DECAPITATED are proud to release their 8th studio album “Cancer Culture”. Its the most versatile album the band has released so far, surprising fans with elements they have never used before, such as guest appearances on vocals. Again, Jarek Szubrycht (Carnival is Forever) has written amazing lyrics about the disproportion between the dreams, ambitions, and aspirations of humanity. The leading engineer of the album was Tomasz Zed Zalewski (Anticult), David Castillo was responsible for mixing the album, and Ted Jensen for the final touch for mastering.
The amazing cover artwork comes from Fabio Timpanaro, an Italian artist whose art perfectly describes what the band wanted to tell through visual art.
Vogg states following on the release of the album: “Cancer Culture is out today!!! We’ve been waiting for this special moment for a very long time. It seems like ages, five years since our latest release “Anticult”, sixteen months of working on the “Cancer Culture” album and waiting almost a year to be able to share it with you finally. You can expect to hear various tracks, outstanding production, fantastic artwork, and of course, as always, something you have not likely to hear on the Decapitated album before. To celebrate this day, we decided to release a video for “Iconoclast”. For this occasion, we returned to the studio where all had started, where we recorded drums for the album, to feel an incredible energy and cool vibes again, while making the video. As you probably know, we have an exceptional guest, the metal legend and friend of ours, one and only Robb Flynn. His part of the track became one of my favorite parts of this album. It’s a huge honor to have Robb in this project, and I hope you will dig a song. It’s a different song, not blasting madness as most of the songs on this record but still powerful, fast, and crushing. We are giving you today the “Cancer Culture”. Decapitated is back, strong and alive! From pain to strength! Enjoy!~ Vogg”
And to celebrate the release, they have yet another surprise for their fans in store. Robb Flynn from mighty MACHINE HEAD contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the track “Iconoclast”.
Flynn comments on the collaboration as follows: “When Vogg asked me to sing on this Decapitated track, I was honored to jam with pioneers and such insane musicians. When he sent the track I was blown away at this incredible melodic section in the middle. When he told me the song was called Iconoclast, I knew exactly what needed to be said. An Iconoclast is “a destroyer of images used in religious worship”. This song had to address the hateful, growing fascist Evangelical movement growing around the world. The cruel men who wish to hide their cruelty under a cloak of faith and zealotry.”
Great news, the first self titled album from the Finnish thrash metal pioneers NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE is now available for the first time digitally on all major streaming platforms! Now you can listen to the album that started it all back in 1989. The vinyl version is extremely difficult to find and on CD this gem haven’t been available for at least ten years!
Now with the co-operation with the Finnish Universal Music this important piece of Finnish metal history is ready to be unleashed again!
”We are extremely happy that we finally got this album out and re-released. Many of these track are still on our current live set and thrashers seem to consider some of them classics. We were just kids when this album was released back in the late eighties and it has and always will have a special place in our hearts. I hope you metalheads like it!” – Jukka Kyrö /National Napalm Syndicate
The 1989 line-up: Aku Raaska vocals Jukka Kyrö guitar Markku Jokikokko guitar Juha Vuorma bass Pasi Pauanne drums
NAPALM SYNDICATE released their latest effort “The New Hell” on April 22nd 2022 via Iron Shield Records. In addition, this Summer will see two more videos, “We Are In Hell” and “Venomous Encounters”, coming out from the album.
National Napalm Syndicate was formed in 1986. After few line-up changes and couple of demos later they found themselves signing a major label deal with EMI / Capitol Records.
The band was one of the very first speed/thrash metal acts to emerge from Finland. Their debut album “National Napalm Syndicate” was released in 1989.
Over the years National Napalm Syndicate have released a number of full albums and EPs, but now 2022 all the missing pieces of the puzzle were found and the band is a meaner than ever, a true killing machine ready to unleash the thrash metal storm upon the metal world.
The National Napalm Syndicate sound is a interesting combination of traditional heavy metal, NWOBHM, hardcore punk and old school thrash metal. As a bonus they have a very unique way of writing memorable choruses and addicting riffs. A truly original sound which only a country like Finland and a cold Finnish weather could have given a birth.
Stay tuned for the next chapter in thrash metal!
NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE are: Vesa Mänty – vocals (2020-) Jukka Kyrö – guitar (1986-91, 2002-) Ville Hanhisuanto – drums (2016-) Harri Lampinen – guitar (2012-) Niko Karppinen – bass (2013-)
A distant mechanical sound is getting louder from afar and heralds the arrival of exciting happenings – throwing their shadows on this fateful day of September 2nd. It’s the day that the metal legend BLIND GUARDIAN will release their eleventh studio album The God Machine via Nuclear Blastand errects a new monument of their outstanding career.
Hansi Kürsch about it: “We didn’t want to rehash our qualities from 1995, but didn’t want to continue down this complex path forever either. ‘The God Machine’ is a new beginning for us. We’ve set a new course and gone back to certain things that we’ve neglected a bit on the last few albums.”
The God Machine marks another pinnacle in BLIND GUARDIAN’s impressive discography by not attempting to pretend it is still the nineties yet instead successfully relying on the muscle memory of this period. It is a gripping, addictive and brilliantly arranged album in the tradition of records with which BLIND GUARDIAN reached for the stars in the 90’s; yet, by no means, is it a throwback. The God Machine represents the heart and soul of BLIND GUARDIAN’s timeless metal in the here and now, unifying the bards’ past, present and future secrets in one consistent, well thought out masterpiece.
Together with the announcement, the band shares a video for their new raging single ‘Blood Of The Elves’, a galloping anthem that is destined to become a live staple.
Singer Hansi Kürsch comments: “‘Blood Of The Elves’ features a pretty heavy side what the avid fan of BLIND GUARDIAN hopefully enjoys well. More than well, I’d guess. Instrumentally, the tracks has some kind of an early Nineties appeal that blends well into the vocal parts of the opera/twist era and catapults both epochs into a new era for the band. A perfect hybrid. The chorus has some very strong sing along vibes, despite its complexity. What else do you need? Inspired by the ‘The Witcher’ computer game series, the lyrics even reinforce the power of this banger and the clip by Dirk Behlau fits perfectly to the whole setting. Let me tell you: ‘The God Machine’ has even more to offer. And that’s no promise – that’s the ultimate truth. Stay tuned.”
BLIND GUARDIAN live:
04.06. DE Gelsenkirchen – Rockhard Festival 11.06. ES Zamora – Z! Live Rock Fest 2022 23.06. CZ Spálené Poříčí – Basinfire Festival 24.06. IT Verona – Rock the Castle 25.06. FR Clisson – Hellfest 01.07. ES Barcelona – Rock Fest Barcelona 14.07. AT Leoben – AREA 53 Open Air 2022 15.07. DE Neukirchen-Vluyn – Dong Open Air 16.07. LX Esch-sur-Alzette – Rockhal 21.07. GR Athens – Release Athens 2022 31.07. UK Durham – Dominion Festival 05.08. ES Villena (Alicante) – Leyendas del Rock XV 07.08. RO Râșnov – Rockstadt Extreme Fest 19.08. DE Giessen – Giessener Kultursommer 20.08. DE Dinkelsbühl – Summer Breeze Festival 02.09. DE Saarbrücken – Garage 03.09. DE Memmingen – Kaminwerk 04.09. CH Pratteln – Z7 05.09. DE Frankfurt am Main – Batschkapp 06.09. DE Stuttgart – KA 08.09. DE München – Backstage 09.09. DE Dresden – Alter Schlachthof 10.09. DE Neuruppin – Kulturhaus 11.09. DE Berlin – Huxleys Neue Welt 13.09. DE Oberhausen – Turbinenhalle 14.09. DE Köln – E-Werk 16.09. DE Osnabrück – Hyde Park 17.09. DE Osnabrück – Hyde Park 10.-17.10. ES Barca Trencada – Full Metal Holiday @ Iberostar Club Cala Barca 12.10. NL Sittard – Poppodium Volt 13.10. DE Hamburg – edel-optics.de-Arena
Greek symphonic death metal titans SEPTICFLESH have been a force in the music world for more than thirty years, having formed back in 1990 and releasing their debut EP in 1991. They built a huge following of devoted fans over the years and are still gaining new generations of them, eleven studio albums later.
The brand new album “Modern Primitive” was released on 20th May via Nuclear Blast Records. A week before the album release, Metal Shock Finland’s Alison Booth caught up with SOTIRIS ANUNNAKI V. for her radio show Blackdiamond’s Metal Mayhem, which is broadcast every Tuesday from 6PM GMT on UK station TotalRock. The show with Sotiris can be heard here.
