Photo by Jani Kormu (Photo editing: Esa Hallanoro)
Helsinki based 5-piece Death Metal band OvDeth brings their unique touch to the Nordic extreme metal scene. Since 2016, the band has forged their solid Death Metal rooted music into a recognizable style that conveys a deep and gloomy atmosphere. “From darkness to despair, and ultimately to integrity”. The band voyages boldly into these stands, both on the record and live.
Check the lyric video to opening track “March of the Blind”:
Mortal Burden showcases Death Metal songs from an epic atmosphere to kick-ass headbanging. Each piece paints its own world, tells its own story, and adds to the entire four-part EP. Blasts, grooves, heavy riffs, melodic surprises and slicing growls. With these, Mortal Burden takes it’s audience from the historical battle to the mouth of the demon.
Do you know what could be more frustrating than being a musician during quarantine? How about being both a musician and a physician?
Dr. Nikan Nasim, lead vocalist of Iranian Metalcore band One Missing Link describes the complexities an emerging metalcore band goes through, especially with him facing and fighting Covid-19 right at the frontlines in an exclusive Covid-19 hospital as a general physician as, “It’s just unbelievable how everything could suspend me from doing what I have loved since I was 17. As a musician, I couldn’t have any contact with band members because I was extremely susceptible to Covid-19 given my job as a physician where I must work non-stop, helping and doing whatever I could in that horrible situation. On the other hand, vaccine availability was another major problem. It was a cut above the rest compared to other difficulties.”
Their newest song, ‘The Monstrosity’, released through the first Iranian Metal Label Tough Sounds on the 4th of February, is the product of those horrible circumstances. The Music Video took one night to shoot, it was shot and edited by Istanbul based videographer Hamid Shahcheraghi of Darken Rush, The song was produced by Rubén Zafra (Hunt the Dinosaur, Wavey, Viscaya) and it’s about the dark side inside all of us that emerges in hardship and how we should stop ignoring the depth of filth in our hearts but instead face it head-on and fight it.
Nikan continues, “Moving on without accepting the other half within ourselves is impossible. You are the one who decides what personality you adopt. You have to claim it, talk to it, make it emerge, send shivers through its spine. Let’s hang this insidious demon for all eternity!”
Despite everything, One Missing Link kept pushing as their upcoming EP is on the production stage and will be released in 2022.
Guitarist Mahan Abdollahi Notes: “Breaking down emotionally is an inevitable thing when it comes to the pandemic; as an Ex-Nursing staff, there was a time everything drowned in chaos during the pandemic, and I was desperately sitting down writing my ideas on the new EP, sharing them with Nikan. This EP is about a dark side created by the darkest of days. Be sure to get vaccinated, stay safe, check the new single, and stay tuned for upcoming news and releases about the EP”.
Artwork by: Melina Hosseini
Devastating Metalcore Grooves with Post Hardcore sensibilities, One Missing Link proves themselves to be the Iranian representatives of the New Wave of Core. Colored by the integrity of outfits like Wage War, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Motionless in White, One Missing Link combines the extremity of Rusty Metalcore Noises with the fragility of unstable apperception. The band’s initial inception started with vocalist Nikan Nasim and guitarist Ali Mostanbet’s cover of the Architects song Royal Beggars in 2020. They released their first original single, “Shivers,” a year later, after the departure of “Ali Mostanbet.” One Missing Link’s latest endeavor comes in the form of “The Monstrosity,” a song Nikan wrote while treating patients at a Covid Exclusive hospital. The song centers around facing and defeating the darkest versions of ourselves.
MOONLIGHT HAZE have released a video for the song “It’s Insane”, third single taken from the new album “Animus”, set to be released on March 18th 2022 via Scarlet Records.
