Today (October 21st), metal legends ARCH ENEMY will launch a stunning video for a new standalone single, mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen: “Deceiver, Deceiver” – the band’s first original release since 2017’s acclaimed Will To Power ! Directed by Patric Ullaeus, the video premiere for “Deceiver, Deceiver” is set for 9AM PT//12PM ET//6PM CET today and can be streamed HERE. The new track is now available worldwide and can be checked out via this LINK.
Arch Enemy‘s founder and chief songwriter Michael Amott comments: “Wait…what? Has it really been four years since we last released new Arch Enemy  music? Time flies…especially when you tour the world for a couple of years, decide to take some time off…and then we all get hit with a global fckn pandemic! Everyone’s been through hard times these last couple of years, and it’s beautiful to see everything coming back now. This very much feels like the right moment to return with a brand new song, ‘Deceiver, Deceiver’! Not the happiest of tunes, but believe me – we’re ecstatic to be back!”
Time passes, the world changes, but some things remain constant and unassailable. Heavy metal has endured for more than four decades because its spirit is eternal, and few bands embody the intensity, integrity and lofty artistic ambitions of the genre with more dazzling aplomb than Arch Enemy . In 2021, the quintet returns with “Deceiver, Deceiver” – a standalone single that proves once again that Arch Enemy are torchbearers, upholding and celebrating the heavy metal code.
MALACODA have announced the line-up change, furthermore the upcoming EP ‘The Year Walk’, coming out December 3rd, as well as their upcoming cover of Lizzy Borden’s “Me Against the World”, are now available for pre-order.
It seems thereâs been yet another shift in MALACODAâs lineup this year. Frontman Lucas Di Mascio comments:
âThe past two years have been quite vexing. The pandemic has caused plans to change for everyone and is also giving people a lot of time to think about things. After many discussions about the band and where we all are personally, we came to a decision that it was for the best that Wes (guitars) should step down from his duties in Malacoda. We are in different places in our personal lives – but also as artists, which has made collaborating quite fruitless the past few years.
Itâs not all doom and gloom however, as Iâve been the recording guitarist on every Malacoda release since the beginning, bar a few songs or sections here and there. Weâll be able to continue as normal and Iâm excited about the new focus we have on the future vision of the band. A big part of that is our new drummer- Kabir Ahmed! Weâre excited to start writing new material with him behind the kit, but first weâve got an EP to release!â
Kabir Ahmed had this to say about joining Malacoda:
âWhat influenced me to join Malacoda is that the band always had a unique sound. Theyâve never tried to be something that already exists. There is a holistic theme with their songwriting- free from the restrictions of one genre. Often music gets limited when it’s confined to a genre and I feel the directions which Malacodaâs writing processes are willing to visit an attractive thing for me as a musician.â
In addition, Malacoda launches a pre-order for their upcoming ep “The Year Walk” which releases December 3rd as well as their upcoming cover of Lizzy Borden’s “Me Against the World”.
Originally a recording project of multi-instrumentalist and music producer Lucas Di Mascio, Malacoda has persevered and grown throughout the years. Now a trio, the band is ready to unleash the conclusion to their trilogy of EP’s that was written and recorded before the pandemic.Â
EP Details:
The Year Walk is the third EP Malacoda will release in 2021. Four more songs which build upon the band’s symphonic sound first explored on 2016’s Ritualis Aeterna.
Long time collaborator Michael Farina returns to play drums on select tracks, as well as Ryan Claxton (Tulip, Living Dead Girl) and Andrew Suarez (ex-The Slyde). The haunting album cover was made by the extremely talented Stefan Skjoedt.
Featuring Gabriel Guardiola (Immortal Guardian) on the track Beaten Path as well as a stellar mixing and mastering job by Jeramie Kling (The Absence, Inhuman Condition, Venom Inc.), The Year Walk encompasses everything the band sought to achieve with this direction and closes a long, arduous chapter in Malacoda’s history.