Much of the interview was of course about the new album and how it developed during difficult times, its production and also looking ahead to touring again and more! You can listen to the interview on the audio player and read some excerpts below:
On working with producerJens Bogren, Sotiris explained:
“Well, we were really happy with the result that he managed to produce with Codex Omega, it was our first collaboration. And so he was the first on our list for the next album and fortunately he had also the time. He’s a really powerful producer, with understanding not only for metal, but also for music in general.
So, from the point of production, it’s essential to have someone that can digest the magnitude of channels that we provide, we provide more than one hundred channels of recordings. So we needed someone that will be really clever and he’s a master in his field. He was really open minded – we wanted that. We didn’t want someone to enforce an opinion you know. We wanted to discuss and listen to the options. He also had a lot of patience with us, we are really difficult [laughs].”
Discussing recording the album during the pandemic:
“Yes and actually it affected us as musicians and composers and so you can say that a lot of our experiences enforced from the lockdowns, from the situation, one way or another were incorporated on this album, so it’s a special album.
Also, all this time that we had in our hands, we had the chance to reflect on our direction as a band and everything and also to reflect I think about the direction generally, philosophical point of view, the direction of mankind. And that influenced me to write a lot of lyrics that are dealing with things that are involved around today. And so the majority of the songs are down to earth you can say, but it’s not an earth healthy, but an earth that declines.
So you can say that this album has this ominous atmosphere, all the way from the start to the ending song and it defines its character.
We had a female choir, male choir and children choir. So as I told you from the start, we had to find solutions, because our dream was really demanding. The whole creation we had in our mind evolved around many people, many musicians. We had also a lot of traditional instruments and we had to record for instance some Greek traditional instruments like a bouzouki, also we had to record a mandolin and a lot of other instruments. We had to communicate and we had to use the different studios. We had in some cases to be allowed to have a lot of people together, perform together and it was a really giant step for us. Of course, in the past we always had this symphonic element, but this time it was on the next level of difficulty.”
On the upcoming European tour with HYPOCRISY:
“Hypocrisy is a great band and the people that listen to Hypocrisy and the people that listen to Septicflesh have a lot of common ground – there is something that unites us. We have the opportunity to play a longer setlist, that is important for us. And I think as you said the mix is really good and the people that come will be really satisfied.
The next two years for us will be full of touring around the world.”
Finnish Prog Metallers FIREPROVEN have unleashed their farewell album “Epilogue” today, May 27th!
Drummer Nuutti Hannula shares: “Epilogue is a versatile entity where the whole spectrum of emotions is brought to light. I am proud of this record and our whole band.”
Guitarist Janne Väätämöinen adds: “Now it’s a good but at the same time wistful feeling that the Epilogue album has gotten to see the light of day. I hope you like the album as much as I like it!”
Just recently the band released their latest lyric video ‘King’, originally premiered via BraveWords, in case you missed it, watch here: https://youtu.be/UisLRzinid0
Petri Lampela (www.petrilampela.com), who created the coverart, had this to say: “The album cover is basically about ends and beginnings. It depicts a scrap dealer in a post-apocalyptic setting who has stopped to take a look at a city on the horizon. The city consists of five skyscrapers that represent the members of the band and their future. It’s both sunset and dawn.”
Band’s guitarist Janne Väätämöinen tells: “The post-apocalyptic world seen in cover art has always fascinated me from cult films like Mad Max. Petri designed a magnificent cover, which is a work of art in itself, but also has symbolism hidden in it. Each viewer understands the image in their own way and it is hoped that the future does not look like what appears in the image.”
Earlier the band unveiled the in-depth track-by-track:
THE MAZE Nuutti: The lyrics of the song are based on my experiences of school bullying. I have unraveled the feelings I experienced as a teenager and what insights those experiences ultimately led me to. All bad events may not be bad, although at that moment they may be incomprehensible painful. Some things are never forgotten and carried through life. However, there is a perspective on them in constant motion. It is important to note that every human being is capable of the extreme cruelty but also goodness.
