Please Note, STEVE DI GIORGIO is available for studio sessions as well as session bassist for tours. For further information, please contact tarja@splitscreenproduction.com.
The fretless guru, STEVE DI GIORGIO doesn’t need any longer introductions, as he is widely renowned as a pioneer on the fretless bass in heavy metal music, being the bassist of TESTAMENT, DEATH and SADUS, among others. Within his genre, STEVE DI GIORGIO is respected for his playing skills, versatility and incredible technique. He has more than 40 studio album recordings and over 20 years of touring the world.
Just recently, German metalcore powerhouse SETYØURSAILS announced their second album and label debut, Nightfall, marking a riveting start with their first single, “Ghosts”, featuring Annisokay frontman Rudi Schwarzer. Today, the newcomers from Cologne are back with another unforgettable new song, “Mirror”, which will have fans of bands such as Bring Me The Horizon, Annisokay, Bad Omens, I Prevail and Wage War clamoring for more from this exciting new artist on the rise.
Accompanied by a brand new, intense music video packed with visually flashing cinematics, “Mirror” showcases SETYØURSAILS’ trademark mixture of metalcore, death and classic hardcore elements that will blow your mind. The song maintains the versatile vocal expressions of frontwoman Jules, ranging from vicious screams over powerful singing to compressed whispering and aggressive respiration encased by raging drums, heavy guitars and a hard-hitting breakdown that will leave your head banging!
SETYØURSAILS about “Mirror”:
“’Mirror’ reflects an inner conflict with yourself. It describes the struggle to find meaning in life and how you fail in the end. It deals with the fear of death and that you can find no support for yourself in religious approaches. This is made clear especially by the line ‘all my gods are dead’ in the breakdown part.
It’s a very personally written, honest song that means a lot to us and we are very proud to finally be able to present it now. We really hope that some people can find themselves in it.”
“We shot the video for ‘Mirror’ right around the corner from our rehearsal room, at the height of summer in the ‘Kantine’ in Cologne. Not even the 45°C on the day of the shoot stopped Jules from coming to the set in a turtleneck sweater and leather jacket. But after a short, sweaty photo shoot, both items of clothing were exchanged for a shirt.”
Young, enraged and standing steadfastly against hate – SETYØURSAILS perform uncompromising yet melodic post hardcore-influenced metalcore, convincing both live and on record. The unit has already performed at well-known festivals (Reload Festival, Traffic Jam Open Air) and converted fans alongside genre greats like Bullet for My Valentine, Hatebreed, JINJER and Walls of Jericho with their unbeatable live energy. Their first album, Enough (2018), has attracted the attention of noteworthy outlets like FUZE and MoreCore, and now, SETYØURSAILS are proudly heading for round two.
Nightfall stands as an impressive return for SETYØURSAILS, who once again prove their musical diversity. A mixture of catchy choruses and intense breakdowns are evident on brutally melodic “Why”, the changing spectrum of “Deadline”, and “Into the Storm”, which starts with a crisp deathcore intro. Among others, “Nightfall” (featuring Andy Doerner of metalcore veterans Caliban) shows the full straightforward range of Jules Mitch’s vocals, which oscillate between concise and clear, intense screams and expressive growling. “Mirror” begins atmospherically before bubbling up to an impressive journey through personal conflicts without losing its undeniably catchy quality. With tracks like “Secrets” and “Forgive Me” the band also presents its softer side. SETYØURSAILS are also full of surprises – together with Mike Perez from No Bragging Rights, they cover “Shallow” (from the film A Star Is Born) by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and give the ballad their personal touch, once again proving their musical diversity. Nightfall was produced, recorded, mixed & mastered by Annisokay vocalist/guitarist Christoph Wieczorek and songwriter/producer Julian Breucker at Sawdust Recordings. Both have already worked with greats like Beyond The Black, Eisbrecher and Emil Bulls – just to name a few.
SETYØURSAILS about their new album: “This album is the most honestly written work we could get out of ourselves. It reflects the struggle of dealing with oneself, fear and life itself. It’s dark, it’s loud and it hurts. But most importantly- it’s true.”
German folk rock sensation FEUERSCHWANZ already released two fierce singles as an appetizer for their upcoming album, Memento Mori, out December 31, 2021. Today, they have shared an exclusive look at the contents of the Memento Mori bonus album, Die Glorreichen Sieben, by featuring an epic reissue of the Manowar anthem “Warriors of the World United” alongside a stunning music video.