Frontman Lucas Di Mascio had this to say about The Year Walk:
“The majority of the songs that have been released this year were written around 2017 – before the release of our last full length, Restless Dreams. I didn’t really know what to do with these songs because they were so different from Restless Dreams but still were aligned with the sound we had developed on the EP, Ritualis Aeterna. I shelved them for a bit and then decided to rework them when working with an artist who was endorsed by a big guitar brand.
The artist in question wanted to have some metal material to help promote themselves, so we built a new band for the material. I was actually supposed to be the rhythm guitarist for this project- we had a different singer involved. Unfortunately that project never got off the ground after almost a year of working on it and the songs were shelved yet again. In mid 2019 I revisited the songs and wrote a few more after Zak had joined. We were excited with the material and felt it should be a Malacoda release.
We finished drum tracking right as 2019 was ending. While our initial plans drastically changed because of the pandemic, I decided that we should still release this material but just break it into EP’s so we can keep busy in a time without touring.”Â
This new EP will be made available as digital only and the band has no intentions to tour in support of this release as they continue to observe COVID-19 restrictions in Canada.
TRACKLIST
The Year Walk
Beaten Path
Legacy
Damage Control
CREDITS Lucas Di Mascio : Vocals/Guitar/Keys Zak Stulla : Bass Stefan Skjoedt : Artwork Jeramie Kling : Mix/Master
GUEST MUSICIANS Michael Farina : Drums on track 1 & 4 Andrew Suarez : Drums on track 2 Ryan Claxton : Drums on track 3 Gabriel Guardiola : Keyboard Solo on Track 2 Beth Wilson : Backup vocals on track 2 Wes MacDonald : Guitar solos
Canadian tech death masters ARCHSPIRE recently released the explosive and gory music video for their latest single, “Drone Corpse Aviator.” The band has teamed up with Metal Injection to share a hilarious video of their mothers’ reaction to the clip. Watch at THIS LOCATION.
“Drone Corpse Aviator” is taken from the band’s upcoming opus, ‘Bleed the Future,’ which is due on October 29! The original video can be seen HERE while a behind-the-scenes look at the clip’s creation is available HERE.
ARCHSPIRE will be playing an album release show in their hometown of Vancouver, B.C. at the Rickshaw Theatre on October 30! The event is now SOLD OUT!
“Drone Corpse Aviator” is taken from ARCHSPIRE‘s new full-length album, ‘Bleed the Future,’ on October 29, 2021 via Season of Mist! ‘Bleed the Future’ is available now for pre-orders at THIS LOCATION.
The album artwork was created by Eliran Kantor.
Tracklist: 01. Drone Corpse Aviator [WATCH] 02. Golden Mouth of Ruin [WATCH] 03. Abandon the Linear 04. Bleed the Future [LISTEN] 05. Drain of Incarnation 06. Acrid Canon 07. Reverie on the Onyx 08. A.U.M. Total Running Time: 31:34
ARCHSPIRE also previously announced new European tour dates for November/December 2021. The band will be blasting through 12 cities at 350 bpm and a full list of confirmed shows can be viewed below. Tickets are on sale HERE.
ARCHSPIRE Album Release Show: 10/30/2021: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre [TICKETSÂ //Â EVENT LINK]
LA alternative metal band GEMINI SYNDROME just released their highly anticipated new studio album â3rd Degree â The Raisingâ. Special album configurations along with special merchandise are available via the bandâs official website: www.GeminiSyndrome.com
In celebration of the albumâs release, a brand new video and single âAbsolutionâ were released. Click here for âAbsolutionâ:
The album release also comes mere weeks before the band heads out on their âInitiationâ US Tour.
