Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

BASTARÐUR Share Official Video for New Song “Burn”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 18, 2021

Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: BASTARÐUR. Leave a comment

Crust punk outfit BASTARÐUR (ft. Sólstafir singer/guitarist Aðalbjörn “Addi” Tryggvason) will be releasing its debut album, ‘Satan’s Loss of Son,’ on October 29, 2021! The band is now sharing the eye-opening and intense video for the second single, “Burn,” which can be seen and heard at THIS LOCATION.

‘Satan’s Loss of Son’ is now available for pre-orders HERE.

The cover artwork was created by Fannar Aumingi.

Track-list:
1. Viral Tumor (03:37)
2. Neonlight Blitzkrieg (04:20)
3. Satan’s Loss of Son (03:21)
4. Burn (03:30)
5. The Whispering Beast (03:41)
6. Black Flag Fools (02:38)
7. Afturhalds Kommatittir (02:53)
8. Rise Up (04:20)
Total: 0:28:20

Singer/guitarist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason has always worn his vast musical influences on his sleeve. Be it an ENTOMBED sticker emblazoned on his guitar, queueing up Ennio Morricone before a set, or paying homage to Lemmy Kilmister with his cowboy sensibilities, it’s no secret that his love for music cannot be contained to any one genre. Now, Tryggvason is taking his adoration for crust punk to an exciting new level with his latest project, BASTARÐUR, which channels influences such as NAPALM DEATH, TERRORIZER, MOTÖRHEAD, and DISFEAR.

“The idea of writing death metal in the vein of old ENTOMBED came in 2018,” Tryggvason says on the project’s inception. “Not being able to channel my love for such music through my main band [SÓLSTAFIR], I began writing riffs, and riffs became songs, and all the sudden it had more crust punk elements than I had foreseen.” And yet, despite the apparent departure from SÓLSTAFIR’s sound, Tryggvason’s signature voice and brief moments of atmospheric texture color the record in familiar shades that ring true to his core musical identity.

The band was born during personal turmoil, a prime example of turning a negative situation into a positive opportunity. “Living with my parents after a relationship break up and being unemployed, I set up a small studio in my dad’s garage, and after a few months there was an album of material,” explains Tryggvason. “Me and my good mate Birgir Jónsson, most known for his work with Icelandic metal act DIMMA, had for years talked about making music together, and this seemed the perfect time, so we got ourselves into a studio with former SÓLSTAFIR live sound guy Jóhann and recorded the album in a few days.”

Tryggvason tapped several other co-conspirators to contribute towards his vision. Guest vocals are attributed to Marc Grewe (MORGOTH/INSIDIOUS DISEASE) and Alan Averill (PRIMORIDIAL), the latter of whom also penned the lyrics on two of the album’s tracks. Some of the blistering guitar solos were handled by Ragnar Zolberg, whom SÓLSTAFIR fans may know as he has filled in on bass for the band during occasional live shows, and Thrainn from SKÁLMÖLD. “I dare to call them Hanneman/King of Iceland,” Tryggvason says of the talented pair of axmen.

BASTARÐUR’s debut also takes a cue from Tryggvason’s distant musical past and rudimentary beginnings. “I used to be in a punk band called BÖLVUN, where I played drums,” he explains. “’Afturhalds Kommatittir’ is from that band, so we got Ingi Thor Pálsson and Flosi Þorgeirsson to play on that song. Flosi also does a bass solo on ‘Viral Tumor.’

Now, after three years in the making, BASTARÐUR is finally ready to make its debut via Season of Mist!

Guest musicians:
Guest vocals on “Neonlight Blitzkrieg” by Marc Grewe
Vocals on “Black Flag Fools” by Alan Averill
Backing vocals on “Afturhalds Kommatittir” by Ásgeir Trausti, Júlli T og Siggi Hjálmur.
Guitar leads on “Burn” by Ragnar Zolberg
Guitar leads on “Neonlight Blitzkrieg” by Thrainn Árni Baldvinsson
Guitar leads on “Viral Tumor” by Ragnar Zolberg and Thráinn Árni Baldvinsson
Bass solo on “Viral Tumor” by Flosi Þorgeirsson

Line-up:
Adalbjörn Tryggvason – Vocals/guitar/bass
Birgir Jónsson – Drums

Recording studio: Hljóðriti, Kleifarsel and Grótta

Produced by: Aðalbjörn Tryggvason

Recorded/mixed: by Jóhann Rúnar at Hljóðriti

Ukraine’s STRAYTONES Share New Song “Night Bird” From Upcoming Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 18, 2021

Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: STRAYTONES. Leave a comment

By the end of the month, on August 27th Ukrainian psychedelic/garage rock trio STRAYTONES will release their brand new, fourth studio album, entitled Magic Green River Swimmin’ & Stunning Tarzanka Experience, via Robustfellow.

