Polish technical death metallers SCEPTIC are back after 17 years of break!
SCEPTIC was founded in 1994 (originally as Tormentor, and since 1995 as Sceptic) on the initiative of Jack Hiro. By 2005, the band released four studio albums: Blind Existence (1999), Pathetic Being (2001), Unbeliever’s Script (2003) and Internal Complexity (2005), which were re-released in 2020 and 2021 by the Polish label Szataniec on CD and vinyl.
Soon, after 17 years, the Cracovian band will attack with a new, long-awaited studio album. The album will be title Nailed to Ignorance, and Marcin Urbaś has returned to his duties as a vocalist. The material for the album was recorded in Lateral Sound in cooperation with Grzegorz Środa (Kat & Roman Kostrzewski). Music was mixed and mastered by Piotr Mańkowski at Coverius (Turbo, Wolf Spider). The author of the cover and photos of the band is Marcin Halerz, while the layout of was done by Piotr Szafraniec.
The premiere is scheduled for September 30 2022 and will be released as CD jewelcase, CD digipak and as a limited collector’s package (pre-order).
Soon the band will present a music video for the first single.
Tracklist: 1. Mind Destroyer 2. Wolf as a Shepherd 3. Fate In My Hand 4. Gaia 5. Wordbow 6. All I Can Devour 7. The Sakkara Bird 8. InHuman 9. Nailed to Ignorance
Dark Folk / Chamber Prog duo MAER – featuring Marjana Semkina (Iamthemorning) and Anna Murphy (Cellar Darling, ex-Eluveitie) – launches with the announcement of debut single ‘Sister’, to be released on 17th October.
Watch the teaser here:
Debut single ‘Sister’ serves as the perfect introduction to this exciting new project, showcasing the duo’s songwriting talent, unique composition style and beautiful melodies drenched in dark atmosphere. Featuring Ne Obliviscaris guitarist Benjamin Baret and Agent Fresco drummer Keli Guðjónsson, ‘Sister’ will be released on all digital platforms as well as a limited run of 300 signed and hand-numbered 7” vinyl.
Marjana and Anna met and instantly connected when taking part in Prog Magazine’s female-focused discussion panel She Rocks in 2019, and in 2021 began work on what would become Maer. Having both forged highly successful and award-winning careers (Marjana – Prog Magazine Best Album; Anna – Prog Magazine Best Video & Swiss Music Awards Best Live Act), the pair were hungry to experiment in new musical territory, resulting in this fascinating new project.
Marjana comments on Maer: “Maer came together very organically, it’s a product of friendship and respect for each other’s work. Anna is a wonderful musician and a producer and she breathes life into everything I write, turning it into something special. We have written a substantial amount of material together already and depending on the reception ‘Sister’ gets we’re hoping to keep creating little dark fairytales for our listeners, eventually resulting in an album.”
Anna continues: “We both didn’t really know what to expect when we started working together. Marjana took a leap and flew to Switzerland. We hiked, we sang, we drank wine and ended up even being able to write lyrics together which is something I’ve never done with someone. After almost 15 years of mainly being in rock and metal projects, it feels good to release something acoustic and mellow – not meaning that it’s less dark.”
‘Sister’ was written and co-produced by Marjana Semkina, and co-written, produced, mixed and mastered by Anna Murphy.
Maer are working on their debut album, more news soon.
Norwegian metal titans ABBATH are about to embark on their previously announced co-headlining tour with Swedish black metal outfit WATAIN! The ‘Chariots of Fire’ tour will kick off at the Elysee Montmartre in Paris (FR), tomorrow September 15 and will wreak havoc in 13 more countries before a final curtain at the Vanha venue in Helsinki (FI) on October 9. A full list of confirmed shows can be found below. Special guests will be TRIBULATION and BÖLZER during all shows!
