LIEMUS is a brainchild by talented musician Timo Mustonen. The debut single IF (No One Can See) is released today by Inverse Records and it features guitar wizard Samuli Federley.
Mastermind Timo Mustonen comments: “If (no one can see) is a song I originally wrote in Finnish. I translated it into English due to the requirements of the band we had at the time. Personally, it was really important to me to have the song released – to get it out of the system, so to speak. I did all the instrumentation myself, bar the guitar solo. I asked Samuli Federley to do it, and the collaboration flowed easily right from the beginning. The song is about how guilt takes a toll on you. Stylewise, the song is honoring the legacies of the likes of Massachusetts and Los Angeles plus a glimpse of Vancouver.”
Liemus was born out of a need to express myself as a vocalist, songwriter and musician, in a way which was not possible in my previous projects. The seeds were sown when I decided to shut down Sound Fort, a band we had before I joined Sonus Corona.
It became apparent to me our story was drawing to a close in the fall of 2019, so I decided to work on my own material without the help of the band. I have always looked up to artists like Phil Collins and Anssi Kela, who have long been known to play all the instruments on their solo albums. Hence it was very important to me to do this on my own.
Of course I have had help from my close friends, who have encouraged me to keep on doing music. And producer Tommi Kujala has been supporting the journey all along, and he is also the person who did the mixing and mastering for my debut single If (no one can see).
THE NOW’s swaggering new single, ‘Holy‘, is now available on all platforms along with B-side track, a cover of The Verve’s ‘Lucky Man‘, out through Golden Robot Records.
The guitar-fuelled ‘Holy’ is the first single from, and forms part of the premise, of their forthcoming EP slated for release in May, revolving around a mysterious individual communicating via ransom notes…
THE NOW are a four-piece band from South Wales who, although they only started playing together in 2018, have already started making a HUGE impact on the local scene with their big, highly infectious, guitar heavy tracks. Consisting of Shane Callaghan on rhythm guitar & lead vocals, Will Scott on drums & vocals, Callum Bromage on guitar & vocals and Jay Evans on bass guitar, the average age of the band is 21 and their cutting edge look and feel falls in line with their sound – cool, current and highly charged!
The Now’s inspiration comes from an eclectic mix of music and musicians who include Chuck Berry and The Police, right through to Kasabian and Catfishand The Bottlemen, with vocal influences including Kelly Jonesand Ryan ‘’Van’’ McCann.
The band has been together since 2016 after meeting at a local jam night. After taking time to find the right sound, they decided to form ‘The Now’. Their stage presence is something special and full of energy, with their self-written songs delivering a huge punch to the head with superb lyrics that stay in your head for days – all poetically written by enigmatic frontman Shane.
The Now are determined to stand alone with a unique sound. They have music and lyrics that need to be heard and it’s the band’s mission to make sure they’re heard by as many people as possible.
2022 looks to be jam packed for The Now with live dates, radio play and festival line up announcements coming in thick and fast, includingIn It Together Festival with Noel Gallagher. The new single has recently been played stateside with Amazing Radio USA & also Amazing UK sharing the track with their 6 million listeners.
UK SHOWS: 23rd Feb, Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield Tickets HERE 25th Feb, The Bullingdon, Oxford Tickets HERE 20th March, Jimmys, Liverpool Tickets HERE 3rd – 5th June, In It Together Festival, Port Talbot, Wales Tickets HERE
Danish brutal death doom metal act KONVENT is currently gearing up for the release of their sophomore, critically acclaimed album Call Down The Sun, out this Friday, March 11, 2022 via Napalm Records. To shorten your wait, the Copenhagen-based band just unleashed a third album single alongside a new lyric video! Featuring a haunting violin and cello guest performance by Felix Havstad, on “Harena”, KONVENT creates a dark, eerie yet epic atmosphere, revealing threatening yet beautiful facets of their sound.
“Harena is an inner dialogue about self doubt, even though you know you’re meant for something bigger,” the band comments. “During this dialogue, you convince yourself it’s better to stay at status quo, because the feeling of unsatisfaction has become a well known safe space, though the outcome could be so much greater if you took a chance.”