â3rd Degree â The Raisingâ is the long awaited, mind bending final chapter of GEMINI SYNDROMEâs debut trilogy of albums; the first being 2013âs âLuxâ, and the second being 2016âs âMemento Moriâ (which hit #1 on US Billboard Heatseakers Album Chart and spawned five singles). Wherein âLuxâ, meaning âLightâ, was concerned with birth; and âMemento Moriâ, meaning âRemember That We Must Dieâ, dealt with the finite nature of life, â3rd Degree – The Raisingâ celebrates the extreme rituals of rebirth.
Produced by Matt Good (Asking Alexandria, Memphis May Fire, Hollywood Undead) and featuring the singles âDie With Meâ, âIDKâ, âAbandonedâ, âBroken Reflectionâ, âAbsolutionâ, and âReintegrationâ; â3rd Degree – The Raisingâ is undeniably the heaviest, and darkest album of the bandâs career.
âThe album is about death and rebirth. Finding your true self and fostering its growth so as to help build the world better than we inherited it.â says GEMINI SYNDROME vocalist Aaron Nordstrom. âIn the process of this record I made some major life choices. Mainly to stop killing myself slowly with alcohol. Two years without a drink, and a couple near death experiences later, I think I have ample experience to talk about a subject as elusive as death.âÂ
Drummer Brian Steele Medina adds, âThe twist to the 3rd and âfinalâ degree, is that itâs not the end at all. Rather, itâs a rebirth contingent upon our growth and lessons learned from the suffering of our past mistakes. A spiritual growth that can only be attained through baptism by fire. A metaphorical, yet very real resurrection â THE RAISING.â
Nordstrom continues, âOur hope is that through sharing our experiences, lessons learned, and battles overcome, that we can help others to examine their own consciousness. Their role in the world in its almost infinite capacity, and to help remind each other that we are ALL in this together. We are a family, and when we are United in our commonality, we can achieve things worthy of the attention of the GODS. If you want to change the world, quietly go to work on yourself.âÂ
When asked about the process of initiation, and how it relates to GEMINI SYNDROMEâs music, band drummer Medina reveals: âThereâs something deeper under the surface of our music, and itâ s designed to allow the listener to resonate and wake up to their potential. See, when an initiation is done properly, who the person was before, and who they are after the initiation, are two different people. Essentially being Raised to a higher degree of consciousness. So when you listen and actually attend to our music, and understand the intention, the same principle applies. Who the listener was before they hear the album, and who they are after, are different. They become a changed person. Theyâve transmuted to a new state of being, and the lyrics that they carry with them after the fact become a mantra, which allows them to sustain that new state of being. Looking back, I recognize that music has always sustained me. Itâ s been a constant and transformative alchemical force, and it continues to save my life, even today.â
Vocalist Nordstrom explains how the incorporation of symbols further illuminate an additional layer of insight: âI see the use of symbolism as a way to make people think in ways they are not accustomed to or even aware of. Symbols communicate to our subconscious and collective unconscious minds, and can invoke changes in our thoughts not only in a conscious fashion, but also on a subtler, deeper level. This album is more than a collection of songs, itâ s a representation of our final initiation. First, birth by the Waters of the One Current; next, life by the Breath of Our Collective Soul; and finally, resurrection through Baptism by Fire. This trilogy is a testimony and a first hand account of the twists and turns of Chapel Perilous, thus itâs proof that itâs possible to find our way Home â no matter how lost we might find ourselves.â
GEMINI SYNDROME spent the better part of 2018-2019 writing â3rd Degree â The Raisingâ, the final installment of their long planned three album trilogy. They retreated to drummer Brian Steele Medinaâs Las Vegas home studio, where they meticulously crafted song after song, relentlessly reworking and rearranging the musical arrangements until they were fully satisfied. After an exhaustive writing process, GEMINI SYNDROME relocated to Good Sounds Studio in Tempe AZ, where producer Matt Good would help realize the collection of songs. Medina recalls, âWe absolutely loved working with Matt and he completely understood where we wanted to take this album creatively and what it was going to take to bring the third chapter of this trilogy to light. Our actual collective blood, sweat and tears went into its creation.â
âIt was a long, treacherous road to get here.â continues Nordstrom. âFirst working out an insane amount of songs before arriving in Arizona to record with Matt Good, and then writing a slew more while in the actual recording process, we approached this album with high intentions to evolve musically and internally as people. But then, once we had finally finished everything, and were ready to start releasing new music⌠everything was put on hold due to the global pandemic.â
Medina adds, âThese past few years have definitely been an exercise in patience and acceptance. We had everything mixed and mastered and ready to go in early 2020 before everything shut down. Weâre just stoked to FINALLY put this album out and get this post plague show on the road.âÂ
3rd Degree â The Raising is the first album to feature guitarist “Meegs” RascĂłn (formerly of Coal Chamber).