The brand new cover version promises great times! With an epic opening carried by deep bass and marching drums, “Warriors of the World United” unleashes a mighty storm of blazing riffs, authentic medieval backing and the fantastic vocal collaboration of Hodi and the Hauptmann plus guest stars Thomas Winkler, Melissa Bonny and Saltatio Mortis. For the filming location of the reissue of Manowar‘s infamous metal anthem, FEUERSCHWANZ headed to the ruins of a castle, hidden in the fog, where they called upon their fans to join their fearless army in front of impressive scenery!
FEUERSCHWANZon the new song: “It all started late at night when Hodi and Alea from Saltatio Mortis had a cold drink together.
The two vocal warriors outed themselves as Manowar fans and decided that night that it would be truly epic to pay tribute to the legendary “Warriors of the World” for once – With bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and a mighty choir of friendly bands and singers from the metal scene! Our friends and companions Thomas Winkler and Melissa Bonny were immediately on fire for the song, and so it became a real friendship project. By metal fans for metal fans!
Brothers and sisters, gather under the dragon banner – Warriors of the World united!”
Watch the epic music video for “Warriors of the World United (feat. Thomas Winkler, Saltatio Mortis & Melissa Bonny)“HERE:
FEUERSCHWANZ are set to release their new album Memento Mori on December 31, 2021. The new album will continue the success story of the medieval rockers from Germany / Franconia! On Memento Mori, FEUERSCHWANZ finally take a step away from the simpler humor of earlier days to become one of the most important bands in German folk rock.
With chanting violin playing, Memento Mori starts its heroic journey with its eponymous opener. The song turns out to be a melodic rock anthem with a well-known medieval character, a blazing guitar riff and life-affirming lyrics. On “Untot im Drachenboot“, the squad around Captain Feuerschwanz sets off for new musical shores in a Viking ship full of undead warriors. “Rausch der Barberei“, on the other hand delivers a violent, raw voice and driving drumming that send its listeners into unbridled frenzy. On “Krampus“, FEUERSCHWANZ sing in a canon of vocals and instruments about the ancient legend of the demonic companion of St. Nicholas, who is dressed in fur and a horned mask. On the ballad “Das Herz eines Drachen“, the medieval folk rockers show their sensible side. In a fire lit by burning guitar sounds and flute melodies, a warrior mourns his fallen father with his head held high. “Hannibal” on the other hand embarks on a raging battle of powerful choirs, swirling violin and guitar solos and driving drums, led by the army commander Hannibal. The crowning finale of the almost 40-minute adventure is provided by “Skaldenmet” with its proudly advancing bass.
In typical FEUERSCHWANZ manner, Memento Mori is about great adventures, past battles and outstanding heroic deeds. FEUERSCHWANZ manage to stay true to their trademarks and at the same time venture into new musical realms. Fans of the band can look forward to an extensive deluxe edition of the album, which extends the running time of Memento Mori by almost double! Two additional CDs feature instrumental versions of all eleven tracks as well as the cover CD Die Glorreichen Sieben (The Magnificent Seven), which includes seven epic reissues from Amon Amarth to Die Ärzte and The Weeknd.
FEUERSCHWANZ on the new album: “You take nothing with you to your grave, except your coffin… Memento Mori is the direct successor to Die Letzte Schlacht! The world of Hauptmann Feuerschwanz is in flames, overrun by the living dead and scourged by religious zealots… All of this sounds frighteningly real, even in Anno Domini 2021, so it’s time to defy the storm once again and celebrate life. Let’s live here, let’s live now – until death sharpens his knife!”
As a special highlight, some versions of Memento Mori will feature a bonus CD with seven cover songs by Manowar, Amon Amarth, but also O-Zone, among others.
German post-rock/experimental quintet THERE’S A LIGHT will release their second album and label debut, f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope?, this Friday via Napalm Records! Fans of their atmospheric and multilayered post-rock were already able to take a further glimpse into the new full-length’s atmospheric soundscapes with their pre-released singles “Elpis” and “Dark Clouds Behind, Bright Skies Ahead”. Today, THERE’S A LIGHT are paving the final path to the imminent album release with their beautiful third and final single, “Be Brave, Fragile Heart”, alongside a heartfelt music video.
With a soft fade in, a peaceful melody of blended guitar and piano play emerges from thin air. Distant ambient tones follow, resembling light raindrops as they fall on an old, rugged iron roof. This time, the story of “Be Brave, Fragile Heart” is given life by Andreas Richau’s gentle, breathy vocals, too. While flying synths and dissolute instrumental parts slowly pull at the listeners’ ears, a quiet, distant-sounding rhythm settles in, alike the gradual ticking of time. The whole piece stretches over seven and a half minutes and yet feels like a beautiful moment that passes far too quickly and that you could hold on to forever.