Nuutti about the composition of the song: In The Maze’s composition, I combined elements familiar from video games with progressive metal, and a shark also influenced by the direction of melodic death metal. I created contrasts between the different parts in order to the listener’s ears would not become numb to repeating the same mood for too long. I feel that music needs to address the widest possible spectrum of emotions. These influences are born with strong musical experiences from my life all the way to elementary school from songs of Nintendo games.
THE ADDICT Nuutti: The idea for the lyrics came to me after analyzing my daily activities. Where do we draw the line between everyday habits and addiction? Many things have the potential to improve your life, but alternatively might lead you in the wrong direction. It’s always about the perspective and whether you’re working consciously or are driven by impulses. Addiction is often seen as a negative phenomenon, but underneath you might find what your subconscious is trying to tell you. Is there something in the shadows that wants to be seen or heard? The Addict was originally a fully electronic song. We pulled the whole package through a prog metal filter and found ourselves creating something completely new. The song combines synth wave, djent and shamanistic atmosphere which eventually transports the listener to a trance-like state. It feels like the song itself had told us which form it wanted to take.
KING Janne: There is, in fact, quite a number of different approaches when it comes to the story behind this song. So, it’s kind of a survival story, but I won’t reveal more because I want the listener to be able to understand it the way they hear it. Sanna and Nuutti assisted with the songwriting, and Ilari’s tense keyboard parts brought the distinctive Fireproven sound to the song. In addition, there’s an awesome guitar solo, which was super fun to play.
HAUNTED Janne: Needless to say which band influenced the main riff of the song. So, I’m a huge fan of Metallica but I was actually listening to Cirice by Ghost when the songwriting process started. However, I wanted to bring in a new perspective with elements of some groovy djent in the bridge. In the verse you can hear some influences of Slayer’s riffs, but I added ambient guitars to create a more atmospheric sound, and Ilari added some pretty great synth tracks in it. The vocal harmonies of this song might remind you of Alice in Chains songs. As for the lyrics, there are many angles on how they can be understood. Together with Sanna, we got to create these amazingly visual lyrics, the atmosphere which emphasizes the name of the song, ‘Haunted’.
TIME TO HEAL Janne: I wanted to write a thrash metal song in an odd time signature. Time to Heal is a pretty funny song as its main riff is a Slayer type guitar riff which goes to nine and the drums go to four, so the first beat of the bar always changes its place. The lyrics take a strong stand on the current situation of the world, that is, wars and the climate crisis. Pressing pause and giving our home planet some time to breathe would be the only deliverance of mankind.
DREAM CATCHER Nuutti: Dream Catcher is a combination of groovy, even blues-like soundscape with pop nuances that are joined together with a Gothenburg metal style arrangement. The lyrics cover an immigration crisis by way of a fictional story. It’s been a while since it was written but from one point of view you can see how it portrays the crisis in Ukraine, and the people forced to leave their homes.
GRACE Nuutti: The first version of Grace was very different from its final form. We edited the song quite a bit and in the end it became a collaborative composition of me, Janne, Juha and Sanna. In the song there are elements from melodic death metal to a more progressive expression. You can even hear a hint of classical minimalism in the verses. The lyrics tell a story about an inevitable death and the fragility of life, as well as the urge to avoid thinking about these subjects.
WAVES OF EXTINCTION Nuutti: The writing of the song started with a mainriff, where I was interested in combining a video-like atmosphere with a cadence in odd meters. I managed to make many versions of the song before as it turned out which direction I want the atmosphere and structure to carry. The song is very story-like in structure. After the initial explosion, one travels through the electronical parts towards darker moods and eventually the tension is released in the chorus. The key to the song is the power of collaboration. Sanna rewrote most of the melodies and Janne also put his spoon in the soup, after which we all made the song look Fireproven together.
Nuutti about the lyrics: Climate change and its effects serve as a strong inspiration for the lyrics of the song. The recitation takes place in two timelines, in the first of which the great destruction has already taken place and is lived in a post-apocalyptic world. In another timeline, we are in a moment where we idealistically want to save the planet, but action for great change is insufficient. The song is not intended to entice the listener into gloom or to lose faith in change. It is only a review of the current topic in a storytelling form.
Sanna: The variation in the moods and dynamics of Waves of Extinction, combined with odd meters, seemed to be heard at first glance. The topic of the song is also very important to me. Nuutti composed a masterpiece that made it easy for me to compose vocal melodies for the song. I’ve certainly never used my voice in this way in a single song before. At times in the recordings, we laughed at this banging from the delicate mood through the low growls to the high clean vocals and from there to the even higher screams, but the end result is definitely worth it. The song sounds 100% to us.
