When the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the Earth from spinning for a few years, several musical projects unfortunately ended up lost in the shuffle. One of those projects was a killer studio album from Finnish superstar Andy McCoy called 21st Century Rocks. As McCoy explains, “the album came out shortly before they closed the borders due to the COVID situation. So we couldn’t support the record with a tour, but we’re happy to see it being re-released!” This month, in fact, the album is being reissued on all formats to give fans who missed it the first time around their shot at experiencing this magical release.
21st Century Rocks features a dozen pure blasts of whiskey soaked, nicotine-stained rock n’ roll, all of which were penned by McCoy himself. The album kicks off with the title track, which blazes forth with one of McCoy’s signature hypnotic guitar riffs. “Seven Seas” showcases some of McCoy’s flamenco guitar playing and then kicks into a thoroughly modern, electro-tinged groove. Along the way, fellow Hanoi Rocks alumn Sami Yaffa joins in the fun as does The 69 Eyes drummer Jussi 69 and Amorphis’s Niclas Etelävuori. This is an album that deserves the fair shot it never got, a soon-to-be classic from a veteran rocker who manages to revive the glory days of his youth while still looking toward the bright future ahead!
Be sure to check out the deluxe LP package, which includes a bonus 7” single of extremely rare bonus tracks!
CRUZADOS announced the release of their new EP “Land of the Endless Sun” last week in advance of their European tour that stops in Spain, France, Belgium and Germany. As a bonus this week the band releases a special live album recorded in Europe on the band’s 2022 tour. “Live from Marseille” is a full-length live album that contains performances of Cruzados band classics and some new tunes from 2022-2023.
Today Metal Shock Finland has a pleasure to premiere worldwide their second video ‘Dead Inside’, join and enjoy it below:
“After performing in Marseille, France on our 2022 Cruzados tour I knew we were on fire on that special night and I’m thrilled to say we captured it all on our new album “Live From Marseille”. The collection contains many of our classic Cruzados songs, hits from movies as well as all of our favorites from our previous release “ She’s Automatic”. I love hearing how the tracks went down live with an amazing audience on this spring night. It’s raw, loud and If I can speak for the band , Ron, Loren, Mark, Rob and myself this was one hell of a night to remember from our amazing European Tour.” — Tony Marsico Cruzados co-founder/ bassist.
“Playing in Marseille, France is always a highlight when we tour the EU. Cherrydon, where we recorded the album, is a great venue. We always shine there and the fans are always so warm and receptive. I’m glad we got to capture one of those great nights.” — Ron Young Lead Singer/Cruzados
CRUZADOS 2023 European Tour 27/04/2023 Verviers-Belgium @ Spirit Of 66 28/04/2023 Besançon- France @ Bar De L’U 29/04/2023 Dortmund-Germany @ Blue Notez 01/05/2023 Girona-Spain @ Sala la Torrentera 03/05/2023 Madrid-Spain @ Rockville 04/05/2023 Zaragoza-Spain @ Rock & Blues 05/05/2023 Aviles-Spain @ Sala Malecón 06/05/2023 Cangas-Spain @ Salason 07/05/2023 A Coruña-Spain @ Mardi Gras 08/05/2023 Leon-Spain @ Babylon 11/05/2023 Orihuela-Spain @ La Gramola 12/05/2023 Castellon de la Plana-Spain @ Sala Because 13/05/2023 Barcelona-Spain @ La Textil 14/05/2023 Vitoria-Spain @ Urban Rock Concept 16/05/2023 Marseille-France @ Cherrydon 17/05/2023 Chambéry-France @ Brin De Zinc 19/05/2023 Kufstein-Austria @ Fufa 20/05/2023 Lauchhammer-Germany @ Real Music Club 22/05/2023 Norderstedt-Germany @ MusicStar 23/05/2023 Bremen-Germany @ Meisenfrei 26/05/2023 Krefeld-Germany @ Kulturrampe 27/05/2023 Fürth-Germany @ New Orleans Fest (Open Air)
Track listing 1- She’s Automatic 2- Nine Million Tears 3- On The Tilt A Whirl 4- Bed Of Lies 5- A Wing And A Prayer 6- Rising Sun 7- After Dark 8- Across This Ghost Town 9- Son Of The Blues 10-Don’t Throw Stones 11-Long Black Car 12-Let Me Down 13- 54 Knockouts 14- Motorcycle Girl 15- House That Love Built 16- Have Love Wil Travel
Recorded at Cherrydon (club) in Marseille France, April 11, 2022 Mixed by Bruce Witkin Mastered by Dave Schultz at D2 Mastering
CRUZADOS are Ron Young: Lead Vocals Tony Marsico: Bass, Vocals Rob Klonel: Drums Mark Tremalgia: Guitar, Vocals Loren Molinare: Guitar, Vocals
About CRUZADOS The Cruzados attracted national attention in the ‘80s with their stormy, Latin-inflected brand of post-punk hard rock. Signed to Clive Davis’ Arista Records, the quartet issued two albums, Cruzados (1985) and After Dark(1987). They also made a high-profile screen appearance in the 1989 cult classic Road House. However, familiar rock ‘n’ roll pressures capsized the band in 1991; guitarist Marshall Rohner died in 2005, and drummer Chalo “Charlie” Quintana died in 2018.