“With this new single we wanted to describe a very specific feeling: do you know when you reach the breaking point and decide not to give a damn about anything and enjoy the moment? That’s what the lyrics are about. We played around with the double meaning of the expression ‘it’s insane’, because sometimes it’s wonderful to just let things go a little, turn the phone off, shut all the alarms down, relax and do stuff that is seemingly meaningless but makes us feel good and alive for real. The video follows the concept behind the song and pushes it even further… now it’s up to you to find out what we had been doing in some of the silly scenes of it. In any case, the video really shows how much fun we had throughout it!” – Chiara Tricarico, frontwoman & lyricist
Recorded by MOONLIGHT HAZE and mixed & mastered by Simone Mularoni at the renowned Domination Studio, “Animus” boasts the stunning performance of vocalist Chiara Tricarico and is graced by the amazing artwork and pictures of Beatrice Demori.
01. The Nothing 02. It’s Insane 03. Kintsugi 04. Animus 05. The Thief and the Moon 06. Midnight Haze 07. Tonight 08. Never Say Never 09. We’ll Be Free 10. A Ritual of Fire 11. Horror & Thunder
MICHAL GRALL– musician from Poland, known from such bands as SINISTER (legendary Netherdlands Death Metal band), UNBLESSED DIVINE (band with ex-Malevolent Creation (US) singer), TRAUMA (Polish Death Metal act) – has released a second song ‘I Am’ from his debut solo EP.
Michal Grall comments: “This is a second song from my first solo EP. There are 2 albums to follow already, but I decided to share my ideas now. This one was made entirely on VST plugin – Neural DSP Archetype: Petrucci. My first idea was to make a video where I show it’s possibilities, but then I started recording and magic started to happen. With that killer tones, I made this track in like one hour. Amazing, so thanks guys from NeuralDSP for this plugin and soon I will release all as EP mentioned earlier. Cheers!”
Stream ‘I Am’ here:
VIDEO CREDITS: Dan Cristian Pădureț from Pexels Stef from Pexels Dan Cristian Pădureț from Pexels Engin Akyurt from Pexels Naresh Babu from Pexels cottonbro from Pexels
SILENT SKIES, the cinematic ambient project of EVERGREY’s Tom S. Englund and classically trained pianist and composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption), have finally unveiled their second studio album and label debut, Nectar, via Napalm Records today.
This spectacular full-length soaked in a melancholic atmosphere showcases the touching intensity of SILENT SKIES’ musical expression without holding anything back. Infinite, heartfelt Nectar enchants with sounds like pure poetry lifting off the page and wrapping around its listener with a gentle glow as it combines the reminiscence of the likes of producers and composers such as Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and Ludovico Einaudi, and bands ranging from Sigur Rós to Anathema. The balance between haunting instrumentals and vocal intensity that complement each other in perfect harmony walks a delicate line where listeners are treated to the best of both worlds.
To accompany the release of Nectar, SILENT SKIES‘ emotive third single “Let It Hurt” has been released together with an intense official music video. “Let It Hurt” addicts with an intimate intro possible due to Tom S. Englund’s heartbreaking vibrato, quickly developing dramatically and wrapping the listener in a multitude of evocative sounds, blending cinematic strings and piano with hooky modern vocals.
Vikram Shankar on “Let It Hurt”: “To celebrate the release of Nectar, we are thrilled to unveil this video for ‘Let It Hurt’, directed with a subtle and artistic touch by our dear friend Patric Ullaeus. ‘Let It Hurt’ was one of the first pieces of music written for Nectar, and its composition was a dramatic catalyst for the way the rest of the album would turn out; writing and listening back to ‘Let It Hurt’ gave us immediate and intuitive visions of some of the new ground Nectar was to cover. It provides a window into some of the new sonic possibilities of the record, while simultaneously harkening back to the intimate core nucleus of SILENT SKIES that fans know well: piano, vocals, strings, and heart-rending honesty. We hope you enjoy Nectar as much as we enjoyed making it!”
In 2017, the paths of Swedish progressive band EVERGREY’s vocalist Tom S. Englund and multi-instrumentalist Vikram Shankar crossed fatefully. Both artists set themselves free from limitations to captivate their listener with Nectar– a soulful ten-track offering, produced by Englund and Shankar themselves and mixed/mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios.
