Wide armed welcome to a new artist in the Black Lion Records family!
AMIENSUS hailing from Minnesota bring their Progressive Black Metal stylings to enrich the label’s ranks!
This collaboration will see the physical release of their first EP “All Paths Lead to Death” and their new full-length album, which will see the light of day in 2023. So keep your eyes and ears peeled for more to come and in the meantime be sure to follow the band on social media to not miss a thing!
Italian dark metallers INNO – featuring current and former members of FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, HOUR OF PENANCE, THE FORESHADOWING and NOVEMBRE – have premiered the new single “The Seed” (Aurora cover). Watch the video at THIS LOCATION.
“We are big fans of Aurora. As many out there, we consider ‘The Seed’ to be one of her most powerful and beautiful songs yet. When Elisabetta pitched us the idea of this cover, it felt like the perfect choice.
We are fascinated with the idea of the seed, blindly wondering the earth to fulfil its existence and evolve into something more complex, deeper, organic.
Our take on the arrangement is a mix of all we feel INNO can bring to the table, yet respecting the song and focusing on the emotions this beautiful piece of music can bring to the listener.
In the video you can see Elisabetta performing the song while floating in water, surrounded by flowers and plants, exploring all the phases of this voyage, to then end on a deep reflection of what we, as humans, are doing to our environment.
We wanted to underline the powerful message of the song, adding layers that take this track well into the INNO sound. The video has been carefully crafted by Elisabetta and the amazingly talented Luca Fantini”.
Digital stores: https://bfan.link/the-seed
INNO‘s debut album, “The Rain Under”, released in 2020, is still available via Time To Kill Records.
“The Rain Under” was produced by the band and mixed by Marco Mastrobuono and Giuseppe Orlando in Rome. Mastering was handled by renowned Danish producer Jacob Hansen (KATATONIA, VOLBEAT, EPICA). Last but not least, the cover artwork was created by Decline Design.
Emerging out of the Roman metal scene in 2017, INNO was founded by four veterans with the aim to create something that would differ from their past experiences within the metal world.
After spending a few months exploring their dormant influences, INNO came to shape a dark, doomy, heavy and progressive sound akin to eclectic acts such as Katatonia and The Gathering.
DEVIL’S TRAIN have released their new official video for the fourth single “You Promised Me Love”!
“Abandoned promises, broken hearts and the burning passion of an incomplete love story. A song that describes the sour taste of a love gone awry sang with the eagerness of David Coverdale’s most intimate moments”
The track is taken from the band’s upcoming album “Ashes & Bones” that will be released on June 24, 2022 via ROAR! Rock of Angels Records!
Digital single of “You Promised Me Love” is now available across all digital and streaming platforms! Pre-save the album, here: https://bfan.link/ashes-bones
Produced, Directed & Edited by Frank Kollbrunner for https://www.musikclip.ch/
Director: Frank Kollbrunner
Production assistant: Yves Tanner
Light: Frank Kollbrunner & Yves Tanner
Fog: Olly Vogt
Set Desinger: Miriam Kollbrunner
Models: Marina, Kim J. Haselbach, Alexa Kley, Betty Gee, Astrid
Location: Photo Studio Photofrank
Car: Jackie – 1969 Mustang March 1
Pre-order the album here: https://bit.ly/devils_train_ashes_and_bones
“Ashes & Bones” will be released on June 24, 2022 as tri-folder digipak CD, White/Black Splatter Vinyl (LTD. 300), Grey/Black Marbled Vinyl (LTD. 300), Solid Silver Vinyl (LTD. 200) and digital streaming and download format! Also released as a super limited to 300 copies collector’s laser engraved metallic boxset that includes: the digipak cd, guitar keychain/bottle opener, patch, tote bag and signed autograph card.
Sensory Records will release the eponymous fourth album from Swiss-Italian cinematic/progressive metal outfit VIRTUAL SYMMETRY in September, today unveiling the record’s cover art, track listing, and more.
VIRTUAL SYMMETRY was founded in 2009 as a solo project of guitarist Valerio Æsir Villa, when the first ideas for the debut album, Message From Eternity, began taking shape. The band’s lineup has since expanded to now include vocalist Marco Pastorino, keyboardist Marco “Mark” Bravi, bassist Alessandro Poppale, and drummer Alfonso Mocerino. Featuring members of Temperance and Fallen Sanctuary, the band is a revelation in the progressive metal universe, stunning their fans and listeners with influences which range from classical music to contemporary metal and a style characterized by epic suites, rich of cinematic elements and balance between melody and technique, leading the listeners through a dynamic and emotional journey in each track.
