U.S. Thrash pioneers AFTERMATH have released today a lyric video for their latest single ‘No Time To Waste’, the title track of their upcoming third album.
Watch the lyric video below.
🎬 ⚙️ Directed by Calvin West
The band shared: “No Time To Waste – words that everyone should live by in their daily lives. But the song is not about that. Rather it’s about all of us together having no time to waste as a free species. Everyone you talk to today says something isn’t right in the world and most can’t point out what it is that makes them feel that way. Their gut tells them something isn’t right. This song is about what we feel isn’t right with the world today and we urge people to wake up before it’s too late. It isn’t about being woke, but being awake. The song is at its core about unity and coming together to defeat our mutual enemy. Every great story has a hero and a villain. We the people are the hero in this song.”
Texan black metal battalion NECROFIER are hitting the road in support of BATUSHKA today, September 30, in their hometown of Houston, TX. The band will join the tour throughout Texas, which sees dates in Austin and Dallas as well. The full run of dates can be found below!
In addition, the band has just completed work on their sophomore full-length! The record was recorded at legendary Studio G in Brooklyn, NY by 6xGrammy nominated and 1xLatin Grammy nominated engineer, producer, and musician Joel Hamilton (UNSANE, IGGY POP, TOM WAITS). The album will follow up the band’s debut record, ‘Prophecies of Eternal Darkness,’ which was released in October of 2021. Stay tuned!
‘Prophecies of Eternal Darkness’ can be streamed/ordered/downloaded HERE.
NECROFIER (supporting BATUSHKA): 09/30: Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [TICKETS] 10/01: Austin, TX @ Come and Take it Live [TICKETS] 10/02: Dallas, TX @ Amplified Live [TICKETS]
Electrifying quartet of IRON KINGDOM has a hot new album “The Blood Of Creation” coming out in the winter and in order to get fans as excited about it as they are, are releasing a drum playthrough of their first single “In The Grip of Nightmares” so folks at home can watch Max Friesen bring the thunder. Along with this they also released a mini-documentary about the making of the album on social media last week.
Iron Kingdom wanted to create music in a style of metal that seemed to have been forgotten when they were kids. Since no one else seemed to be doing it, they decided to play metal the way it used to be played in the 70s and 80s. They combine this classic sound with dark lyrics surrounding a variety of topics including myths, historical events, and fantasy books. The single “In the Grip Of Nightmares” spins off a character in Michael Moorcock’s “Elric of Melnibonè” book series. The band explains further: “We started writing this song during the ‘On The Hunt’ sessions back in 2019, however, the song had a different energy than the rest of the album so we decided it would be best to come back to it at a later date. In late 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, we took a second look at what was to become ‘In The Grip Of Nightmares’. We rewrote the tune to be what it is today. It tells the tale of the legendary sentient sword ‘Stormbringer’ and its relationship to Elric. The two are bound together by fate. A fate that twists Chaos and Law, and leaves Elric in the grip of nightmares. Musically, this song is relatively progressive, I’d say it has some Helloween and Fates Warning like feelings. It is quite fast and driving, but also quite melodic with lots of leads and solos.”
Drummer Max Friesen also adds about the track: “This song was one of the first we worked on as a group. It was one where I tried to make a good first impression haha. The kicks go for quite the gallop at a middle tempo so It’s a bit of an endurance run with full leg motion. I tried to feature both rides in this track and took influence from a cymbal riff by Amanda Osterman from the song “At The Gates” off of the 2013 album ‘Gates of Eternity’.”
“The Blood Of Creation” is the fifth album from the Vancouver-based band and over the years they have moved from being a hard rock band, then taking a progressive metal dive, going fully classic metal, and ultimately bringing all of those together in the latest. They lean into dark themes, dark topics, dark vibes, and a dark cover, and at the end is just a wall of music. Iron Kingdom is recommended for fans of Iron Maiden, Helloween, and Judas Priest.
Legendary classic doom icons CANDLEMASS recently announced the release of their new album, Sweet Evil Sun, out November 18, 2022 via Napalm Records. With this top-notch offering, recorded at NOX studio in Stockholm, the Swedish force centered around Leif Edling continue their unmatched legacy, following the inimitable The Door to Doom (2019) and proving once more that they reign as one of the heaviest metal bands on earth, bringing epic doom to the world of metal.