UNITY Nuutti: Unity is a story about whales’ journey around the ocean. Whales are unique beings that have their own diverse language. Sanna wrote some of the lyrics. Whales are close to her heart, too, so our co-operation worked seamlessly. The journey of the whales is a metaphor for the chance of freedom we all should have no matter the circumstances.
In January 2022, FIREPROVEN announced that after this album they will be disbanded, thanking their loyal fans releasing “Epilogue” which will remain their last effort, as a band.
“Hello everyone! We hope that 2022 has started well for you guys. Sadly, we have to announce that Fireproven will no longer continue. There are number of reasons that led us to this decision but we’re all still good friends, and will continue to keep it that way. We’re going to release our last album later this spring but all shows will be cancelled. We want to thank you all for your love and support during these years. None of this would have been possible without you guys listening to our tracks and showing us your love. Peace and love! Stay healthy!”
Check out the earlier released singles from the album: ‘Waves of Extinction’ (2021)
“Epilogue” Album line-up is: Sanna Solanterä – lead singer Janne Väätämöinen – guitar and backing vocals Juha Väätämöinen – bass and vocals Ilari Hannula – keyboards Nuutti Hannula – drums
FIREPROVEN is a progressive metal band from Finland. The band is known for their long, imagery songs, as well as their energetic live shows. Their first album ‘Future Diary’ got great scores in multiple reviews, and International Music Video Contest rewarded their music video Shine for the best director of photography. The band’s unique sound has already inspired people in Europe and overseas. The band decided to take things to the next level by hiring a new lead vocalist Sanna Sola back in December 2019. Fireproven pride themselves on their technical abilities and musical versatility, breaking boundaries with their uniqueness.
Symphonic metal masters AFTER FOREVER are soon approaching the 15th anniversary of their self-titled swansong album “After Forever” (2007) and to celebrate this anniversary, the band are releasing a special re-issue of the album today – completely re-mastered by Darius van Helfteren and featuring two rare Japanese bonus tracks. The first is the recently released ‘Sweet Enclosure’, while the second song, the beautiful piano ballad ‘Lonely’ has been released today.
The 15th anniversary re-issue of “After Forever” is now available digitally, on CD and Vinyl. Get it HERE
Joost van den Broek comments: “I’m very happy and proud that now this album will be re-released and hopefully gains new attention, which in my opinion it fully deserves. I feel this album indeed has become a summum of what we were as a band; the amazing and intense vocals of Floor, the punchy tight drums of Andre, the great and characteristic riffs and solos of Sander, the rock ’n roll and attitude of Bas, the signature sound of Luuk, all wrapped in an epic symphonic blanket.
My thankfulness goes to all the fans that still today carry the flag of AFTER FOREVER high, every one in our business team for making this possible, Gordon our producer, the Rooftop studios, the guest musicians on the album, our families for eternal support, but most of all to my former bandmates for giving me the time of my life!”
The iconic metal band from The Netherlands was formed in the mid nineties by the later EPICA founder Mark Jansen and guitarist Sander Gommans. The band split up shortly after their eponymous self-titled album “After Forever” in 2008. Keyboard player Joost Van Den Broek became a famous producer for EPICA, BLIND GUARDIAN and many more, while singer Floor Jansen joined NIGHTWISH and recently also the German TV show Sing Meinen Song (=Sing My Song); where the symphonic metal icon will join other artists in paraphrasing and interpreting each other’s songs. Fans never forgot AFTER FOREVER and even though their last album was released at a time before streaming was a thing, it has still gained over 15 million streams.
“After Forever” Tracklist: 1. Discord 2. Evoke 3. Transitory 4. Energize Me 5. Equally Destructive 6. Withering Time 7. De-Energized 8. Cry With A Smile 9. Envision 10. Who I Am 11. Dreamflight 12. Empty Memories 13. Lonely 14. Sweet Enclosure
AFTER FOREVER are: Floor Jansen – Vocals Sander Gommans – Guitar, Grunts Bas Maas – Guitar, Vocals Luuk van Gerven – Bass André Borgman – Drums Joost van den Broek – Keyboard
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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
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! 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 ) 