SILENT SKIES on the new album: “We are tremendously proud to announce our second record, Nectar, is out now! Nectar represents an expansion and an elevation of all things that make us who we are; simultaneously grander and more intimate, more futuristic yet more organic and thoughtful. This record represents who we are, and it means so much to both of us, that we cannot wait to hear your feedback on it.”
With Gothenburg’s EVERGREY known as one of the most prolific bands in progressive metal, Englund is by far no stranger to the scene. After partnering with North Carolina, USA-based pianist Vikram Shankar –who had already worked with greats like Redemption and Anneke van Giersbergen – this fateful encounter, now known as SILENT SKIES, sets its first milestone with the release of their spine-tingling debut Satellites back in 2020. Two years later, this fruitful collaboration returns withNectar, marking the sequel of something that’s far more than just a side project of Englund’s. Rather, it’s the brainchild of two highly talented individual artists with deep knowledge and many years of experience, whose creativity and spirit culminates in an exceptional form of musical expression. Shankar’s sensitive yet intense piano tunes merge with the poignant vocal interpretation of Tom S. Englund to take the listener on a touching, melancholic ride that wanders through the darkest facets of life, while always leaving a spark of hope to hold on to. This otherworldly sonic collaboration is graced by the outstanding contributions of Leprous‘ cello player Raphael Weinroth-Browne, who appears on nearly every track of the album to spice up the stirring sound even more.
SILENT SKIES’ sophomore full-length sets off with the soulful, ethereal “Fallen From Heart”, immediately creating a tapestry of sound to get lost in. Tracks like delicate “Taper” and shimmering “Neverending” are dominated by the yearning vocals of Englund, but never fail to give Shankar’s instrumental virtuosity the well-deserved space to shine bright like the first sunray welcoming the day. Darker realms lure with dramatically accented, heart-beating “Cold”, with its lingering electronic elements that build a tangible, gripping maelstrom of emotions. Instrumental title track “Nectar” closes this new chapter of SILENT SKIES but leaves its audience with a long-lasting impact and the key to a door that’s worth entering over and over again.
Nectar tracklist: 1. Fallen From Heart 2. Taper 3. Neverending 4. Let It Hurt 5. The One 6. Leaving 7. Cold 8. Better Days 9. Closer 10. Nectar
It is no secret that the world of today is fucked up in many ways – a conviction so commonplace that we don’t even need to name the reasons; you’ve probably already counted them up in your head by the time you finish this sentence. ONCE WAS NEVER, a groove/nu metal outfit hailing from Slovenia and Italy, are here to shake people out of their despondent slumber with haunting guttural vocals, sharp-edged riffs and ferocious blast beats. “Society plays a major part in our lyrics. We look at the collective experience of current global situations as well as individual struggles and all the aspects that may come with it”, the band says about the philosophy behind their songwriting.
The first single of the upcoming album The Great Dying is called Just A Number and broaches this heavy subject in an unyielding, yet open way. Through the juxtaposition of the death of an individual man and the moribund zeitgeist of today’s society, Just A Number raises the issue of whether, in these times of imbalance, we are capable of humanity and dignity at all anymore – a question that has been silently plaguing the masses.
The track perfectly incorporates the spirit of the band’s heroes as they subtly enmesh influences of veterans such as Gojira, Slipknot or Pantera with their own instrumental prowess, leaving a lot of space for the band’s unique style to evolve. The uptempo song hearkens back to the inventive legacy of good old death thrash and introduces it to a massive wall of sound according to modern standards. Just A Number is set to haunt the listener with layers of intense vocals across an astonishing range from grind to groove and propelled forward by viciously attacking guitars, fueled by the fine shreds of neck bones and tissue, beat by beat. As the introduction to the album, it attests to Once Was Never’s quality: giving comfort in a seemingly lonely state through empowerment, albeit with a chance of the listener’s unintended self-dismantling.
“Everything is transitory and not lasting. With The Great Dying, we mainly want to spread the awareness of mental health and political problems that are plaguing modern society. We believe that this is one of the biggest challenges we are facing today. If you don’t live for something, you die for nothing.”
The Great Dying by Once Was Never will be out in May 2022.
Chief Shock Video
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
Ads
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
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 