After releasing the hammering first single, “Scandinavian Gods”, CANDLEMASS have now unveiled the title track from their upcoming album, carrying the torch of heavy doom to the next level and showcasing that, after almost 40 years of existence, their creativity sees no bounds! “Sweet Evil Sun” kicks in with warning guitar feedback before sludging a heavy-as-hell riff as Johan Langquist deftly warbles through melancholic, beckoning passages and a hooky chorus. His imposing vocals fit each riff and tone perfectly, emerging as an instrument in itself. A brand new official music video underlines this massive wall of sound the appropriate way, heating up the anticipation for everything that is about to come!
Leif Edling on “Sweet Evil Sun”: “It took me only an hour or so to write, but it turned out to be not only the title track of Sweet Evil Sun, but also one of the best songs on it!Nice riff, great chorus and one heck of a guitar solo from Lars! Immediate, epic, heavy, catchy! It kicks ass!!”
After working on this massive piece of art for 18 months in total, with Sweet Evil Sun, CANDLEMASS brings back all the grandness of their early years, exploring themes of ambition and strife, hope and failure. It comes as no surprise that, alongside the band, renowned producer Marcus Jidell captured the band’s massive, smoky guitar tones, powerful drums and larger-than-life vocals, offering a truly unique, high quality sonic experience.
Through the power of wall-shaking riffs, incredible vocal performances and the blood and spirit of classic heavy metal, Sweet Evil Sun shines as a masterpiece of impending legend that truly honors the epic doom metal cult of CANDLEMASS.
The artwork for Sweet Evil Sun was illustrated by the skilled hand of Erik Rovanperä, the architect behind CANDLEMASS’ visual style since Psalms for the Dead (2012)
Leif Edling on the new album: “Sweet Evil Sun is about hope, striving, adoration and failure. It’s about all the personal battles that you have, but also the never-ending decay of humanity.
The record took over a year to make and there’s not a bad track on it! We had a fantastic time recording it and are really looking forward to the release. It’s Doom, It’s Metal! It is the essence of CANDLEMASS put into one album!”
Opening track “Wizard Of The Vortex” instantly casts a spell with a riff so powerful, the listener is immediately ensnared. Jennie-Ann Smith (Avatarium) lends her beautiful voice to the theatrical, grim “When Death Sighs”, creating a shimmering, intermingled chorus duet eventually backed by rising organs and a marching rhythm. The haunting atmosphere is highlighted by an amazing guitar solo that reads like a story as it bends and descends, marking the sign of death on the listener’s door. First single “Scandinavian Gods” kicks things off with a hammer blow. The song stomps in with a dark, Nordic metal chant driven by slow and heavy drums, droning guitars and majestic vocals that convey mysterious tales of Scandinavian mythology to the next generation!
Sweet Evil Sun Tracklist:
Wizard Of The Vortex
Sweet Evil Sun
Angel Battle
Black Butterfly
When Death Sighs
Scandinavian Gods
Devil Voodoo
Crucified
Goddess
A Cup Of Coffin (Outro)
Experience CANDLEMASS live in 2022: 22.10.22 SE – Sundsvall / Nordfest 30.10.22 BE – Gent / Desertfest Ghent 19.11.22 DE – Würzburg, Hammer of Doom
Almost 10 years ago, Candlemass legend Leif Edling made the doom metal world a darker and ultimately more interesting place with new band, AVATARIUM. Over the next eight years the band released four criticially acclaimed studio albums, two EPs, and a live DVD, An Evening With Avatarium – Live in Stockholm. Edling eventually left AVATARIUM‘s ranks due to health issues, but the band forged onward, and 2022 finds them capping off a prolific decade with their brand new album and AFM Records’ debut, Death, Where Is Your Sting, slated for a release on October 21st.
After the Stockholm-based collective shared previously-released songs, “God Is Silent” as well as the epic album title track, today, a haunting black&white lyric video has dropped for third single, aptly titled “Stockholm”. Exceptional vocalist, Jennie-Ann Smith, reveals: ”Stockholm – this a song about hope and the courage to continue even in the darkest of hours.”!”
Ever since their impressive debut, AVATARIUM operated with the keywords “dark”, “heavy” and “poetic”, which best describes the Swedish outfit at its core. The band has evolved since their 2013 self-titled debut, and although they have introduced new elements along the way, AVATARIUM continue to operate within this doom-laden framework.