After previously- released singles, ‘Super Hot’ and ‘Oh Sweet Seeds’ (Listen HERE), today the Kyiv- based band not only made the album pre-sale available but shared another heavily groovin’ and fuzzy track from their forthcoming album!

“This song is about a bird (yes, “the bird is a word”). You can think of it in different ways.” The band explains. “It’s a symbol, it’s a sign, it’s a metaphor… The early bird singing, besides that it’s truly beautiful, symbolizes the beginning of something new, something good. It’s a signal to stand up with a smile and do what you love. Remember, the “Night Bird said all be alright”

Get yourself the perfect soundtrack of your summer, and listen to the new Straytones song right here:

Following their latest, critically acclaimed EP Beware, Dark Lord! Here comes Bell-Man! (2019) and countless live shows with acts such as Somali Yacht Club or Stoned Jesus, on their new full- length record Straytones are poised to delight rock fans with their vibrant blend of garage, psychedelic and surf rock. Imbued by the spirit of 60’s garage rockers and hippies, and heavily influenced by modern neo-psychedelic vibes, the Ukranian band may recall associations with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Night Beats, Wand, Ty Segall, Fuzz or Oh Sees, but adds a very own and refreshing touch to their distinctive, groovy sound.

Their new LP, Magic Green River Swimmin’ & Stunning Tarzanka Experience, significantly demonstrates the growth of the band in the realms of psych and garage rock. The genre grasp has truly increased, but the mood and the vibe of the sound is still sunny and familiar, thus Straytones are one of those bands you need to check out. Coming out as Tape, CD and Digital formats on August 27th through Robustfellow, the album is finally available to pre-order, make sure to grab your copy at THIS LOCATION!

Magic Green River Swimmin’ & Stunning Tarzanka Experience Tracklist:

Fire – Fire!
Broken Clock
Oh Sweet Seeds
Night Bird
The Key
Delusion
Super Hot
Magical River

LUCIFER Reveal Cover Artwork for New Long Player “LUCIFER IV”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 18, 2021

Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: Lucifer. Leave a comment

After LUCIFER‘s first taste of their new album “LUCIFER IV” last month with the single “Wild Hearses”, the group now reveals the cover artwork and track listing of their new long player today.

Inspired by the expressiveness of classic albums of the 70’s, the timeless provocative cover art of LUCIFER’s new album perfectly captures the group’s defiant stance and sonic presence.

Johanna Sadonis finds the following words about the creation of the album artwork:

“As a kid I was fascinated by Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’. A sexually liberated and very powerful business woman dancing in front of burning crosses. But that was considered self indulgent and blasphemous to many men, and unfortunately also some women. It was the ultimate provocation of “the whore”. To me figures like her and so many other women that try to express themselves freely and the backlash that follows, are symbolized by the eternal witch that gets put up on the stake and must be burnt to death. As a female in this world and in the business I’ve had my own share of emotional and physical abuse. It has not made me bitter but very defiant. The artwork, as well as some of the lyrical content of this album is my personal “Fuck You” to the patriarchy, to the men and their codependent women that have or have tried to belittle, gaslight, emotionally assault and spread untruths about me – the ones that tried to keep me from making music. Did I have to sign a contract to keep me silent in the past? Yes I have. But, here I am, continuing to make one album after the next with my great peers in Lucifer. Try to put me on the stake and I’ll laugh in your face. You can’t hold down my spirit. You can also look at the cover this way; the woman gets the role assigned of the ever so maternal holy Mary or the whore but not Jesus? So I decided I’m gonna get up on that damn cross myself then. Time to move over. I drew a sketch and we had it built by our cross carpenter general. Unfortunately not by Jesus, the carpenter, himself. One of my favorite photographers, Ester Segarra, masterfully captured the real life scene after my mock idea, that consisted of a wooden Jesus on a crucifix set aglow from below to symbolise the burning fire of the stake. If you see this cover as a mockery of Christianity – great – whatever tickles you! But it is so much more than that. And that is just the cover. I cannot wait to let the music speak, come album release!”

The track listing reads as follows:

Archangel Of Death (03:35)
Wild Hearses (04:56)
Crucifix (I Burn For You) (03:51)
Bring Me His Head (04:25)
Mausoleum (04:51)
The Funeral Pyre (01:44)
Cold As A Tombstone (04:16)
Louise (03:56)
Nightmare (05:07)
Orion (04:47)
Phobos (04:20)

“LUCIFER IV” will be released on October 29^th this year!

