) Brutal Assault 12 Aug 23 Bremen (DE) Tivoli (+Converge +Dying Fetus) 13 Aug 23 Kortrijk (BE) Alcatraz 14 Aug 23 Schweinfurt (DE) Stattbahnhof (+Dying Fetus) 15 Aug 23 Bochum (DE) Matrix (+Dying Fetus) 16 Aug 23 Tilburg (NL) 013 (+Converge +Dying Fetus) 17 Aug 23 Dinkelsbühl (DE) Summer Breeze 18 Aug 23 Spital am Semmering (AT) Kaltenbach Open Air 20 Aug 23 Carhaix (FR) Motocultor
ARCHSPIREAustralia +Ingested +Werewolves 11 Oct 23 Brisbane (AU) The Zoo 12 Oct 23 Canberra (AU) The Basement 13 Oct 23 Sydney (AU) The Factory Theatre 14 Oct 23 Melbourne (AU) The Corner Hotel 15 Oct 23 Adelaide (AU) Lion Arts Factory 17 Oct 23 Perth (AU) Amplifier Bar (no Werewolves)
The band will be playing in support of their latest album ‘Bleed the Future’, which was released on October 29, 2021 and can still be heard in full HERE. The artwork, which has been created by Eliran Kantor.
Track-list 1. Drone Corpse Aviator (3:46) (WATCH) 2. Golden Mouth of Ruin (4:05) (WATCH) 3. Abandon the Linear (4:36) 4. Bleed the Future (3:48) (WATCH) 5. Drain of Incarnation (4:20) 6. Acrid Canon (4:09) 7. Reverie on the Onyx (3:47) 8. A.U.M. (3:04) Total: 31:35
Coverart created by Eliran Kantor
Lineup: Oliver Rae Aleron: vocals Spencer Prewett: drums Dean Lamb: guitars Tobi Morelli: guitars Jared Smith: bass
Steve Lukather and The Players Club / Mascot Label Group have presented the second reveal in front of the release of his new studio album titled BRIDGES. The song was written by Luke, Joseph Williams and David Paich. Lukather performed guitars, bass, and the lead vocal, with Williams contributing keys, background vocals and percussion. David Paich contributes keyboards while Shannon Forrest appears on drums. The lyric video for the lead reveal, “When I See You Again,” can be viewed here.
Luke shares, “I am so happy and grateful for the reaction to the new music. Here is another song that is a co-write with Joe, Paich and I. Hope you like it.”
View Official Video for “Someone” Here:
His ninth solo album, Bridges, could not be more accurately titled. Luke shares, “I see it as a bridge between my solo music and ToTo Music. The fact that Joseph Williams, David Paich and I wrote most of the record, and the fact I invited many of the old ToTo gang to come and play, co-writers like Randy Goodrum and Stan Lynch brings all this together. It also proves that most of my old pals and I are still great friends, and I wanted to do a record ‘in the style of,’ as ToTo will never record another studio album. This is as close as we will get.” He continues, “We still love writing and creating and recording together, and we will no doubt continue to work with each other on our respective solo works. It’s complicated, and at the age I am now, I do NOT wish to do anything complicated.”
Bridges presents deep roots and branches from ToTo’s family tree. Past and present members contribute on both the writing and performance side. Joseph Williams has writing credits on six of the songs, while David Paich does on four. Williams performs on all recordings contributing background vocals, synths, percussion or keys pending on the track, while Paich plays keyboards on five. Drummer Simon Phillips performed on “Far From Over,” “Not My Kind Of People,” “When I See You Again,” and “Burning Bridges.” While Shannon Forrest returned to play on “Someone,” “All Forevers Must End,” “Take My Love” and “I’ll Never Know.” Both old friend and former member Lee Sklar and Gov’t Mule bassist Jorgen Carlsson perform bass on a couple of tracks, while Luke himself performs on several others. On “Far From Over,” Trev Lukather performs guitars, bass, background vocals, and synths. Current ToTo keyboardist Steve Maggiora co-wrote “Take My Love” and performs all keys alongside singing background vocals on that track. Luke shares, “Some people think cause someone has left the band or moved on to their own thing that we stopped being friends or stopped wanting to work together. I think this proves that is not the case, and I wanted to make music with my old friends, alongside having a laugh or two. It was a lot of fun and it also has a sound that is familiar.”