THERE’S A LIGHT on “Be Brave, Fragile Heart”: “‘Be Brave, Fragile Heart’ is a song about discovering an unknown fragility within yourself and how to deal with it honestly. What might sound weak for some, we believe is a necessity to get out of the dark times that life brings to all of us sometimes. While destruction happens fast, healing takes its time.”
Watch the new music video for “Be Brave, Fragile Heart” HERE:
Thematically, on f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope?, THERE’S A LIGHT take a deeper look at the question of the true meaning of hope as well as at the different facets of it: On the one hand, hope can be something positive – a flourishing force that always gives a new impulse to grow beyond oneself. On the other hand, it can also do harm, for example, if one holds on to something that will never become reality.
Radiant album opener “...The Storm Will Set The Sails” immediately enchants with its shimmering melody and great arrangements, while the following “Within The Tides” presents a more dramatic, progressive touch with impressive technique and rhythm. Driving “Like The Earth Orbits Sun” is one of the tracks that features bassist Andreas Richau’s captivating, emotional vocals, along with the multi-faceted exclamation point “Elpis” and spherical “Be Brave, Fragile Heart“. “Dark Clouds Behind, Bright Skies Ahead” and “Appearance Of Earth” open up another spectrum of sound and expand the cosmos with the passionate cello playing of guest musician Akito Goto. The grand finale “Even In The Darkest Place…” weaves powerful instrumentation with dreamy moments into a harmonious overall construct, once again underscoring a hypnotic post-rock experience in the style of bands like God Is An Astronaut, Russian Circles and Sigur Ros.
THERE’S A LIGHT on the new album: “So, we asked ourselves what hope stands for and what it means to us. We had a lot of conversations within the band about the good but also the bad aspects of hope and our experiences with it.
And we got answers and inspiration by history and philosophy. Like Kant who has extremely positive views on this topic – hope is necessity for human existence, it’s not seen by him as a personal but collective thing. This is where the album title came from.
The whole process of creating this album really took us on a journey and we found new ways to express our thoughts and feelings with our music. We took a few trips to France and wrote songs together in a cabin, but we also had to write a lot of parts simultaneously, since we are not living in one city any more. We had the chance to work together with new lovely people but we also reconnected with old partners in crime.
All in all it wasn’t an easy journey, but now we made it and are happy and proud to finally release this album with Napalm Records!”
Get your copy of f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope? NOW!
Are you ready to rock into the Holiday spirit? Well, Thomas Thunder’s rendition of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” will definitely fulfill all your heavy metal cravings. Written by a 14 year-old drumming prodigy, this song combines the classic Christmas melody with an epic progressive metal arrangement. Thomas is the mastermind behind writing this song, and shreds the drums with his double bass, killer drum fills and odd time signatures. Amazing musical guests include Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo; Dream Theater; Billy Idol) on keyboards, Ron Bumblefoot Thal (Sons of Apollo; Guns N’ Roses) on guitar, and Tony Franklin (The Firm; Jimmy Page) on bass.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Thomas on his debut album. I was extremely impressed with his creativity, and use of advanced harmony for a kid his age. I think the future is bright for young Thomas Thunder!” -Derek Sherinian
“Ive had the pleasure of playing on the soon to be released album of Thomas Thunder. Thomas is a young up and coming musician and he’s a phenomenal drummer. He’s a very intricate songwriter that writes this amazing, crazy stuff that has been so tough to play. I’m on his album along with my Sons of Apollo bandmate Derek Sherinian, and bass player Tony Franklin. So, please check out this album. I hope you enjoy it!” -Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
“I was thrilled to play on Thomas’s album, with such an esteemed group of musicians. Thomas is definitely advanced for his years as both a writer and a player. I look forward to seeing how he will evolve as he creates more and more.” -Tony Franklin
Thomas Thunder’s album, The Pharaoh’s Temple, released in September 2021.
The Pharaoh’s Temple Album Teaser:
The Pharaoh’s Temple Album Link:
“I see my life in terms of music”
A powerful quote by the renowned genius Albert Einstein. This holds true for 14 year old Drummer and Progressive Rock songwriter Thomas Thunder. Barely in his teens, this young musician from Southern New England is here to prove that children can not only perform as a musician, but be a successful songwriter as well. With his intricate Progressive Rock songs that include odd time signatures and unique instrumentation he has captured the attention of fans as well as professional musicians.