Some honorable mentions among their live shows are 2015’s debut live show with Evergrey and Dream Theater, 2017’s live show supporting Deep Purple’s keyboardist Don Airey.
Between 2018 and 2020 the band composed and produced their third album, Exoverse, which was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, UK, featuring many special guests, such as legendary drummer Thomas Lang, a return performance by Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, saxophonist Ruben Paganelli, the symphonic orchestra Sinfonietta Consonus, and Evergrey’s Tom S. Englund.
Featuring eight sprawling and immersive new movements, the band’s fourth album Virtual Symmetry was recorded by the members of VIRTUAL SYMMETRY, mixed and mastered at Domination Studio by Simone Mularoni (DGM, Michael Romeo, Turilli Lione Rhapsody), and completed with artwork and photography by Kyrhian Balmelli.
Sensory Records will issue Virtual Symmetry on CD and all digital providers on September 16th. Watch for audio previews, videos, preorders, and more to be issued surrounding the album’s release.
Virtual Symmetry Track Listing:
VIRTUAL SYMMETRY has been confirmed alongside Fractal Universe as support for Evergrey for five weeks on their 2022 European tour, which runs from September 16th – the day of Virtual Symmetry’s release – through October 23rd. See all confirmed tour dates and more at the band’s website HERE and at their various social media points.
VIRTUAL SYMMETRY:
Valerio Æsir Villa – guitars
Marco Pastorino – vocals
Marco Bravi – keyboards
Alessandro Poppale – bass
Alfonso Mocerino – drums
Finnish Industrial Metal band Ruoska has released new song “Silti syntinen”. This is the third single from their upcoming sixth full length album to be released in autumn 2022.
The band backgrounds the single:
“Ruoska presents a full-body-shaking Metal disco with their latest single. Lyrics are filled with humorous metaphors but actually the theme is quite serious text about the darker and less flattering deep aspects of human behaviour. This is most likely the last single before the full album!”
Listen to “Silti syntinen”: https://push.fm/fl/ruoska-siltisyntinen
Ruoska – Silti syntinen
Release date: June 23rd 2022
Distribution: Concorde Music Company / Inverse Music Group
Composer: Samuli Rimmi
Lyrics: Patrik Mennander, Enni Rautiainen, Samuli Rimmi
Symphonic metal is a true craft – anyone who has ever lost their mind floating in heavenly-orchestrated instrumentals, glistening with majestic, haunting vocals, is well aware of the emotional force that lives within the genre. It takes a certain kind of band to do it well – and EMPRESS have it all and then some. The up-and-coming five-piece from the United States, centered around classically-trained singer Barbara Blackthorne and main songwriting mastermind and guitarist Vlad Khavin, are well on their way to conquering the big stages and setting people’s minds ablaze with kaleidoscopic arrangements – and with their latest single, Into the Grey, they are surely one step closer to symphonic metal sovereignty. Empress comments:
“Into the Grey paints a picture of the moment just before leaving behind all that is familiar and diving into the unknown in order to chase your dreams. It is about sacrifice and the hope that can be born from it. It’s a spirited, driving symphonic power metal tune in the vein of bands such as earlier Nightwish and Kamelot. If you like your power metal uplifting and inspiring, this one’s for you!”
With scene giants like Nightwish or Within Temptation dominating the festival stages worldwide, reinforcement is on the way – Empress, who describe their intricate and energetic sound as symphonic power metal, might have just begun spreading their work three years back in 2019, but have steadily gained recognition among insider circles for their unique blend of different styles. Building on Blackthorne’s powerful, versatile vocal abilities in seamless combination with Khavin’s composition skills, they manage to create their own sonic world for listeners to explore, utilizing various vocal techniques, genre-bending segues, and hard-hitting riffs that force listeners to simply bow before Empress. Thus, it isn’t a surprise that Swedish producer Dan Swanö, renowned for his involvement with Heaven Shall Burn, Hypocrisy or Bloodbath was put in charge of mixing and mastering their first full-length album Fateweaver (Release: August 19th) – carefully entwining musical universes that invite you to follow your imagination and brightest fantasies.
“Fateweaver” by Empress will be out on August 19th, 2022. Pre-order the album now:
https://store.empresslegion.com/
https://orcd.co/empress_fateweaver
Tracklist
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 