Yet they are somewhat unique within doom metal, fronted by Jennie-Ann, unintentionally breaking genre boundaries. She has learned a lot from working with Leif Edling, whom she affectionately refers to as The Master Of Doom, and Death, Where Is Your Sting, marks the first time Smith has written all the lyrics for an album. This is significant in that lyrics have always inspired the song arrangements in AVATARIUM.
“There’s a red thread from our debut album dealing with all sorts of existential questions,” Jennie-Ann reveals. “That’s what doom is to me. I come from a different musical background, but when it comes to thinking about death, I’m a natural (laughs). Avatarium is a vehicle that soothes the seriousness, and offers the sheer joy of music. There are all these layers on the new album; it is intellectual, it is existential, there are serious topics of religion, philosophy and psychology, but you can still just enjoy the music and get lost in the riffs.”
Death, Where Is Your Sting was written over a two-year period, during the global pandemic. AVATARIUM was forced to adjust to the routine of band members and people around them getting COVID, delaying and rescheduling writing and recording sessions as needed. Both guitarist Marcus Jidell and Jennie-Ann believe that the album turned out for the better in the end, even though it was a very long process to get it done:
“We often wonder when we’re writing, ‘Is it too much of this or that?'” Marcus admits. “We have the feeling that people who like Avatarium – our fans and followers – they enjoy it more when we push boundaries and step out in the deep water instead of just repeating the same stuff over and over. Every song has its own life, but it is supposed to be listened to as an album. It’s important for us to try to take the listener on a journey.”
Death, Where Is Your Sting was produced by Marcus Jidell, mixed by Mats Valentin and Jidell, and was mastered by Svante Forsbäck. The album will be available on October 21, 2022 as Digipak, Vinyl and ltd. 2-CD Earbook (incl. 5-track bonus CD) via AFM Records, pre-order your copy of this Must-Have, one that belongs into every well-sorted doom and dark rock record collection, now at THIS LOCATION!
Tracklist:
A Love Like Ours
Stockholm
Death, Where Is Your Sting
Psalm For The Living
God Is Silent
Mother Can You Hear Me Now
Nocturne
Transcendent
Bonus CD (ltd. Earbook)
Boneflower (alternative version, live in the studio)
Great Beyond (alternative version, live in the studio)
Rubicon (alternative version, live in the studio)
Lay Me Down (alternative version, live in the studio)
The Fire I long For (alternative version, live in the studio)
Oh wow! Following the release of their critically acclaimed seventh full-length album, Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum, legendary pirate metal overlords ALESTORM will set sail on a massive tour across the center of Europe, playing some of the biggest and best indoor venues on the continent in January and February of 2023. Joining them will be intergalactic power metal wizards GLORYHAMMER, who will perform a full co-headlining set at all German, Austrian and Swiss shows.
But that’s not all! The drunken dwarves of WIND ROSE are coming along for the ride too, along with enigmatic pirate metallers RUMAHOY. This tour is guaranteed to be the biggest party of the year, so drink your ale, grab your hammer, get your tickets and prepare yourselves for the most fun you can have with your clothes on!
ALESTORM & GLORYHAMMER w/ WIND ROSE & RUMAHOY
06.01.23 DE – Munich / Backstage 07.01.23 DE – Stuttgart / Wagenhallen 08.01.23 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra 10.01.23 AT – Vienna / Arena 11.01.23 CZ – Brno / Sono Centrum 12.01.23 PL – Kraków / Klub STUDIO 13.01.23 DE – Leipzig / Haus Auensee 14.01.23 DE – Geiselwind / Music Hall 15.01.23 DE – Berlin / Huxleys Neue Welt 16.01.23 PL – Warsaw / Progresja 17.01.23 LV – Riga / Palladium Riga 18.01.23 FI – Helsinki / House of Culture 20.01.23 SE – Stockholm / Arenan Fryshuset 21.01.23 NO – Oslo / Sentrum Scene 22.01.23 DK – Copenhagen / Falconer Theatre 23.01.23 DE – Hamburg / Markthalle 24.01.23 DE – Hannover / Capitol 25.01.23 DE – Saarbrücken / Garage 27.01.23 DE – Wiesbaden / Schlachthof 28.01.23 BE – Torhout / De Mast 29.01.23 NL – Den Bosch / MAINSTAGE Brabanthallen 30.01.23 FR – Paris / Olympia Paris 31.01.23 CH – Pratteln / Z7 Konzertfabrik 01.02.23 IT – Milan / Alcatraz 02.02.23 FR – Lyon / Transbordeur 03.02.23 DE – Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 