After their debut full-length album, Puritan Masochism, took the entire doom and heavy metal scene by storm upon its release two years ago, KONVENT returns with a sophomore offering that doubles down on the band’s songwriting talent and brutal, heavy sound. The sonic evolution of KONVENT over the course of just two years is immediately evident on Call Down The Sun, surprising with new elements at every turn.
Undoubtedly inspired by recent dark times, the band’s upcoming album is more pissed off, fast-paced and pitch black throughout. Rikke Emilie List’s guttural, sublime growls and fierce screams perfectly integrate with a heavy as hell wall of blackened death and funeral doom metal riffs from guitarist Sara Helena Nørregaard, backed by a thick, profound rhythm section provided by bassist Heidi Withington Brink and drummer Julie Simonsen.
Recorded and mixed by Lasse Ballade at Ballade Studios, Copenhagen and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Studio, Call Down The Sun unleashes a thunderous apocalyptic sound, and a vibrant record that is not only poised to top 2022 Album Of The Year lists, but reign as one of the best death and blackened doom metal records of modern times!
Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from Canada’s The Metal Voice, recently interviewed drummer Gil Moore of Canada’s rock trio legends Triumph. Moore discussed the first-ever feature documentary about the band’s dramatic career, “Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine”, which was made available last month for streaming in Canada, only on Crave and to premiere on CTV March 12 , 2022 at 8pm EST.
Gil Moore was asked if the Documentary would be released on DVD he said,” there is going to be a DVD for sure, I know they started working on the packaging and the artwork. Bonus material I am not sure, again that is the film companies decision, so whatever decide but certainly the band is not against it. I think they are targeting it for late summer early fall for the DVD release and that will be available everywhere worldwide.”
Moore also spoke about the upcoming premiere on CTV Canada as well as distribution in the USA he said, “Just to clear the fog a little bit on the distribution, which is something the band obviously doesn’t control. The deal up here in Canada right now is this Saturday night, the movie’s gonna play on the CTV network, coast to coast, in prime time, 8 p.m., at whatever your local CTV affiliate is, wherever you are. As far as it streaming on Crave, it is continuing to stream on Crave and will be there for years. And film festival-wise, we also, after the Toronto International Film Festival, the film premiered at the Philadelphia Film Festival. We’re now scheduled for the Sarasota Film Festival as well; I don’t have a date on that. But I think there’s gonna be some announcements coming up fairly soon about U.S. distribution as well.”
MOTOR SISTER are thrilled to announce their forthcoming album Get Off, set to be released on May 6 via Metal Blade Records. The band has also shared lead single “Can’t Get High Enough,” out now, check out below.
“We wanted to make a high energy, kick ass rock & roll record from top to bottom,” shares vocalist/guitarist Jim Wilson. “All killer, no filler.“
Adds bassist Joey Vera: “Our first record ‘Ride’ was a collection of songs we re-recorded from the band Mother Superior which was great, but I’m stoked that we had this chance to actually get into a room together and write this batch of all new material. We keep in mind where this band originated from but we get to take it to totally different levels.“
About the new single, guitarist Scott Ian explains: “‘Can’t Get High Enough’ is a straight-up ripper from start to finish.“
Get Off will be available digitally as well as physically on digipak-CD, 180g black vinyl, crimson red w/ blue smoke vinyl (US exclusive) and pale blue grey marbled vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 200 copies). To pre-save / pre-order, please visit: metalblade.com/motorsister
Get Off Tracklisting: 01. Can’t Get High Enough 02. Coming for You 03. Right There, Just Like That 04. Sooner or Later 05. Excuse Me, Your Life Is Exposed 06. Lion’s Den 07. 1,000,000 Miles 08. Pain 09. Bulletproof 10. Bruise It or Lose It 11. Time’s Up 12. Rolling Boy Blues
Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Jim Wilson (Mother Superior), guitarist Scott Ian (Anthrax), bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint), drummer John Tempesta (White Zombie, The Cult) and vocalist Pearl Aday (Pearl), Motor Sister was originally formed as a Mother Superior covers band made up of diehard fans – and aided by sharing the same frontman – playing the songs for the love of doing so. Catching the attention of Metal Blade, the label offered to put out a record and the result was Ride (2015), a collection of live-in-the-studio takes cherry-picked from Mother Superior‘s back catalogue.