On the brand new single âAbsolutionâ, Nordstrom says, âAbsolution is the formal release from punishment, obligation, or guilt. This song is a reminder that the present moment matters more than all others because it is shaped by what we have done and shapes what will be because of the decisions and actions we make now. On a cosmic level, weâre saying, âAct right. Otherwise there wonât be another opportunity to act at all.â
To date, six singles have been released from â3rd Degree â The Raisingâ: âAbandonedâ, âReintegrationâ, âIDKâ, âBroken Reflectionâ, âAbsolutionâ and the Active Rock Radio hit âDie With Meââ Currently five of the six singles â including the newly released âAbsolutionâ feature visually stunning videos created by director Brian Cox (Bring Me The Horizon, The Struts, Starset).Â
GEMINI SYNDROME âInitiationâ USA Fall 2021 tour dates Tickets, and VIP Packages are available at: http://www.GeminiSyndrome.com
10/28 – Chippewa Falls, WI â Joelâs 4Corners * 10/29 – Green Bay, WI â EPIC Event Center * 10/30 – Racine, WI â Rt 20 (WIIL Rock Halloween Bash) * 10/31 – Battle Creek, MI â The Music Factory * 11/02 – Lakewood, OH â The Winchester Music Tavern * 11/04 – Flint, MI â The Machine Shop * 11/05 – Buffalo, NY â Buffalo Iron Works * 11/06 – Liverpool, NY â Sharkeyâs * 11/07 – Poughkeepsie, NY â The Chance * 11/08 – New York City, NY â Mercury Lounge **** 11/09 – Albany, NY â Empire Underground * 11/10 – Reading, PA â Reverb * 11/12 – Johnson City, TN â Capones * 11/13 – Greensboro, NC â The Blind Tiger * 11/14 – Huntsville, AL â Sidetracks *** 11/16 – San Antonio, TX â The Rock Box ** 11/17 – Dallas, TX â Gas Monkey ** 11/18 â Baton Rouge â Basin Music Hall ** 11/20 – Houston, TX â Scout Bar ** 11/22 – El Paso, TX â Rockhouse ** 11/23 – Scottsdale, AZ â Pub Rock ** 11/24 – West Hollywood, CA â Whiskey a Go Go ** 11/26 – Las Vegas, NV â Backstage Bar ** 11/27 – Reno, NV â Reno Brewhouse ** *Direct support is Ovtlier **Direct support is Oh! The Horror ***Show with Smile Empty Soul, Ovtlier, Sunflower Dead, Pushing V, Tommy Gibbons ****GEMINI SYNDROME and Ovtlier only
Promo pic by Heidi Tuulia Photography (ig: @portraitsbyheidituulia)
Finnish Helsinki-based stoner rock band ALKEMIA released their first single Unida which also includes B-side named KääntÜpuoli. The single is released in cooperation with Inverse Records on October 19th 2021.
“Unida is one of the first songs that we worked on as a group. The feeling of the song is quite hazy and raw with a straightforward in your face attitude. Song draws inspiration from the ups and downs of addictions, relationships and life in general. Canât have light without the shadow. Erno Kangasluoma, bandâs singer/guitarist and lyricist sums up.”