Thomas began his journey as a musician when he started drum lessons at age five. He started playing in a performance band by age eight at School of Rock, and it was there that Thomas was inspired to start songwriting himself. At age 10 years old, Thomas released his first single, and he was awarded a prize in the Eventide Theater Songwriting competition. Thomas has also been featured on the British Prog Rock blog, participated in radio and Podcast interviews, and landed the cover of American Pride Magazine. He also has achieved three Number One hits on the independent music chart The Fabchart.
His love of Progressive Rock bands like Sons of Apollo, Dream Theater and Tool permeate his songwriting. In fact, Thomas grabbed the attention of the ‘King of Keyboards’ Derek Sherinian (Sons of Apollo member; ex Dream Theater; Alice Cooper, etc) with his songs. Thomas has written several songs that feature one of his musical idols Derek Sherinian on keyboards. Not only has Derek contributed to Thomas’ songs but has produced them as well.
This superstar collaboration has solidified for Thomas to continue on the path as a musician and songwriter. Becoming a professional musician, performing live, and Prog Rock songwriting are his musical goals. Since age 12, his original music is published on all streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple and Amazon. Thomas also is a member of the high IQ society Mensa.
The future looks bright for Thomas Thunder!
Thomas Thunder’s “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” buy/stream links:
The story of TANKARD’s rise to one of the most revered thrash metal bands from their humble beginnings in Frankfurt Germany, began under their first name of Avenger in the early 1982. It was their ‘Heavy Metal Vanguard’ and ‘Alcoholic Metal’ demos changing hands in the era’s bustling underground tape-trading network that exposed them to the international metal community. Positive word of mouth soon attracted the attention of Germany’s own metal start-up, Noise Records, which signed the newly re-christened Tankard (beer mug) to a deal. Tankard’s tenure at the label spawned seven studio albums, one live record, a live video and a compilation and established them as one of the most enduring on the thrash scene. One they still tour globally to this day, to their hordes of maniac forces fans.
Never taking themselves too seriously and fuelled by a love of beer, their unique take on ‘fast thrash-punk’ is pure anarchy with lots of fun. Their ’86 debut ‘Zombie Attack’ was fast, furious and chaotic fun which set the table of what was to come. Following hot on the heels of their debut, 1987’s ‘Chemical Invasion’ sealed their thrash chops, with 1988’s ‘The Morning After’ cementing the band on the global scene. The ‘Alien’ EP kept momentum in ’89 until the 1990’s dawned with the reflective, ‘The Meaning Of Life’. 1991 saw their live fury documented in ‘Fat, Ugly & Live’ and also a legendary thrash fest in East Berlin was commited to film in the form of ‘Open All Night’. Tankard remained prolific through the tough times for thrash of the 1990’s, keeping the faith with the instrospective ‘Stone Cold Sober’ (1992), ‘Two-Faced’ (1993) saw them bare their teeth against social injustice and ‘The Tankard’ (1995) took them back to the familiar surroundings of the pub.
TANKARD ‘FOR A THOUSAND BEERS’ THE NOISE RECORDS YEARS DELUXE BOX-SET CELEBRATING THE BAND’S 40TH ANNIVERSARYTO BE RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 25th 2022. WATCH A NEW VIDEO FOR THEIR ANTHEM(EMPTY) TANKARD & PRE-ORDER HERE
‘For A Thousand Beers’ is a deluxe 40th anniversary celebration of Tankard’s, Noise Records discography and is the definitive collection of their decade of recorded work and contains :
Zombie Attack (splatter vinyl)
Chemical Invasion (swirl vinyl)
The Morning After (including Alien EP) (splatter vinyl)
The Meaning Of Life (paint drop vinyl)
Stone Cold Sober (splatter vinyl)
Two-Faced (half/half colour vinyl)
The Tankard (including Tankwart EP) (splatter vinyl)
Fat, Ugly & Live DVD – containing ‘Open All Night’ concert film, ‘Fat, Ugly & Live’ album plus previously unreleased video concert from the Dynamo, Eindhoven 1987 and audio concert from Frankfurt 1988.
12” x 12”, 40 page hardback book of photography, quotes and lyrics from the first decade of the band’s existence. Contains rare and previously unseen photos from the era.
All housed in a case of beer box!
‘For A Thousand Beers’ will also be available as a 7 x CDs and DVD clamshell box set containing all the studio albums, EP’s and the DVD with all the live concert bonus material.
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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 ) 