ABBATH/WATAIN co-headline +TRIBULATION +BÖLZER 15.09.2022 – FR – Paris – Elysee Montmartre 16.09.2022 – DE – Oberhausen – Turbinenhalle 17.09.2022 – DE – Munich – Backstage 18.09.2022 – IT – Milan – Live Club 20.09.2022 – FR – Toulouse – Le Bikini 22.09.2022 – PT – Lisbon – Lisboa Ao Vivo 23.09.2022 – ES – Madrid – La Riviera 24.09.2022 – ES – Barcelona – Apolo 25.09.2022 – FR – Lyon – Transbordeur 27.09.2022 – CH – Zurich – Komplex 457 28.09.2022 – DE – Filderstadt – Filharmonie 29.09.2022 – NL – Tilburg – 013 30.09.2022 – UK – London – Earth 02.10.2022 – BE – Antwerp – Trix 04.10.2022 – DE – Hamburg – Markthalle 05.10.2022 – DK – Copenhagen – Amager Bio 06.10.2022 – NO – Oslo – Rockefeller 07.10.2022 – SE – Stockholm – Fallan 09.10.2022 – FI – Helsinki – Vanha
ABBATH will be playing in support of their album ‘Dread Reaver’ which was released on March 25, 2022 and can be listened to in full HERE. The album is still available in the Season of Mist shop HERE.
Ever the creative innovators, Poland’s extreme metal overlords BEHEMOTH have revealed their latest visual feast, Opvs Contra Cvltvram, a streaming event shot on the roof of Warsaw’s renowned Palace of Culture & Science and premiering at 18.00 CET, Thursday 15th September on the band’s YouTube channel. This landmark event heralds the arrival this Friday 16th September of the band’s epic 12th studio album, Opvs Contra Natvram.
BEHEMOTH‘s leader and artistic alchemist, Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski, informs:
“Legions! We have gathered atop Poland’s infamous Palace of Culture to perform four brand new tracks from our record Opvs Contra Natvram, released this Friday! For a long time, BEHEMOTH have been censored and pursued by the Catholic Church at the behest of our fascist government. This performance, with the backdrop of this building, represents a monumentous middle finger to those pigs and another for Joseph Stalin and his Soviet circle-jerk. Viva Freedom!”
The band’s upcoming 12th studio album is a stark reminder of the rebellion, individuality and unflinching self-expression that BEHEMOTH‘s phenomenal work inbues, shaped by a literary worldview. It also reflects a musical evolution, as there’s little doubt that Opvs Contra Natvram is BEHEMOTH‘s strongest and most sophisticated musical collection to date.
Pre-order or pre-save the album Opvs Contra NatvramHERE, and set your reminder for the groundbreaking live stream Opvs Contra CvltvramHERE.
BEHEMOTH are not only the creators of Poland’s extreme metal scene, but they are masters of their vision and showcase what a band can achieve when the brakes are off. With Opvs Contra Natvram they have created 10 fresh chapters, created at a very strange time for the world. Their goal to create something new, something that doesn’t sound like anything that has gone before, was an ambitious one.
As with previous studio outings, Opvs… was produced by BEHEMOTH, with mixing by studio legend Joe Barresi (Nine Inch Nails, Tool, QOTSA, Alice in Chains).
Album artwork: Anton ‘Strss893’ Pavsyuk
Opvs Contra Natvram tracklist:
POST-GOD NIRVANA
MALARIA VVLGATA
THE DEATHLESS SUN
OV MY HERCULEAN EXILE
NEO-SPARTACVS
DISINHERITANCE
OFF TO WAR!
ONCE UPON A PALE HORSE
THY BECOMING ETERNAL
VERSVS CHRISTVS
BEHEMOTH‘s North American Siege tour, with touring mates Arch Enemy, Carcass, and Unto Others recently thundered across the USA to huge acclaim. The band then decimated the Ronnie James Dio main stage last month in their headlining slot at Bloodstock Festival. The European Seige rolls into Dublin, Ireland on September 27th, ready to set the continent ablaze and culminates at Oslo, Norway’s Sentrum Scene on November 6th. Tickets for both ‘bookend’ shows are close to sell out with many others moving fast. Full itinerary and tour trailer below.
Nergal informs the band’s ‘Legions’; “BEHEMOTH are coming with new music and new stage shenanigans…a spectacle worth waiting for. We’ll see you there!”