Norwegian progressive rock icons GREEN CARNATION will be releasing a remastered, 15th anniversary edition of their acoustic album, ‘The Acoustic Verses!’ This anniversary edition, remastered by Maor Appelbaum, contains three bonus tracks and has brand new cover artwork by Lukasz Jaszak. This is also the first time that ‘The Acoustic Verses’ is released on vinyl.
In celebration of this release, the band has also released a lyric video for the song “My Greater Cause,” (Part I of “9-29-045”), which can be viewed at the official Season of Mist Youtube Channel HERE.Â
Vocalist Kjetil Nordhus comments:Â “This is something that both we and our fans have been waiting for a long time! ‘The Acoustic Verses’ is a stand out album in our catalogue, and we hope people will enjoy the vinyl, with its extra songs, new and beautiful cover art, the upgraded sound and not least, the vinyl!”
‘The Acoustic Verses (remastered)’ will be out on December 3, via Season of Mist. Pre-orders are live in the shop HERE.
The artwork for ‘The Acoustic Verses (remastered)’ was created by Lukasz Jaszak.
Tracklist: 1. Sweet Leaf (04:39) 2. The Burden is Mine⌠Alone (03:15) 3. Maybe? (05:03) 4. Child`s Play, part 3 (03:31) 5. Alone (03:44) 6. 9-29-045 (15:30) 7. Six Ribbons (03:12) 8. Transparent Me (05:03) 9. High Tide Waves (07:49) 10. Child`s Play, part 3 (live version) (03:59) Total: 0:55:45
By early 2006, Norwayâs GREEN CARNATION had released four studio albums and an EP in five years â including their breakout masterwork, 2001âs Light of Day, Day of Darkness. Albums of such magnitude generally foretell some type of creative cliff is around the bend, but the Norwegians wisely kept updating their sound with more atmospheric and progressive rock elements on the ensuing A Blessing in Disguise (2003) and The Quiet Offspring (2005). This creative direction ensured Light of Day, Day of Darkness would forever stand alone and that GREEN CARNATION was not a band bound to convention.
This brings us to 2006âs TheAcoustic Verses, an album â as the title suggests â of completely acoustic originals. Buoyed by the previous yearâs The Burden is MineâŚAlone EP and the eponymous song bearing its name, TheAcoustic Verses found GREEN CARNATION near the peak of their creative powers during their 2000s iteration. Now 15 years removed from its release, TheAcoustic Verses is getting the vinyl reissue treatment from Season of Mist, including new artwork from Polish graphic artist Lukasz Jaszak, an updated tracklisting and three bonus cuts.
According to vocalist Kjetil Nordhus, TheAcoustic Verses was born from the bandâs never-ending pursuit of something new. Even with regular pleas from fans to recreate the hallowed sounds of Light of Day, Day of Darkness, GREEN CARNATION was more interested in the ânext step.â Come 2006, that next step was stripped-down music played on acoustic instruments.
âI think [founding member/guitarist] Tchort thought we didnât know where to go next,â says Nordhus. âWe had time to discover all the areas within our creative scope except for the acoustic landscapes. Especially Light of Day, Day of Darkness, which is a âmore is moreâ album. It sounds strange, but it was a natural step for us because it was an area we hadnât gone into before as a band. We had different band members that were more or less acquainted with the acoustic ideas. But for the band as a whole, it was a new challenge. It was fresh for us. For some strange reason, but I can understand, I think many people found a lot of atmospheres from Light of Day, Day of Darkness in TheAcoustic Verses, even though itâs the most different sounding album when you listen to it at first. TheAcoustic Verses is like a stripped-down essence of what GREEN CARNATION is or was at that time.â
At seven songs, TheAcoustic Verses features songwriting contributions from nearly every member of GREEN CARNATION. Tchort provided âSweet Leafâ and âAlone,â while Nordhus chipped in with âMaybe?â Bassist Stein Roger Sordal penned not only âThe Burden is MineâŚAloneâ but also the 15-minute epic â9-29-045.â âChildâs Play Part 3â (a continuation of the âChildâs Playâ story from The Quiet Offspring) was written by guest cellist Bernt Andrè Moen, and album closer âHigh Tide Wavesâ was a joint effort between guitarist Michael S. Krumins (music) and drummer Tommy Jackson (lyrics).
