MØL Announce New Album ‘Diorama’, Present First Single + Music Video ‘Photophobic’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 23, 2021
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Photo: Cornelius Qvist

On November 5th, blackgaze masters MØL return with their second studio album, “DIORAMA“, the group’s first for their new label Nuclear Blast Records. Recorded and mixed by Tue Madsen (Gojira, Meshuggah, Heaven Shall Burn) and graced by a cover artwork designed by Jon Gotlev, “DIORAMA” sees the band further developing its captivating, aggressive sound. With swirling guitars and hissing vocals blended into a dreamy ambience of shoegaze, the highflyers from Aarhus, Denmark, will deliver a crushing yet otherworldly follow-up to their debut album “Jord” from 2018.

Today, MØL unveils ‘Photophobic‘, the first single off the band’s anticipated sophomore studio album, which comes with a haunting music video directed by Kasper Jensen / M2 Film, so brace yourself for a ferocious yet melodic blackgaze monument.

“‘Photophobic’ is centered around denial and self-deception. Fear of exposure of one’s past”, vocalist Kim Song Sternkopf explains. “The song encapsulates the dread of forcefully venturing through the painful but nonetheless important places of one self and your history.”

Nicolai Busse Bladt adds: “Writing our debut ‘JORD’ seemed like the culmination of our first two EPs. We had achieved a sound and an approach to creating music that is distinctly ours. ‘DIORAMA’ is both refinement and exploration. I wanted to refine our sound, melodies, and compositions, but also push the boundaries of our music and explore new paths and things we haven’t done before. Our approach to music has never been restricted by any dogmas and we’re stalwart believers in eclecticism.“

Stream or download the track on the platform of your choice via this link: https://møl.bfan.link/photophobic

Further info about the 8 new tracks of the album will follow soon and the pre-order for “DIORAMA” will start shortly.

Inspired by bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Drop Nineteens, Lantlôs and Alcest, MØL released their self-titled debut EP back in 2014. A year later they perfected their sound with their second EP “II”, produced by Jacob Bredahl and released in 2015. Both EPs were well received and drove them on to do some emphatic live shows which were praised by press. In 2018, MØL made an international breakthrough signing with Holy Roar Records (UK) who released their debut album ‘Jord’ to critical acclaim. The record was recorded at Grapehouse Studios and mixed and mastered by Chris Kreutzfeldt.  The album was also released as an instrumental version and in 2019, the band re-released their two first EPs, remastered for CD and vinyl.

STERBHAUS Release Third Single/Live-Video ‘Grudgeholder+Hatemonger’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 23, 2021
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photo by Emilyvphotography

STERBHAUS‘ new live album Necrostabbing at Göta Källare – Live in Stockholm charted at #1 (for physical sales) on the week of its release in Sweden and that is now complemented with the release of the third single “Grudgeholder+Hatemonger”. The choice for third single is directly related to what fans and reviewers listed as their top choice on the album… and it is a blistering thrasher that is impossible not to love – if you like your Metal fast, furious and with spitting lyrics.

The new “Grudgeholder+Hatemonger” live video also features a somewhat legendary TV-clip from Swedish public service TV originally broadcasted in the mid 80s. A TV show that took it upon themselves to safeguard Swedish morality disguised with an obvious Christian Bible bashing agenda – an agenda that in the end was financed by the tax payers. The object of the smear campaign for this specific clip was the legendary band W.A.S.P. It is hilarious to watch today – albeit a bit scary.

”Necrostabbing at Göta Källare – Live in Stockholm” took most of the Metal scene by surprise when it was released on July the 9th. It shows Sterbhaus at their best – which is in a highly energetic live setting. The band is relentless and the show is a complete gem. It was also filmed in its entirety and on the release date of the album Sterbhaus streamed the whole show in a live online event.
If You missed out on the streaming event, make sure to check out the two previous singles/live videos (“Absolutely Do Not Die – Live” and “New Level of Malevolence – Live”) and why not give the bands parody of reaction videos a spin as well?