In the intervening years, Marsico worked on the debut album by Plugz and Cruzados singer-guitarist Tito Larriva’s band Tarantula, today based in Austin. He also carved out a notable career as a top session musician and touring sideman with such artists as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey, Marianne Faithfull, and Willie Nelson. The bassist’s studio and road stories are collected in two books, Late Nights with Bob Dylan (2009) and I’m Just Here for the Gig! (2020).
With the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and the enforced solitude that followed, Marsico began to contemplate a new project under the Cruzados handle.
“Being penned up with the pandemic at home for a year, I started questioning my mortality,” he says. “I felt like I got shortchanged with the Cruzados. We never got to put out a third album, due to a lot of crazy circumstances that cropped up. I wanted to do the band justice and go out on a high note. That was my goal, and to pay tribute to Chalo and Marshall.”
Material for a new Cruzados release came quickly. It didn’t take long for Marsico to decide on the right musicians to carry on the Cruzados’ legacy in the studio: He turned to singer Ron Young and guitarists Loren Molinare and Mark Tremalgia of Little Caesar, who were also active on the L.A. scene in the late ‘80s as a Geffen Records act. The core lineup was completed by drummer Ron Klonel, who has collaborated with Little Caesar in recent years.
“The Little Caesar guys were Chalo’s best friends – they were pals from back in the day,” Marsico says. “I had to find the best guy to be the lead singer. My tastes have changed a little – the influences are blues and rock ‘n’ roll. I knew that Ron Young from Little Caesar loved blues, and we got to talking and we hit it off with the same style of music. I knew that he could pull this off and get behind it.
“Loren Molinare was in the great ‘70s L.A. band the Dogs, of course, and I loved the Dogs, and Mark Tremalgia is a new guy I’ve been working with for a couple of years now. Rob Klonel is a great, solid rock ‘n’ roll drummer. It was really important for me to get someone who hit ‘em hard like Chalo. They were a perfect combination of guys, and they had a lot of enthusiasm.”
With Bruce Witkin engineering and producing, the new Cruzados set up shop at Unison Studios in L.A. Marsico recalls, “We did it all “old style “– we just set up in a room all together, like we used to do records before they started putting everybody in isolation booths and all that crap. We got the band together and rehearsed, and we went into the studio a week later. Before we knew it, we had the album. All live, no click tracks. We all played in our own little area, with our masks on. Set up, play, cut the songs, boom. It felt great to rock with a bunch of like-minded guys. With our special guests, half of them came to the studio, and half recorded their parts at home.”
Tokyo’s death metal trailblazer DEFILED is now streaming their brand new opus, ‘The Highest Level,’ ahead of tomorrow’s release! The album can be streamed at THIS LOCATION.
‘The Highest Level’ can be pre-ordered HERE and pre-saved on streaming services HERE.
Moreover, 2023 marks a seminal year for DEFILED as it celebrates three decades since the release of their first demo and twenty years since the Japanese death dealers formed a union with Season of Mist!
The band will be celebrating this release with a headlining tour of Japan starting from tomorrow, April 28 until May 10. Then, then band will join HATE and VADER for three Japanese dates in June. The full itinerary can be found below!
The artwork for ‘The Highest Level’ was created by Wes Benscoter.