LIVLØS Reveals Crushing New Single + Video “And Then There Were None“

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 18, 2021

Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: LIVLØS. Leave a comment

With a critically acclaimed debut album and explosive live shows at home and abroad, Danish death metal phenomenon LIVLØS have established themselves as an essential new name in the international metal scene. Their brand of Scandinavian melodic death metal, influenced by bands like AT THE GATES and CARCASS, paired with American-rooted death metal in the vein of DEATH and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, has already earned the five-piece appearances at Copenhell, Eurosonic and Spot Festival.

Today, the band is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of their new full-length album, And Then There Were None, out October 22, 2021 via Napalm Records. The album shines as an ambitious, grandiose and intense work of metal, and a thematic deep dive into life and death on numerous levels.

The band has also revealed the album’s first single and title track, “And Then There Were None”, giving a glimpse of what a colossal masterpiece they are about to unleash! “And Then There Were None” is an impressive display of their modern approach to melodic death metal – with pounding drums, dynamic guitars and punishing vocals! LIVLØS are the band to watch in metal in 2021!

Watch the music video for “And Then There Were None” HERE:

On their new album, And Then There Were None, LIVLØS are audibly on top of their game: scrupulously ripping through nine tight, hard-lined tracks, the band takes no shortcuts while still maintaining a dynamic songwriting style that keeps listeners on their toes throughout the album’s runtime. Album opener and title track “And Then There Were None” sets the pace with punishing vocals and raging death metal riffs, leading into dramatic choruses and guitar solos that display LIVLØS‘ incredibly multi-faceted talent right off the bat. Only very rarely will the band give listeners time to breathe, like on acoustic intermission “Kistefjael” or the slowed-down, stomping “The Purest Black”, which ends the album experience of And Then There Were None in a triumphant, epic manner. Songs like “Seize The Night” are impressive depictions of singer Niklas Lykke’s broad vocal range, reaching from deep and guttural to high-pitched and ear-piercing sections.

Excellently mixed by Jacob Bredahl (ex-HATESPHERE) and mastered by Brad Boatright (known for his work with OBITUARY, NAILS and TORCHE among others), And Then There Were None is an exceptional display of LIVLØS‘ confident, modern approach to melodic death metal, meticulously executed from start to finish – revealing more of what it has to offer with every listen. LIVLØS prove that they are here to stay with And Then There Were None!

Pre-Order And Then There Were None NOW

LORD OF THE LOST Present Elaborate Music Video for “Viva Vendetta”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 18, 2021

Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: Lord Of The Lost. Leave a comment

LORD OF THE LOST released their new album, JUDAS, on July 2 – subsequently securing the band’s highest ever charting position at #2 on the German album charts. Even after this success, the Hamburg based band isn’t taking a break – following up with their most elaborate music video ever.

“Viva Vendetta” forms the basis of the double bonus album, LOTL+, which was included with some already sold-out physical album formats. LOTL+ consists of 32 versions by befriended bands and artists based on the instrumental tracks from “Viva Vendetta”. None of the artists were privy to the album concept or any further info on JUDAS, resulting in 32 fundamentally different versions.

The video for the album version of “Viva Vendetta” is set in a dark western scenario, in which the band members take on different roles: a blacksmith, a priest, a sheriff, a bartender and a hermit. They are all haunted by a dark entity, already known from the videos for “Priest” and “For They Know Not What They Do”. No matter where we stand in society, we are all equal before higher powers – this message is conveyed in a music video that is over seven minutes long and meets the highest cinematic standards.

Whether the five lonely cowboys in “Viva Vendetta” are cursed and damned by the protagonist, or saved and redeemed, can be interpreted either way in the end. Thus, even a Wild West music short film creates the actually absurd connection to the album concept of the Damnation and Salvation of Judas Iscariot.

LORD OF THE LOST on the new video:

“Even though we managed to transfer the basic theme of our JUDAS concept to the “Viva Vendetta” video, many may still ask what a western has to do with the topic, or us as a band at all. The answer is quite simple: Nothing at all! We just felt like the visual aesthetic of our own little Tarantino fantasy mashup. And that’s exactly what should drive an artist at heart: The desire to create, freed from all boundaries, especially your own.”

Dive into the world of “Viva Vendetta” HERE:

[directed & edited by Matteo Vdiva Fabbiani & Chiara Cerami for VDPictures]

On their new offering JUDAS, LORD OF THE LOST draw the listener into a conflict that has lasted for thousands of centuries and is as old as mankind itself: The conflict between good and evil. On JUDAS, LORD OF THE LOST tell of this conflict from the perception of the character of Judas Iskarioth, known as highly diverse, and the so-called Gospel of Judas, a paper that’s said to consist of conversations between Jesus Christ and Judas Iskarioth and casts a different light on religious history as it’s told in the Bible’s New Testament.