To have ”Necrostabbing at Göta Källare – Live in Stockholm debut at #1 in Sweden for physical sales and #9 for all Metal sales was an unprecedented and enormously pleasant surprise for the Swedes. Sterbhaus is the home of Marcus Hammarström (also in Shining), Erik Röjås (also in Ondskapt), Jimmy Ahovalli and at this time also Simon Olovsson (now in Avslut).

Absolutely Do Not Die – live: https://youtu.be/dJfODHQCKHk
New Level of Malevolence – live: https://youtu.be/o9KGIAkwzzQ
Metal vocalist reacting to Sterbhaus song: https://youtu.be/Q1VfuVEAtZc

VOLA Announce Live Stream + New Remix

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 23, 2021
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Photo: Nicolai Linares

On 11th September, VOLA will perform an intimate but stunning live spectacle – Live from the Pool, where fans can watch the Danish-Swedish quartet perform songs from their back catalogue in a unique setting. They have also revealed an incredible remix of “Straight Lines” by The Algorithm, which you can see here.

‘Live From The Pool’ takes place at the swimming pool of the abandoned Auderød military camp in North Zealand near Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by the world-famous architect Henning Larsen this defunct building has become part of the Auderød nature park. A place where nature encounters the mysteries of a once existing military base, ready to be explored.

Creating a unique experience, the bands’ genre-melding music is met with collaboration from visionary Danish audio-visual artist collective Vertigo, where light, nature, music, and concrete meet.

Tickets for ‘Live From The Pool’ will be available here. There will be a FAQ on the bands’ website once the show has begun, and there will be a live pre-sale hangout on the bands’ YouTube channel an hour before the show starts. The show will be available for two weeks for those who purchase tickets.

Talking about the upcoming event, Adam Janzi says, “We are ecstatic to invite you to our first-ever online show, ‘VOLA – Live From The Pool.’ It is our most ambitious visual production to date, with a brand-new live set spanning across our discography. This will be your first chance to hear us play songs from Witness live outside of Denmark. If you ever wondered how we sound playing in an abandoned pool full of vegetation, this is your chance to find out.”
 
VOLA has also announced the remix of “Straight Lines” by French Electronic artist, The Algorithm. Talking about the track, Nicolai Mogensen says, “This is our first-ever officially released VOLA remix! We have been curious to hear how Rémi (aka The Algorithm) would remix one of our songs. Excitingly he chose “Straight Lines” to fuse his own unique style with ours. He created a banger of a remix!”

The original version of “Straight Lines” is taken from their new album Witness, released in May. Their new album shines a light on the subject of failed relationships, on a societal scale—the friction between leaders and followers, which is caused by the misuse of power.
 
“If I zoom in,” guitarist-singer Asger Mygind says. “The failure is born from unrequited love, grief, manipulative behaviour and insecurity. Connecting it with the album title, one could view the characters portrayed in the lyrics as being witnesses to the dissolution of the bond they have created with people in their lives.”
 
Discussing the “Straight Lines”, Mygind explains, “Imagine someone being on the run from the authorities. It is becoming increasingly hard for this person to hide, which “running low on straight lines” can be seen as a metaphor. He/she can’t just choose the direct route but has to be creative to escape. Whether the hunt is real or just in the person’s head should be an open question for the listener.”
  
VOLA are Asger Mygind (vocals/guitar), Martin Werner (keys), Nicolai Mogensen (bass) and Adam Janzi (drums).

You can listen to VOLA’s most recent album Witness via Spotify HERE

Metalcore Quartet THIS DYING HOUR Release LINKIN PARK Cover ”Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 23, 2021
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On Thursday 20th July 2017, the world lost a living legend. UK based metalcore band THIS DYING HOUR struggled to comprehend that we now live in a world without Chester Bennington, who through Linkin Park, provided a torch in a world of darkness to millions across the world. This Dying Hour have released a mash up cover of ‘Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer’ to commemorate the vocalist.

Stream the single here: https://biglink.to/thisdyinghour

Watch the video here:

Doing a Linkin Park cover was a no-brainer for This Dying Hour, however selecting a song that demonstrated their love for Chester Bennington and Linkin Park, but also captured the spirit of This Dying Hour, was the tough part. 
 