Track-list: 1. Off-limits (02:35) [WATCH] 2. Stealth (03:11) 3. The Highest Level (03:17) [WATCH] 4. Entrapped (03:16) 5. The Status Quo (02:32) 6. Warmonger (02:37) 7. Demonization (03:29) 8. Inquisition (03:39) 9. Madness Accelerated (02:11) 10. Delusion (02:54) 11. Only the Strongest Survive (02:54) 12. Red World (04:06) [WATCH] 13. The Last Straw (03:25) 14. Requiem (02:43) 15. The Speech (00:36) Total (43:17)
DEFILED Live Dates (Japan 2023): 28 Apr 23 Yokohama (JP) El Puente 29 Apr 23 Tokyo (JP) Earthdom 30 Apr 23 Sendai (JP) Solfa 01 May 23 Koriyama (JP) Peak Action 02 May 23 Niigata (JP) Flower Pop 03 May 23 Nagano (JP) The Venue 04 May 23 Nagoya (JP) Daytrive 05 May 23 Kyoto (JP) Trust 06 May 23 Osaka (JP) Hokage 07 May 23 Takamatsu (JP) Toonice 08 May 23 Syunan (JP) Rise 09 May 23 Fukuoka (JP) Reflex 10 May 23 Okayama (JP) Ark 09 Jun 23 Tokyo (JP) WWW (Vader + Hate) 10 Jun 23 Nagoya (JP) Holiday Next (Vader + Hate) 11 Jun 23 Osaka (JP) Zeela (Vader + Hate)
When it comes to straight-forward, bone-crushing death metal, Tokyo’s DEFILED delivers! ‘The Highest Level’ stays true to the traditional death metal formula, while the band’s gritty songwriting approach lends to its authenticity. DEFILED attempts to make no frills with this new full-length, instead speaking directly to the sensibility of old school death metal fanatics who are simply looking for some face-melting violence!
The early 90s was a crucial and formative time for death metal, a genre that started to predominantly emerge in the west with bands like Decide, Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy, Obituary, and Morbid Angel having a stronghold on America while Entombed, Cadaver, Carcass, and many others started to make waves in Europe and the U.K. But across the vast Pacific Ocean, DEFILED was taking a cue from its peers and became one of Asia’s leading purveyors during the genre’s early inception.
Upon releasing a series of demos and EPs during the mid-90s, the Japanese powerhouse finally released its first full-length, ‘Erupted Wrath,’ via Nightfall Records. Upon its release, the band broke out of Asia and started to make its debut in America across the extreme metal fest circuit – performing twice at Milwaukee Metal Fest as well as appearing at November to Dismember in Texas.
The band kept busy during the turn of the century while continuing to build their profile and dominate metal audiences around the globe and by 2003, they formed a union with Season of Mist, where the band has become one of the label’s most consistent death metal mainstays. Since then, the band has released six full-length albums, the majority of which are under the Season of Mist banner.
As the band celebrates thirty years since its legacy was formed, they are ready to unleash another pummelling offering onto the masses. ‘The Highest Level’ still carries the same time-tested formula that Defiled established three decades ago, remaining true to their identity, and still carrying the torch as one of the genre’s founding fathers.
INGESTED have released a video for ‘With Broken Wings’. Watch it below. It’s truly a slice of life – Ingested style!
“Manchester has always been a big part of our identity, so we wanted to the video to be a nod and a homage to our roots and the music we grew up listening to as kids,” says singer Jason Evans. “We filmed it on location on a street in a Manchester housing estate, in one continuous take. No bells or whistles, just a dirty Manc, on a Mancunian street, with some fucking heavy riffs! This is our home. Enjoy!“
The band released their album Ashes Lie Still last fall via Metal Blade. Get it here.
Ingested will return to the road on a North American headline tour next week. All dates are below.
INGESTED ON TOUR: WITH DEVOURMENT, EXTERMINATION DISMEMBERMENT, + ORGANECTOMY 05/04 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Monarch 05/05 – Mechanicsburg, PA – Lovecraft’s 05/06 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage 05/07 – Greensboro, NC – Hanger 1819 05/09 – Miami, FL – Gramps* 05/10 – Orlando, FL – Conduit* 05/11 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade 05/12 – Nashville, TN – The End 05/13 – Little Rock, AR – Rev Room** 05/14 – Fort Worth, TX – Rigdlea Room 05/16 – Houston, TX -Scout Bar** 05/17 – Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live** 05/18 – Albuquerque, NM -Launchpad 05/19 – Mesa, AZ – Nile Underground 05/20 – Anaheim, CA -Chain Reaction 05/21 – San Francisco, CA – Neck Of The Woods 05/23 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom^ 05/24 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon^ 05/25 – Spokane, WA – The Big Dipper 05/26 – Boise, ID – The Shredder 05/27 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall 05/28 – Denver, CO – Roxy Theater 05/30 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge# 05/31 – Detroit, MI – Sanctuary# 06/01 – Cleveland, OH – No Class# 06/02 – Toronto, ON -Velvet Underground# 06/03 – Montreal, QC – Foufones Electriques# 06/04 – Cambridge, MA -Sonia# *With Implosive Disgorgence **With Peeling Flesh ^With I Declare War #With Vomit Forth
ABOUT INGESTED:Ingested are the flagbearers of modern UK death metal. They have been churning out bilious anti-anthems for more than a decade-and-a-half, dropping a string of releases that have helped shape the genre. They return with Ashes Lie Still, their most dynamic, inventive, and daring release to date, holding nothing back. The band describes it as “a modern essential. It still has the core Ingested elements of groovy slamming riffs, quick drumming, and guttural vocals but there’s also atmosphere, ethereal moments, and some raw old school aggression.” Over the course of 10 tracks, Ingested hack, slash, and steamroll through everything in their path, and Ashes Lie Still easily stands as the highpoint of an already impressive career. Founded in 2006 in Manchester, England, Ingested have since toured extensively with Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile, Carnifex, and Revocation, and have been seen on European festival stages including Summer Breeze Open Air. Slimmed down to a three-piece, the band feels it is in the best place it ever has been, enabling the members to work at the top of their game.