When it comes to David Paich and Joseph Williams, the three remain close to this day. Paich remains the musical director of ToTo although he no longer travels appearing at every show. Williams and Lukather are the Dogs of Oz, helming the career of the band in to the future. As Luke shares, “I have been working with both these guys since I was a kid. I revere their talent, and wanted to take pressure off myself. Joe produced the record so I could just be an artist. Paich is the guy that not only taught me how to make records, but he was the one that encouraged my songwriting in ToTo, and really pushed me in every musical sense. And, I love these guys and it is so easy. We all like the same stuff and have worked together for most of our lives. It was like going back to summer camp with my best pals!” He continues, “Joe is a remarkable Producer and songwriter as is Dave so…I was able to relax and enjoy the process. Hence it may have a ‘familiar’ sound or style when this is all mixed together. Not intentionally…it’s just what happens when we create together.”
Bridges Tracklist Far From Over Not My Kind Of People Someone All Forevers Must End When I See You Again Take My Love Burning Bridges I’ll Never Know
Fans of extreme metal music have something to look forward to this summer as Japanese black metal one-man band DEATHROLL announced the signing with Wormholedeath. The album, titled “Japanese Extreme Metal Art,” is set for digital release on July 7th, 2023, and promises to deliver a powerful and intense experience.
DEATHROLL is the brainchild of Kazu, who hails from Iwaki, Fukushima, and has been creating music since 2012. He is a singer, songwriter, and musician who has released several albums, including “荒涼,” “Brainwashing,” “破壊,” and “Z.K.K.” DEATHROLL has a distinctive sound that depicts the darkness of jet black and is known for breaking hearts with its powerful lyrics and music.
“We are very pleased to announce that we have signed with Wormholedeath to release a new album,” said Kazu. “We hope that more people around the world will get to know DEATHROLL in the future! We hope you will listen to this album and feel the powerful Japanese way of life.”
“Japanese Extreme Metal Art” features Kazu on guitar and vocals, with support from ONITAKE on bass, TSUKAMOTO on drums, and MIZUTANI on the keyboard. The album promises to deliver a high-energy performance that will leave fans wanting more.
Tracklist
01 Lady Banks 02 The grey life 03 Lost in confusion 04 The torture of lying 05 False images of isolation and depravity 06 The lion’s den
To get a taste of what’s to come, fans can check out DEATHROLL’s official music video for “The Torture of Lying” on YouTube:
Get ready to experience “Japanese Extreme Metal Art” from DEATHROLL. This album promises to be an epic and unforgettable journey into the world of Japanese black metal.
Fans can follow DEATHROLL on his website and social media accounts for the latest news and updates.
ARYOKAL is a duo from Helsinki, known for creating electronic music on the brink of darkness, released their new single “The Completionist” on May 24, 2023. The single combines modern electronic production with Pekka Loponen‘s captivating vocals, keeping the listener engaged throughout this musical journey. Adding their own touch to the single is Jussi Saarelma from the band Haraamo, with his electric piano playing.
“The Completionist” has been mastered by Jussi Hämäläinen, known from Hanging Garden and Mercury Circle.
After their previous singles, “Vexilla” and “Chrome Insignia,” Aryokal has been carefully refining their debut album. The atmosphere and sound world of their music have intensified and deepened. Operating with an original approach on the fringes of darkness, the band will release their debut album later in the fall. Another single can be expected from the upcoming album.
Black Metal legends TSJUDER are ready to release ‘Prestehammeren’ to the world! ‘Prestehammeren’ (which means The Priest’s Hammer) is taken from their new album “Helvegr”, which will be released worldwide on June 23, 2023 via Season of Mist.
TSJUDER is releasing ‘Prestehammeren’ in a form of a visualiser video, envisioning the concept of this raw, aggressive, and uncompromising song. The new track is available via the official Season of Mist YouTube channel HERE!
TSJUDER comments: “This is Prestehammeren. The second track on our forthcoming album Helvegr. Torture and Revenge!”
Pre-orders for “Helvegr” are available HERE, while the album can be pre-saved HERE. (Some vinyl’s are already sold out)
The album will be released on various physical formats, such as cd digipack and coloured vinyl, but also limited edition clamshell box (cd) and LTD vinyl box.
These limited edition come with a bonus album “Scandinavian Black Metal Attack” in which TSJUDER pays a special ode to BATHORY.
Artwork: Jonas Svensson and Laura Nardelli
Track-list: 1. Iron Beast (3:37) [WATCH HERE] 2. Prestehammeren (4:01) [WATCH HERE] 3. Surtr (6:59) 4. Gamle-Erik (3:46) 5. Chaos Fiend (4:02) 6. Gods of Black Blood (5:19) [WATCH HERE] 7. Helvegr (7:36) 8. Faenskap og Død (3:08) 9. Hvit Død (2:52)
Since their inception in 1993, Oslo’s TSJUDER have been responsible for some of the most hate-filled ferocity perpetrated under the banner of TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL.