LORD OF THE LOST on JUDAS:

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. This sentence could hardly apply any better to someone in theological history than to the figure of Judas Iskarioth, who represents only one thing at first glance: Betrayal. If you take a closer look, almost endless possibilities of interpretation open up here: from “Judas the murderer” to “Judas the redeemer” and “Judas the actual martyr”, who, if you believe in it, could only find room in hell for his salvific betrayal after dying for what he did, in complete contrast to Jesus Christ. This field of tension and the apocryphal writings of the “Gospel of Judas” are the basis for a double album that not only illuminates the dark and light side of history, but above all the grey areas in between, in which we move emotionally and ideologically throughout our lives and try to find our place.”

Order Your Copy of JUDAS HERE

Indonesian Young, Female Rock Trio VOICE OF BACEPROT Ask for Blessing on ‘God Allow Me (Please) To Play Music’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 17, 2021

Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: VOICE OF BACEPROT. Leave a comment

“Beyond blowing away local audiences with their banging music, the three girls are also challenging entrenched stereotypes about gender and religious norms in the world’s most-populous Muslim-majority nation.” – NY Times

Firda Marsya Kurnia (Marsya – vocals, guitar), Widi Rahmawati (Widi – bass), and Euis Siti Aisyah (Siti – drums) – the members of Voice of Baceprot – have suffered quite a bit of intolerance – even within their own community in West Java, Indonesia. Wave after wave of backlash and stigmatization came at them from all directions and nearly exhausted them out of the music scene in 2016.

“God Allow Me (Please) To Play Music” is out NOW – find it HERE – https://li.sten.to/GodAllowMePleaseToPlayMusic

“It isn’t just the band’s loud music that’s attracting attention: Voice of Baceprot has also entered the spotlight for breaking the mold of a typical metal band.” – NPR

“The more we tried to avoid the criticism, distance ourselves from it, it became even more vile. It provoked us to fight back even more bluntly. It kept going to the point where we became so tired,” Marsya recalls. They made efforts to find support from those they thought would better understand their situation. However, there was always a catch: they would ask the band to be more of what they found acceptable / ask them to align with ‘their side.’

When they told their manager and former teacher, Abah Erza Satia, about their dilemma, he responded with pearls of wisdom. “According to Abah, if we still believe in God while feeling that certain people are not allowing us to play music while others lend us their bogus support by forcing us to side with them, then why not write a song that confides directly in God? We could cut loose any allegiances with our fellow human beings,” explains Marsya. Together with Abah, the trio then began to write lyrics that were very confessional yet brimming with their dislike towards allegiances. They would eventually become the building blocks to “God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music”.

The framework of the song was built gradually. It started from jamming sessions at Abah’s studio back in their hometown. Further refinements were made across a series of workshops in Jakarta after each band member had been prepared musically by several senior local musicians who served as their mentors, including Stevi Item (Andra & The Backbone, Deadsquad), Alan Musyfia, and Andyan Gorust (Hellcrust), as well as Gusti Hendy (GIGI). The band also received a lot of input on the song’s arrangement by their producer Stephan Santoso, who also helmed the production of their debut single “School Revolution” back in 2018. The video for “School Revolution” has just topped a million plays on YouTube!

The end result after the gruelling process was a full-blown single, heavy yet melodic and catchy at the same time, showcasing each member’s musical development and hard work. Musically, “God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music” is the embodiment of the results from explorations that Marsya, Siti, and Widi embarked on in uncharted musical territories.

“We want people who listen to this song to become more tolerant towards others. God does not belong to just one person or one group of people. God belongs to anyone who believes in Him. So, everyone has a right to be creative, create, and take responsibility for their creations given by the God that he or she believes in,” Marsya concludes.

The new single follows the band’s “Other Side of Metalism” campaign throughout July 2021 that featured the weekly release of covers of some of the band’s favorite songs – System of a Down’s “IEAIAIO,” Rage Against The Machine’s “Testify,” Slipknot’s “Before I Forget” and One Minute Silence’s “I Wear My Skin”.

All are available now via YouTube, HERE.

The group is honored to have been invited to play Wacken Open Air 2022. They will play alongside headliners Slipknot, Judas Priest, Rammstein’s Till Lindemann and more, at the event, scheduled to run from August 4 – August 8, 2022.

“God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music” is available on all digital streaming platforms starting from August 17, 2021.