Ashes Lie Still was mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson. It was co-produced by the band and previous collaborator Nico Beninato, with drummer Lyn Jeffs living close to Beninato’s studio in Mallorca and recording his drums there, while Sean Hynes recorded his guitars at home in the UK with the producer assisting remotely. Vocal tracking was interrupted by Jason Evans falling seriously ill when finally making it to Mallorca and was ultimately tracked back in Manchester. Bass was again supplied by Dominic Grimard (Ion Dissonance/The Last Felony).
Ingested succinctly encapsulate their existence, saying, “We’ve always been the underdogs, always fighting for scraps. Well, it’s time to get out of the fucking way, because now it’s our turn to eat at the table.“
You’ve. Been. Warned.
INGESTED ARE: Jason Evans – Vocals Sean Hynes – Guitars + Backing Vocals Lyn Jeffs – Drums
Metallic Hardcore Outfit CAPRA will return to Europe for full Summer tour.
“You asked, we listened! We’re beyond stoked to finally be heading across the pond this summer to play a handful of dates surrounding so many sick festivals and hang with all of you. We’ve got a few off days to fill so if you want to have us in your city, be sure to hit up our agents at District 19!“
CAPRA 2023-07-28 – Salle Claude Augier – Montendre, FR 2023-07-29 – Xtreme Fest – Albi, FR 2023-08-01 – Metaldays – Velenje, SI 2023-08-02 – Sala Estraperlo – Barcelona, ES 2023-08-03 – Rock Beer The New – Santander, ES 2023-08-04 – Sala Gong – Oviedo, ES 2023-08-05 – Pub Transylvania – Vigo, ES 2023-08-06 – Sala Silikona – Madrid, ES 2023-08-09 – Backstage – Munich, DE 2023-08-10 – Brutal Assault – Jaromer, CZ 2023-08-11 – VAZ Pfarrheim – Burglengenfeld, DE 2023-08-12 – Helvete – Oberhausen, DE 2023-08-16 – Summer Breeze – Dinkelsbühl, DE 2023-08-17 – Birrificio San Giorgio – Vicenza, IT 2023-08-18 – Frantic Fest – Francavilla Al Mare, IT 2023-08-19 – Pignoletto Fest – Modena, IT 2023-08-22 – Bei Chéz Heinz – Hannover, DE 2023-08-23 – Bambi Galore – Hamburg, DE 2023-08-24 – Goldgrube – Kassel, DE 2023-08-25 – Stummsche Reithalle – Neunkirchen, DE 2023-08-26 – Neuborn Open Air – Wörrstadt, DE
Capra is a metallic hardcore band roaring out of the depths of southern Louisiana. With high energy delivery and raging rock and roll hooks inspired by Converge and Every Time I Die, this is the band for their time and place. Their debut album In Transmission came out on Metal Blade Records and was one of the most talked about hardcore debuts in 2021, garnering praise from Revolver, Knotfest and many more! Since then the band has toured heavily, performing with Killswitch Engage, Eyehategod, Exhorder, Whores, and KENmode as well as a landmark performance at Furnace Fest.
On 26 May, “Götterspiel: Dunkle Zeiten”, the new album by German RPG melodic death metallers BOSPARANS FALL, will be released. From the concept album, which is set in the universe of the role-playing game “Das Schwarze Auge” and which contains 10 songs of great melodic death/extreme metal, a first song, “Kampf um Norbeneck”, is now available as a lyric video on the MDD YouTube channel!
“Götterspiel: Dunkle Zeiten” will be released as a CD in jewelcase and as a limited DigiPak with alternative artwork in a premium aluminium box, which contains a patch and a puzzle map as well as a game/collector figure of the antagonist Xardas in tabletop scale 28mm. The box and the CD are now available for pre-order from the band and the label. The complete Tracklist of the album you can find below. Be prepared!
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
