Icelandic black metal formation AUÐN and Finnish symphonic black metallers AND OCEANS are teaming up for a European tour in September 2022. The tour will kick off in Hamburg (DE) on September 10, 2022 and will end in Nijmegen (NL) on September 24, 2022. Find a full list of shows below.
AUÐN released their latest album ‘Vökudraumsins fangi’ in October 2020 and is available HERE. AND OCEANS released ‘Cosmic World Mother’ in May 2020 and is available HERE.
Finnish Helsinki-based blackened death metallers GOMORRAN are set to release their debut record Excerpts From the Dark Age on December 3rd 2021 via Inverse Records. The first single Sermon is released today with a music video.
Vocalist/guitarist Perttu Laamanen comments: “Sermon is a heathen ritual where demons of the verses lay waste to everything. A chorus that burns in purgatory is enforced with fast and satanic interludes. At the final moments of the ritual the listener is pulled to the dreary and hopeless depths of hell. The enchanting infernal damnation of the final beats keeps fascinating on every listen.”
The singles from THE BRIDES OF THE BLACK ROOM are released as episodes in a cinematic experience building toward the season finale of Blood and Fire, released Oct. 1st on Icons Creating Evil Art.
Listen streamed on all major platforms (01/10/2021) here
Tracklist: 1. Fire Disciple 2. Blood 3. Mother Mother 4. Throne 5. Apple 6. Sirens 7. Rise Up 8. Intruder 9. The Unknown 10. Watch me Burn
A secret society, existing as nothing more than a whisper through history, “The Brides of the Black room” has begun its unmasking. Once hunted as witches, now claiming the title as their birthright, the coven seeks to bring balance to the shadows they’ve had to call their home. Serving the omnipotent entity they know as “Mother”, the Brides moves into daylight, taking up arms against any that would see them brought back down into obscurity.
With ancient rites and ever shifting technology as their weapons, they are being lead by a trinity of unexpected spearhead siblings. This triad is bound by Blood and Fire, as they begin writing what they hope to be the final chapter in their age old struggle against ”the keepers of norm”. But as the Brides move into daylight for the first time in history, will the coven survive the changes that awaits them?
As a collective, The Brides of the Black Room does not only convey their story through their music, but has for each of the three released singles ‘Fire Disciple’, ‘Blood’ and ‘Mother Mother’, created a cinematic music video to act as an episode in this first season called “Blood and Fire”. Videographer EroGuru, as of yet the most prominent director and film-maker of this story arc, has given us music videos for the entire prologue, the self titled debut EP, as well as two of the three music videos so far presented from the upcoming debut album. Two more videos are to be expected after the album is out, further deepening our understanding of the complex and thrilling storyline featuring Ginger Khan (aka Tom Åsberg, previously of Priest), Lea Alazam (singer in Besvärjelsen and previous live drummer of REIN) and Carolina Lindahl (previously of The Operating Tracks). Today we give you a recap, episode by episode, of The Brides of the Black Rooms fist season.
Prologue – part 1 – Ambulance – In a dark and nameless space we find Ginger Khan, hunted, bound and tormented, seemingly in a delirious state, engulfed by a fierce struggle. But this war is not one of bloody fists and broken bones, but one of the mind. A war in which mental shackles, inherited prejudice and deep-rooted patterns are overruled and cast off. Confined in his bonds, we see two mysterious women dressed head to toe in gleaming black and wearing expressions of stony determination watch over his painful transformation. A cleansing, a re-birth, a baptism into the revolution of the 20th century.
Prologue – part 2 – All That I Have Left of You is Missing – In the eye of the storm, a momentary truce in the ongoing struggle, Ginger Khan meet with an angelic presence in the depth of his inner self. A divine light, speaking of femininity and sorrow, teaching him the pain of being suppressed and cast aside. The Arch Witch is ever present, monitoring Khans transmission into enlightenment and helping him find his place within the cult. Casting her spells and devoting her ever-watching eye on to the scene, she’s preparing for the oncoming battle.
Season 1 – Episode 1 – Fire Disciple – In episode one, we are thrown into the moment where the battle lines are drawn. Ginger Khan form ranks with the curscrafter Lea Alazam, and the Arch Wich has at last taken her true form. Here, on the brink of war, all consuming fire is being lit and the Maenads are summoned to fullfill their purpose.