The band’s unholy fire was initially lit when founding members NAG (vocals/bass), BERSERK (guitar) and DRAUGLUIN (guitar) grew weary of playing death metal and sought out engorged levels of extremity to sate their increasingly profane ambitions. The time was ripe to inaugurate a ceaseless campaign committed to an uncompromising strain of brutally raw black metal, influenced by the primal thrash blasts of Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, Sarcófago and early Sepultura; black metal first wave trailblazers such as Bathory and Hellhammer; and, most vitally, Mayhem’s seminal Deathcrush, and Darkthrone’s game-changer, A Blaze in the Northern Sky.
Assuming the TSJUDER name, a moniker plundered from a mythical, murderous Northern tribe, various embryonic line-ups gathered around the all-conquering core of Nag and Draugluin, laying the fearsome foundations for what was to follow with two demos – Ved Ferdens Ende and Possessed – recorded between 1995-96. But it was with 1997’s EP, Throne of the Goat, that the black metal underground really began to sit up and take notice, the release establishing TSJUDER’s reputation as a blasphemous bulldozer hellbent on crushing the insipid and nostalgic in relentless blizzards of sub-zero riffage, punitive blast beats and blood-curdling screams.
Recordings for an inaugural full-length in 1999 were lost to a computer virus, but from the scavenged remnants of these sessions would emerge the Atum Nocturnem demo, an obnoxious foretaste of the group’s debut album, Kill For Satan, an international breakthrough slathered in slime-encrusted sacrilege. That damnable release saw the aptly-named ANTI-CHRISTIAN open his TSJUDER account, the drummer blasting a succession of gateways though the underworld, pulverising a punitive march to the band’s malevolent maelstroms.
Demonic Possession (2002) and Desert Northern Hell (2004) sustained the band’s focus on death, devils and destruction, while ratcheting up the production levels on a barbaric brace of flesh-strippers conjuring a landscape of frost-bitten wastes and foul abyssal realms. With the music press busy dishing out plaudits, the band’s burgeoning confederacy of fanatics were becoming desperate for some TSJUDER live action. Heeding the clarion, the band embarked on a full European tour with fellow countrymen Carpathian Forest. They also recorded a pair of gloriously powerful live performances in 2005, in Norway, which would subsequently be documented on the group’s NorwegianApocalypse DVD.
TSJUDER would take a deserved hiatus in 2006, with members finding other musical outlets for their creativity; Nag launching heretical black metal outfit KRYPT; Draugluin and Anti-Christian doing time with the thrashier TYRANN.
But it wouldn’t be long before the irresistible call of TSJUDER would exert itself once more. The band reconvened, reenergised and eager to make up for lost time, returning to live performances in 2010 before finally unleashing the mighty Legion Helvete (2011), a typically uncompromising comeback interspersed with pronounced Motörhead influences on punkish hyper-blasters such as ‘Slakt’. It would be another four years before TSJUDER issued the merciless Antiliv (2015), a snarling lycanthropic howl of a record, heavy-loaded with vindictive black’n’roll swagger and lashings of buzzsaw guitar.
TSJUDER quickly set about creating the follow-up to Antiliv, but musical differences and protracted disputes led to a parting of the ways, with Anti-Christian bowing out after an impressive 20-year tenure with the group. Undaunted, Nag and Draughluin enlisted doyen tub-thumper JON RICE to provide the requisite drum artillery and continued to work on new recordings – fine-tuning guitar tones and sharpening mixes.
Then COVID-19 struck, the pandemic further stymieing the album’s release as the world tumbled from its fragile axis. But humanity is now benignly settling into its most chronic phase of perpetual abnormality and TSJUDER are steeled again to hoist their inverted cross above the barricades of conciliation. Their latest opus, Helvegr, is a devastatingly savage offering, one which fully adheres to the band’s eternal credo of “NO FUCKING COMPROMISE”.
Recording Line-up: Nag – Bass & Vocals Draugluin – Guitars & Vocals Jon Rice – Drums
Guest musicians: Guitar solo on ‘Gamle Erik’ by Pål Emanuelsen Guest vocals on ‘Gods of Black Blood’ by Seidemann (1349)
After the departure of Anti-Christian, Jon Rice and Eivin Brye has shared the drum duties on TSJUDER ‘s live performances.
TSJUDER live 27 May 2023Thronefest (BE) 2023 16-19 Aug 2023 Midgardsblot (NO) 2023
Mixing + Mastering: North Waves Studios by Pål Emanuelsen Artwork: Jonas Svensson and Laura Nardelli
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