Now, they step beyond those parameters, returning with their second album, which is almost entirely brand new material. “The record of covers was already done, so there was no need to do it again,” says Aday. “We’re a bunch of songwriters with so much passion for the same kind of music, it just makes sense that we would make new music together, and it was easy as usual to follow Jim’s lead on this one. He was overflowing with songs and ideas so we all happily jumped right in.” Adds Wilson, “We definitely wanted to continue with the spirit of my old band and it’s not difficult really because everything Mother Superior did was done with heart and soul and I think soul is an important word. Not necessarily ‘soul music’ but the feeling that comes with it.“
The result is aptly described by Vera as “no bullshit hard rock and roll“, the record containing eleven originals and rounded out with a cover of Mother Superior‘s “Rolling Boy Blues”, which has been a live staple. Kicking off with the compulsive, high octane “Can’t Get High Enough” they immediately put the pedal to the metal, likewise on the pure rock n’ soul of “Bulletproof” and the swaggering “Excuse Me, Your Life Is Exposed”. They slow things down a little on the singalong glory of “Sooner Or Later” and the more plaintive “Pain”.
As with Ride, the band entrusted Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Steel Panther) with production, and this time headed into LA’s Studio 606. “It’s a great sounding room and we got to track on the Sound City Neve, which is perfect for our sound,” says Ian. “And some really cool people – who took great care of us – own it.” Also in common with its predecessor, Get Off was recorded live in the studio, with all five members in the same room, vocals and leads redone after the basic tracks were laid down, but tracking was interrupted mid-process by Covid-19. This put things on hold, resuming a year later as the band added the finishing touches to the record, but this interruption definitely did not harm the feelings of exuberance and spontaneity that bleed from the speakers. Now, the band are looking forward and excited to play these originals live alongside the covers they are known for, and with shows getting booked for 2022 it’s time for fans to lose their shit and get off to one of the greatest rock and roll bands operating today.
Metal Blade Records is proud to welcome MANTAR to its worldwide roster!
Founded in 2012 by Hanno and Erinc, Mantar have become one of the leading forces in Extreme Metal within the last 10 years. Loved by fans and press alike, the band conquered the world by storm with their truly unique sound, leading them up to the Top 10 in the Official German album charts with their last studio album The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze (2018, Nuclear Blast) and sold out shows all over Europe.
After the self-released cover EP Grungetown Hooligans II (2020), the band is currently finishing up the work on their 4th studio album, slated for a summer 2022 release. Keep your eyes peeled for more news to follow soon!
The band comments: “As a band with a strong DIY background it was very important to us to work with a true independent label that not only respects but encourages our artistic freedom and visions as a band. Physical products still mean everything to us and Metal Blade is still one of the top players in that game. With a dedicated team of true music fans and enthusiasts in Europe and in the US we are happy to have found a new home for our band and motivated worldwide partners for new Mantar tunes.“
Fans can catch the band this year on the following dates (more to follow soon):
presented by Deaf Forever & Visions: 14.07.2022 GER Bremen, Tower (sold out) 16.07.2022 GER Dortmund, Tombstone Open Air 06.08.2022 GER Leipzig, Re-Generation Fest 09.09.2022 GER Hannover, Bei Chez Heinz 10.09.2022 GER Bremen, Hellseatic 15.09.2022 GER Dresden, Chemiefabrik 16.09.2022 GER Köln, Essigfabrik 22.09.2022 GER Münster, Sputnik 23.09.2022 GER Munich, Backstage Werk 24.09.2022 GER Hamburg, Fabrik 29.09.2022 GER Wiesbaden, Schlachthof 30.09.2022 GER Stuttgart, Im Wizemann 01.10.2022 GER Nürnberg, Z-Bau 07.10.2022 GER Rostock, Zwischenbau 08.10.2022 GER Berlin, C-Theater 21.12.2022 GER Essen, Turock 22.12.2022 GER Leipzig, Conne Island
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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 ) 