Season 1 – Episode 2 – Blood – In episode 2, we follow the cursecrafter Lea Alazam into the belly of the beast, and find ourselves inside the very lair of The Brides, the home of the Fire Disciples and the Arch Witch herself. We follow Alazam through the underground tunnels and into the glossy headquarters of the cult, and bear witness as she undertakes her blood oath, blessed by the Arch Which to act in the name of her coven and eat of the forbidden fruit.
Season 1 – Episode 3 – Mother Mother – In another era, the Arch Witch consults the oracle of the Brides, a book of prophesy foretelling the fates and dawning of the Fire Disciples. Through her eyes we can finally see who Khan and Alazam were before devoting themselves to the cult, and how they came to be instruments of the Arch Witch. But just as the story seems to be devoid of any more mysteries, we are snapped back to the prescent, as a daunting presence reviles itself. It is made clear that the Arch Which is indeed in service of a higher power, a faceless, voiceless entity known as “Mother”…
Now the story closes in on the finale of season one with the release of the awaited debut album “Blood and Fire”, a depiction of the revolution that is shaping the 2000 century. On their first full-length the collective announces;
“We are thrilled to finally bring you “Blood and Fire”! Our debut album, and the first season in this serialised saga, one of bombastic beats and foreboding electronic sounds. Come, and watch us burn!”
VELVET CHAINS, which has been gaining international highlight and had excellent repercussion in South America and Mexico, launches their debut album entitled “Icarus”. The work has 10 songs, including the singles “Tattooed” and “Strangelove”, and is now available on all streaming platforms.
The first single “Tattooed” was highlighted in the media by the special guest appearance of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus. The song received an impressing music video, directed by the experienced Dean Karr, who worked with music giants such as Ozzy Osbourne, Velvet Revolver and Iron Maiden. The second single, “Strangelove”, kept the audience’s attention, and both tracks got more than 150,000 streams in just a few days.
The album also features guest appearances by Jeff Rouse (bass) and Mike Squires (guitar), both from Duff McKagan’s LOADED, on the catchy “Pass the Disease” which also have a beautiful lyric video.
“Icarus” is an intimate and emotional album, written in partnership with multi-platinum composer Drew Lawrence. Recording took place in Las Vegas and Seattle, sound engineering work was carried out by Greg Williamson, while Tristan Hardin did the mixing and mastering.
Icarus Tracklist: Before We Shine Burning City Tattooed Pass The Disease Wasted Strangelove Flexing Sex Slave Teenage Stoner Gone
From Las Vegas to the World
The band Velvet Chains was formed in the American city of Las Vegas in 2018, and “Icarus” is their first album.
The group’s musical proposal placed them as one of the highlights of the new generation of American hard rock, by uniting breathtaking tempos, a solid rhythmic section and catchy melodies, the kind that stick in your head.
Guided by what was best done in the grunge and hard rock of the 90s and 00s, Velvet Chains has as reference groups such as Guns N ‘Roses, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam, among many others from different styles, whose elements are condensed to create a unique and characteristic sound of the style that changed the way young people listen to rock music.
The lyrical content along with the musical quality is another important factor for Velvet Chains: “Our goal was to write songs with important lyrics while covering different genres within Rock from the 90s to the 00s. You will find a bit of heavy rock, a bit of grunge, a bit of alternative rock, and much more on this album”, explains Nils, founder of the band.
Heavy Metal / Industrial artist THE HATE CLUB will release their new PROLOGUE EP on October 6, 2021.
“The Hate Club is proud of what was accomplished with this EP. I died, I survived, I starved and prospered. The “EP” chapter is over and I feel like the entire world is within my reach, lying on my palms to be destroyed or to be created. I’m fighting to carry the sigil of Metal. I will carry it on, I will pass it on. With the Prologue EP The Hate Club makes his final statement before a debut album. He is ready” says Alex Poe.
All songs were written, recorded, performed, produced and engineered by Alex Poe.
The Hate Club currently has over 1,500,000 streams across all platforms and over 40,000 monthly listeners on Spotify!
TRACKLISTING: 1 – Prologue 2 – Sleepwalker 3 – Eclipse 4 – Zen Garden 5 – Omen 6 – Who, What 7 – Crusade
An artist needs room for growth and the ability to live on the edge. Unwilling to be defined by merely one element or another, Alex Poe is a one-man band quenching his creative thirst with The Hate Club.
An Industrial Metal act spawned in 2017 from Poe’s desire to satisfy a diverse vision, The Hate Club is a mix of social satire and aggression. While still taking shape as a musical entity, the journey for Poe began much earlier on with eccentric tastes ranging from Jazz to Rock-n-Roll. A native of the Ukraine, Poe left the confines of home at only 18 years of age with his eyes set on Los Angeles. Now calling the City of Angels his own, as a self-starter he has already released 3 EPs, several singles, as well as multiple music videos. Very hands on, he has also organized 2 DIY tours in the US, achieved formidable online press placement, and remains active performing on the West Coast.