The wealth and disparity of songwriting ideas proved to be a double-edged sword GREEN CARNATION. While it made TheAcoustic Verses an album of remarkable depth and progression, it put the band at a creative crossroads. Then, the following year, Tchort dissolved GREEN CARNATION after a difficult North American tour. It also put his plans for the sequel to Light of Day, Day of Darkness, The Rise and Fall of Mankind (which was the intended second part of his The Chronicles of Doom trilogy) on the backburner.
âIt was a challenge for us to fit the new, acoustic sound into what we were doing,â says Nordhus. âI canât remember too many albums that have nearly all band members as songwriters and lyricists, which made it very much a band concept. But, after TheAcoustic Verses, we certainly didnât know what to do. There wasnât a natural step for us to take at that point. Thereâs a lot of reasons why we decided to split up â that was one of them.â
GREEN CARNATION reformed in 2014 and proceeded to rejoin the European and American festival circuit for special appearances, including a full airing of Light of Day, Day of Darkness at the 2016 ProgPower USA festival. In 2020, they released the highly anticipated follow-up to TheAcoustic Verses, Leaves of Yesteryear, an album that drew immediate praise from fans and critics.
âWe knew that people wanted us to come back,â says Nordhus. âThat wasnât something new. But the emotions of it all, during that first concert when we came back, we saw several people crying in the audience, we could see how much it meant to people and we were all a bit surprised. Thereâs a lot of love for the band out there. We needed to be entirely sure that after so many years that we released an extremely good album. It wouldnât make sense to do something halfway. We took quite a lot of time, wrote a lot of material and set a high bar for our ideas. We tried to gather all the best things we did previously but adding 15 years of life and musical experience.â
Nordhus hints at some âsignificantly adventurousâ plans for GREEN CARNATION in addition to continuing the promotional push for Leaves of Yesteryear. However, assembling the The Acoustic Verses reissue provided a moment of pause and reflection when GREEN CARNATION was writing, recording and touring at a breakneck pace. A decade-and-a-half after the release of TheAcoustic Verses, Nordhus says the band is in a significantly better frame of mind and appreciates what they have in each other.
âThose were some hectic years. It was such a short period of time. You look at what we did and itâs like, âOh, wow!â We did concert DVDs, singles, full lengthsâŚeverything. Because of the experience we all have, it feels much more comfortable to play together. Weâre more true to what we want to do. We donât necessarily have the aim of headlining the Wacken festival. Weâre happy with our situation in that we have people all over the world who are interested in what weâre doing, and we mean something to them. Not everyone can say that. We want to do stuff that gives us energy and want to continue playing. Economy and money are not our driving force â it never was in the first place. Weâre extremely ambitious when it comes to making music together and our live shows are better than ever. I donât think we talked about those things 15 years ago.â
Original recording line-up: Tchort – Guitars (acoustic) Stein Roger Sordal – Bass, Vocals (backing), E-bow, Vocals (lead) Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals (lead), Vocals (backing) Michael S. Krumins – Guitars (acoustic), Theremin Tommy Jackson – Drums, Percussion Kenneth Silden – Piano, Mellotron Bjørn Harstad – Guitars
Original recording Studio: Engineered and mixed at Brown Sound Studios, except track 4, mixed at Jailhouse Studios. Violins, viola and cello recorded at Jailhouse Studios. Drums recorded at Dub Studios. Mastered at Lynor.
Kimmo Kuusniemiâs 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 Kuusniemiâs SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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