EMPRESS’ debut album Fateweaver might be the very symphonic metal album of the current hour: With a striking force and uncompared dedication, the US-quintet has proven that dreamy arrangements, haunting vocals and pounding drums still deserve a standing within the American Metal Scene. After opening for Oceans of Slumber and a persuasive performance at Mad With Power Fest on the release day of Fateweaver (August 19th), which gained a significant amount of positive feedback and new fans, the band now proudly presents their fourth video release The Fall of Kingdoms. The video footage, taken live at Mad With Power Fest, gives a promising foretaste of what is yet to expect from the up- and coming symphonic metal outlet: passionate, atmospheric live shows full of symphonical ascendency which captivate the band and the audience equally, creating a unique experience for everyone involved.
As the versatile song title suggests, there is a lot to unpack beneath the lyrical layers Empress have lined up throughout the song. The ongoing mythological theme undoubtedly holds the power of giving the listener a feeling of withdrawing from the boundaries of an ordinary life, allowing one to contemplate about oneself. It is also a way for the band to thank their audience for their massive support throughout the weeks after the release of their debut album Fateweaver:
“Thank you, legion, for making our debut album release a success and for standing by us so early on, whether you saw us at our first show in ‘the before times’ or you just heard of us with the release of Fateweaver – we appreciate all of the support as we begin to make our mark on the Symphonic and Power Metal scene.”
BEAUTY IS BETRAYAL have released their latest single “Rebel” to all major platforms via Daeth Records / TLG / INgrooves.
“‘Rebel’ is a journey through the gut bustin’ rollercoaster ride of emotions when a relationship ends. The mourning of once was, while battling the bitterness of being left. Rebel is a mix of beauty immeshed in chilling melodies & lyrics. Highlighting the duality struggle of wanting to be alone, and not wanting to be alone,” says the band.
Beauty Is Betrayal is born and raged in Sacramento, CA. Formed back in 2015 by front woman Bri Cowgill, alongside Burn Halo’s very own guitar player, Ryan Frost. The powerful duo bonded over dark humor, the love of weird things, and of course, inner anger. Beauty is armed with talented hard working members including, Burn Halo’s former drummer Johnny Badbones, guitarist Alex Lovato and bassist Jaden Daniels. Beauty’s sound includes hauntingly evil guitar riffs, fast heavy drums, and a unique blend of Cowgill’s & Frost’s powerful vocals takes you on a twisted journey. The band has gone on to main support national bands including: Escape The Fate, Motionless In White, After The Burial, New Years Day, Oh, Sleeper, Burn Halo, HED P.E., and many more. Beauty is fearless and dramatic when it comes to their live performance. They demand attention with not only their music, but their theatrics showcasing bloody suites & masks, intense high energy, and comedic crowd interactions. “Music is designed to bring people together. When you see a live show, everyone is in that room for the same reason: we can each be and feel all the things we want without consequence. In that moment we are free & unified, THAT is the biggest take away,” Cowgill expressed. Recently, Beauty has just released music videos for both their successful cover of “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry, and their latest original track, “Rebel”.
DRAGONFORCE drummer GEE ANZALONE is featuring on “Strike First” end credits song of Cobra Kai Season 5 on Netflix. Watch below the video.
Gee issued: “I’m so happy to announce I recorded the drums on “Strike First”, the end credits song of Cobra Kai Season 5 on Netflix (Episode 10). Thanks to Zach Robinson for the opportunity to join this new adventure! It was great to work with him and Leo Birenberg on this new version of their classic “Cobra Kai” track! As a fan of the Karate Kid movies and Cobra Kai Series, I feel so proud to be part of all of this!”
“Cobra Kai” co-composer Zach Robinson said: “I’ve been a fan of Dragonforce since I was 15 years old and have seen them perform live over 10 times so it’s safe to say their music has been a major influence on my work, with “Cobra Kai” being no exception. When I saw Gee wearing a “Cobra Kai” tee at Dragonforce shows this last tour, I knew I had to reach out and get him on the soundtrack. Collaborating with Gee on our extended version of “Strike First” is a dream come true and real privilege for me and my partner Leo Birenberg. We’re proud to have Gee and Dragonforce officially part of the Cobra Kai family!”
You can hear “Strike First (extended)” by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson on the official soundtrack for “Cobra Kai: Season V” releasing everywhere on September 16th.