Yet still this does not tell the whole story of The Hate Club. With The Hate Club’s eyes set on the future, Poe continues to spread his wings as a triple threat: writer, producer, and performer. Often bipolar in approach yet never lacking sincerity or originality, The Hate Club lies somewhere in between Nine Inch Nails, Led Zeppelin, and Gorillaz. Possessing a Punk Rock attitude with a harsher Electronic and Heavy Metal-edged soul, The Hate Club is a reflection of the hypocrisy that is society. Something Poe is fascinated by, look at The Hate Club as the agnostic peddler not dragging you into the fire, but enticing you to observe from afar.
Well-versed in both music and literature, Poe proudly flies the flag of his eclectic background. Factors that only add to the depth of an ever-evolving sound, he exclaims, “I think of music as a painting – it tells a story and has a hidden meaning, an argot. While the song stays one, ways of hearing it are incalculable.”
“I think of music as a painting – it tells a story and has a hidden meaning, an argot. And while the song stays one, ways of hearing it are incalculable” says Alex.
On January 21, 2021, The Hate Club released their highly anticipated animated video for single “MY NAME IS LEGION.” The video has over 260,000 views on YouTube and can be seen here:
Heaven and Hell Records is pleased to announce the addition of guitar shredder GUY MANN-DUDE to their ever-growing roster.
Guy Mann-Dude (Guy Shiffman) is an American-born musician who was best known in the late 1980s and early 1990s after his eponymous band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1988. A musician renaissance man of sorts, Shiffman began as a drummer and would find himself backing YES singer Jon Anderson on his 1982 ‘Animation Tour’. Although an accomplished drummer doing studio work and leading his bands, Shiffman turned to his first love — the guitar — and reinvented himself as GUY MANN-DUDE.
Before going solo the guitarist served time in the Michael Angelo Band. In 1988 MANN-DUDE would secure a deal with MCA for his first solo album titled “Sleight of Hand”. Bassist Barry Sparks (Vinnie Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mary Friedman) would be recruited for the album, along with late drummer David Eagle. The following year on July 26, 1989 the instrumental shredding nightmare debut would be released.
The album would garnish minimal attention, getting little to no support and push from the label. However, Mann-Dude’s reputation continued to grow.
In 1989, Mann-Dude would be part of the heavy metal supergroup The Dudes of Wrath along with Paul Stanley of KISS and Desmond Child, both on vocals, Vivian Campbell on guitar, Whitesnake’s Rudy Sarzo on bass guitar, and Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee on drums. The group was specially assembled to record a song called “Shocker” for the soundtrack of the Wes Craven film of the same name. That same year he would also lend his gunslinging talents to Robin Beck’s hit album “Trouble or Nothin” as well as Alice Cooper’s “Trash” in 1989.
In 1991 it was time for a GUY MANN-DUDE follow-up. However, this sophomore effort would see a slight change from the shredfest of the first album. Still, as a trio including MANN-DUDE, Sparks and Eagle, they would self-release “Mannic Distortion” (often cited to be (Guy Mann-Dude’s Mannic Distortion) under the name Metal Future Records. This 10-song effort would see vocals added to most of the songs contributed by all three members. Only two of the tracks would be instrumentals. ‘Mannic Distortion’ would also delve headfirst into a Bay Area type thrash metal that could have easily rivalled any of its contemporaries at the time. The album would receive another small release on Czechia label Poprun. Neither would get mass worldwide distribution causing the album to become rather rare in later years.
Now for the 30th anniversary of its release, Heaven and Hell Records will be reissuing “Guy Mann-Dude’s Mannic Distortion” a limited to 500 CD. This release will be given the H&H Records treatment that the metal audience has come to expect; with remastered audio by Jamie King Audio, a nice booklet full of photos, complete lyrics and new updated artwork. Plus three additional never before released bonus tracks that were intended for the original release of “Mannic Distortion”.
Tracks are as follow:
01. Hand in Hand (Death Walks With Life) 02. Against the Grain 03. Blue Liquid Eyes 04. Broke Dick Dog 05. Faces in the Dark 06. Conformity (No, Not Me!) 07. Enemy 08. Swath of Carnage 09. Let Me Out 10. Gilda 11. Man Overboard 12. Frighten By His Own Shadow 13. No Stone Unturned
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