BEHEMOTH with ARCH ENEMY + CARCASS + UNTO OTHERS The European Siege Tour
27.09. UK Dublin – 3 Olympia Theatre – LAST FEW TICKETS 29.09. UK Glasgow – O2 Academy 30.09. UK Manchester – O2 Apollo 01.10. UK Birmingham – O2 Academy 02.10. UK London – O2 Academy Brixton 04.10. FR Paris – Zenith 05.10. FR Ramonville-St-Agne, Le Bikini 07.10. PT Lisboa – Coliseu dos Recreios 08.10. ES Madrid – Palacio Vistalegre 09.10. ES Barcelona – Palau Sant Jordi 11.10. FR Caluire-Et-Cuire – Radiant-Bellevue 12.10. IT Milan – Alcatraz 14.10. DE Berlin – Columbiahalle 15.10. CZ Prague – Tipsport Arena 16.10. HU Budapest – Barba Negra 18.10. AT Wien – Gasometer 19.10. PL Katowice – Spodek 21.10. DE Ludwigsburg – MHP Arena 22.10. NL Den Bosch – Mainstage Brabanthallen 24.10. DE Saarbrücken – Saarlandhalle 25.10. CH Zürich – Samsung Hall 26.10. DE Frankfurt am Main – Jahrhunderthalle 28.10. DE Munich – Zenith 29.10. DE Düsseldorf – Mitsubishi Electric Halle 30.10. DE Hamburg – edel-optics.de Arena 31.10. SE Partille – Partille Arena 02.11. FI Helsinki – Helsinki Ice Hall 04.11. SE Stockholm – Annexet 05.11. DK Frederiksberg – Forum Black Box 06.11. NO Oslo – Sentrum Scene – LAST FEW TICKETS
UK tour tickets are available here, with Dublin tickets here.
Elevate Records and DOCKER’S GUILD, the group created by producer, songwriter, keyboardist, bassist and singer Douglas R. Docker (BILOXI) , have reached an agreement that will lead to the release of the album “The Age Of Entropy” by October 2022, both digitally and a special DIGIPACK physical format with 24 booklet pages.
A PROG METAL SPACE OPERA
Docker’s Guild is an impressive and powerful progressive metal “SPACE OPERA” that will develop through 5 “seasons” and 4 “books” for a total of 9 albums.
CONCEPT
The overall narrative arc of Docker’s Guild’s space opera is quite complex and has been worked out down to the smallest detail. Album after album, you’ll visit the dark world of The Mystic Technocracy, where a silicon-based techno-organic alien race attempts to wipe out all life on Earth through organized religion, while a tormented scientist makes his life’s mission to save. humanity. The search for him will take him through the universe and on a personal journey from which there is no return.
You will meet many characters such as Dr. Jack Heisenberg, Tith, ZZ-999, Cardinal Berengar Yersinia, Lucy Higgs, Adam V, Camilla, Cassilda and many more. You will visit the alien worlds of Silix IV and Carbonia in the Andromeda Galaxy and travel back in time to the age of the dinosaurs to witness their extinction.
ALBUM
The upcoming new album “The Mystic Technocracy – Season 2: The Age of Entropy” continues the story in a much darker tone and with the help of 18 special guests, including
Anneke Van Giersbergen Amanda Somerville Sascha Paeth Nita Strauss Anna Portalupi Joel Hoekstra Helly
Italian Gothic Rock outfit THE SADE announced their brand new album “Nocturna”, which will see the light of day on October 28th via Go Down Records!
“Nocturna” is a gloomy album, influenced by the pandemic situation of the last two years and it further increases the already dark style of The Sade. This work collects eclectic tracks composed between 2019 and 2020, which move far away from the rock’n’roll vibes of the early days, to turn into a new dark-wave and goth mood.
The cover with the black rooster is emblematic, complex and represents the triumph of the “beast” in a pessimistic and nihilistic depiction of the human condition, which is now more fragile and guilty than ever. It is a visual recall to the Middle Ages as a time of darkness, dominated by ignorance and uncertainty, comparable to what we are experiencing today. The rooster is a symbol of passage between life and death, light and shadow, beginning and ending, fall and rebirth, unstable like the mood during recent lockdowns. It leads us on a musical journey into the deep darkness of this alienation: melancholic moments alternate with massive doses of synthetic sounds, with 80s and post-punk overtones.
Tracklist reads as follows:
Sinner
End of Time
No Mercy
Guilty
King and Queen 6. Oracle
Lullaby
She Dies
Long Live Death
Another Prayer
Flatline
Drama
Reflection
“Nocturna” will be coming out on October 28th via Go Down Records and is now available for pre-order here: LP – CD – DIGITAL
“Nocturna” – official album trailer:
The Sade are:
Andrew Pozzy | vocals, guitars, piano, synth, bass Silvia | bass, backing vocals Matt Sade | drums, pads
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Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
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