Denmark’s premier roots-rockers THORBJØRN RISAGER & THE BLACK TORNADO have released an official music video for “Navigation Blues,” the title track off their new album, out September 30th via Provogue / Mascot Label Group. A sepia-tinged pre-war blues stomp that sees Risager yearn, “Truckloads of darkness here, and my matches are soaking wet…will this black night ever end,” the song spins an ominous tale of being lost in an abyss, with no direction home. “Sometimes your GPS is just not working and your maps are torn apart and you don’t know what to do or where to go,” Thorbjørn reflects.
Watch the official video HERE, and pre-order the album HERE
Track list
Navigation Blues
Watch The Sun Go Down
The Way You Make Me Feel
Fire Inside
Blue Lullaby
Taking The Good With The Bad
Whatever Price
Time
Something To Hold On To
Hoodoo Lover
Headed For The Stars
Heart Crash
Over the past twenty years, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado has blazed a trail across Scandinavia, Europe, Canada, the US and Asia. They’ve been captivating crowds with their dynamic stage presence and a sound that fuses soul, Chicago blues, boogie and rock ‘n’ roll with a voice where Ray Charles, Van Morrison and Billy Gibbons meet in the middle. They’ve brought dancing shoes to Europe’s largest festival stages and low-light noir-ish blues to Jazz clubs around the globe.
About to release their eighth studio album, the multi-award-winning band has opened for Bonnie Raitt and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, as well as Risager himself, sharing the stage with legends such as Buddy Guy, Doyle Bramhall II and Robben Ford.
Growing up in the small town of Jyllinge, about 30km from Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen. Risager would sit in the fishing village’s harbour, looking out where the sunset met the distant hamlet horizon. Staring out into the expanse of clouds and the undisturbed landscape opposite as the breeze ambles past, blowing on the fjord, which hides Viking stories of times past, watching the sun go down – he would sit, think, reflect and wonder about the world beyond.
Having formed in Copenhagen, they are real road warriors, spending 9-10 months a year touring, but it’s something that they’ve never taken for granted. “Every concert is a unique experience. You just look at the audience’s smiles and reactions, and you know that what you’re doing makes sense.”
Their prolific travels around the globe have swept-up fans across every corner, including non-other than Elwood Blues himself, Dan Aykroyd! Who hailed their “Hot rhythm and blues”, saying Risager has “got a great voice, great delivery and feels the blues. The songs are original, but sound like they come from a Stax recording session circa 1965.”
Two decades on the road have given the band an incredible ability to know what makes people move – in both feet and heart. On Navigation Blues, they use this skill with complete precision, whether it be the front-porch blues of “The Way You Make Me Feel” to roof-raising rockers such as “Fire Inside” or “Headed for the Stars” to the gentle ache of “Blue Lullaby” and “Heart Crash.” But their showmanistic sense of adventure is never far away, which can be seen on the rock ‘n’ roller “Hoodoo Lover” or the boogie of “Taking the Good With the Bad.”
From the humble beginnings staring out from that harbour in Jyllinge to the bars of Copenhagen and now, regularly selling out 1000 capacity venues in their native Denmark, Sweden, Germany and beyond. International awards, National TV performances and praise lavished on them from a Hollywood legend – Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado feel like they are only just getting started.
“We built it up from the ground the old-fashioned way,” he reflects. “If you wanna make a living out of playing the blues, it’s not enough to play only in one country, so we’re thrilled to be able to play all over.”
At twenty years in, the band are in white-hot form and will be showcasing their new material across Europe for the rest of 2022. “Playing live in front of an audience makes you feel alive. That’s the best way to describe it, I think. It’s good to feel alive,” he smiles.
The Black Tornado Band Thorbjørn Risager Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar Emil Balsgaard Piano, Organ, Wurlitzer, Clavinet, Farfisa Joachim Svensmark Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Synthesizer, Piano, Viola, Drums, Percussion, Glockenspiel, Mandolin Kasper Wagner Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Flutes, Clarinet Hans Nybo Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet Peter W Kehl Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Trombone, Perc Søren Bøjgaard Bass, Moog Bass, Baritone Guitar, Synthesizer, Piano, Percussion Martin Seidelin Drums, Percussion
On the 7th October, Dark Essence Records will release the album “Sverger Hemn” from BLODHEMN, the project from multi-instrumentalist Invisus that sees the Norwegian musician apply his trademark aggressive sound to what will be BLODHEMN’s fourth full-length album. Only this time he has expanded that sound to produce an album that mixes Black Metal and Thrash with a well-judged serving of Rock’n’Roll.
And, whilst waiting for “Sverger Hemn” to hit the streets, fans can hear a second track from the album, courtesy of Dark Essence Records, who have today released the single “Velg Din Gift”, which can be downloaded or streamed from a variety of services at: https://link.darkessencerecords.no/Blodhemn_Velg_Din_Gift
About the track, Invisus had this to say:
“Velg Din Gift” is loosely based on the quote “find what you love and let it kill you”, or, pick your favourite poison so to speak. A rock n’ roll fuelled track about self-destruction and hell raising!”
On “Sverger Hemn” Invisus draws his inspiration from the area of Norway he knows best – Holmengraa on the island of Fedje. Indeed, both visually and musically the material on the album is a natural progression from BLODHEMN’s previous releases, and explores aspects of being taken by the sea and of drowning.
Whilst, with his use of different kinds of vocals and keyboards in order to explore various elements, Invisus has, without a doubt, left his comfort zone on a couple of the tracks on “Sverger Hemn”, he has ensured that BLODHEMN still remains true to the essence of Black Metal on an album that has been a long-time in the making.
Once again Invisus plays every single instrument and handles the vocals on “Sverger Hemn”, with the drums being recorded in 2020 at the Conclave & Earshot Studio, and the rest of the instruments and vocals recorded at the Over Evne Studio. BORKNAGAR’s Øystein G. Brun handled the mixing and mastering which was done at the Crosound Studio.
With artwork by Misantropic Art, tracklisting for ” Sverger Hemn” is as follows:
Fraa Djupet…
Vil Livet av Deg
Bomb Bergen
Farvel Feioey
Opp or Lemmen
Velg Din Gift
Tid
“Sverger Hemn” will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Transparent Blue Vinyl formats, and is now available to pre-order from:
A trip through the places that marked the beginning of the legend that is now known as NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL. Conducted by Anders Odden (Cadaver, Celtic Frost, Satyricon, Order).
For the normal music fan the story of Norwegian is in essence something about murder, suicide and church fire. Between 1991 and 1993 many of the most important events in this dark chapter in Norwegian music history took place in Oslo and we have put together a field trip to the sights that takes you back in time.
In the beginning there is always just one man that starts something new and then gets people to follow his vision. This man was Øystein Aarseth aka Euronymous. He was through his record store, Helvete, and his band, Mayhem, the key person of the early Norwegian black metal scene and his visions lead to his demise. The equally infamous leader of Burzum, Varg Vikernes aka Count Grishnack, killed Euronymous in his own apartment on the 10th of August 1993. This date marked the end of an era and the small scene that until then was totally unknown to the public was in the tabloid media and made headlines far outside Norway.
Anders Odden formed his first black metal band, Slaught, in 1986 after attending a rehearsal with Mayhem at the age of 14. He was one of the pioneers in the infancy of the Norwegian scene dealing with tape trading, organizing concerts and creating more and more extreme music on his own. He formed Cadaver in 1988 and released the first Norwegian death metal album on Earache Records in 1990. His band played shows with Dark Throne, Mayhem, Old Funeral and many more bands of what would become the Norwegian black metal scene in the beginning.
This field trip has exclusive anecdotes and personal memories of the early life of the scene from someone who was there.
BLACK METAL BUS SIGHTSEEING – A FIELD TRIP THROUGH OSLO 12:00 Departure The Hub, Inferno Festival hotel. 12:30 Holmenkollen Kapell, re-done after church-fire 23rd of August 1992 13:30 Visit to the crime scene of Varg vs Euronymous 1993 14:00 Visit to NESEBLOD RECORDS the site of “HELVETE” 1991-1993 15:00 Visit to Nasjonalbiblioteket – Black Metal Exhibition. 16:00 Return to the Hub, Inferno Festival hotel.
INFERNO METAL FESTIVAL 6. – 9. APRIL 2023
Cannibal Corpse, Godflesh, Dark Funeral, Unleashed, Uada, Odium, Sakis Tolis, Harakiri for the Sky, Urgehal, Djevel, Nekromantheon, Mork, Darvaza, Nervosa, Ingested, 1914, Svalbard, Masacre, Vredehammer, Lili Refrain, Dwaal, Afsky, Mutilated Tyrant, Stormruler
More artists to be announced!
For tickets go to: tickets.infernofestival.net.
CLARION HOTEL THE HUB – OFFICIAL FESTIVAL HOTELGo to https://www.infernofestival.net/hotel to order and make sure the discount/booking code INFERNO is enabled to get the correct festival prices. These rates are available until March 6th 2023. After this date the prices will go up. Money to save for all early birds!
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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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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 ) 