Jay-Z’s original vocal on ‘Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer’ depicted the struggles he faced in life just for looking different, and carries a message that not only awarded him a Grammy but is a reminder that the fight for equality continues; not just racial equality but equality for all. For that reason, This Dying Hour decided to use the lyrics in their original integrity. 

The band comment: “Ultimately, we had a lot of fun producing this cover and although we will never be a “preachy” band, this has given us the opportunity to continue Chester and Jay-Z’s message in the positive way it was intended.”

Formed in 2005, This Dying Hour wanted to leave an impression on their local scene. It was a time when Architects, Sylosis, TesseracT, Bleed From Within and Bury Tomorrow were all breaking ground, who This Dying Hour had the pleasure of supporting across the UK.

However in 2017, tragedy struck when vocalist Dave Pickup lost his life after a fatal hit and run accident. A year later, tragedy struck again with the passing of founding member Sean Crossey, who sadly lost his battle with cancer. These devastating events took a huge emotional toll on the band, losing friends who they considered to be family.

In 2020, bassist Nat Douglas and guitarist Ash Whitelock decided it was time to make music again. “It was something that we contemplated for a while but never thought would happen,” says Douglas. Although the tragedy of the untimely passing of two of the band’s original line-up is never far from their minds, with the addition of new members Gaz Ward, Duncan Lee, and Julia Hogan, This Dying Hour remain loyal to their roots, authentic sound, and community.
 
The band started 2021 as they meant to go on, having already gained recognition from BBC Introducing and DSP Playlists with their 4-track EP Fire And The Blind. ‘Cornered’ was the first single from the EP, a concept single written from the perspective of both Jessie Pinkman and Walter White of Breaking Bad. Having a split personality, that person often struggles with addiction: “I’m not in danger, I’m the danger.”
 
Against all the odds and even as their sound evolves, the legacy of their original incarnation lives on.

CRIMINAL Reveal Details for New Album ‘Sacrificio’, Launch Video for New Single “Zona De Sacrificio”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 22, 2021
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Photo credit: Cristian Carrasco

On September 17th, CRIMINAL will release their new album, Sacrificio, via Metal Blade Records. For a first preview of Sacrificio, a video for the new single, “Zona De Sacrificio” (directed by Carlos Toro of Abysmo Films, who has previously worked with Kreator, Arch Enemy, Rob Halford, etc.), can be viewed at: metalblade.com/criminal – where the record can also be pre-ordered in various formats.

Sacrificio is Criminal‘s ninth full-length studio album: a twelve-track bludgeoning that harks back to their roots – both literally and metaphorically. Whilst writing for Sacrificio, Criminal‘s home country of Chile saw a social uprising that has impacted the lives of Chileans in immeasurable ways. Protests against corruption, inequality and the poor standard of living saw citizens take to the streets to make themselves heard. This civil action and vehement anger seeped into the creative process of the four members of Criminal – three of them being Chilean. Although there is a deep personal connection to the lyrical content, the events unfold from the perspective of a spectator – albeit one who has also experienced tyrannical leadership and witnessed the divide between ordinary citizens and the social elite.

Chilean culture weaves its way into the album in other ways too; though suitably heavy, there’s a percussive element to the sound of Sacrificio that reveals its Latin American roots. Coupled with an unapologetic nod to the 90s in terms of both composition and production, this album sees Criminal finding their groove in more ways than one. The resulting sound is celebratory, rhythmic, organic, and captures everything that was glorious about the flourishing extreme metal scene in the 1990s.

For a band that originally formed out of the ashes of 80’s death metal legends Pentagram Chile, the album highlights the benefits of embracing the band’s origins; writing and recording took place in Chile for the first time since the 1990s. Criminal continues to prove that South America can create powerful death metal on its own terms. For Sacrificio, much of the material was written in the old-fashioned way – jamming in a sweaty rehearsal room, refining as they went. The old school vibe is further enhanced by the natural sounding production of Seba Puente, which adds to the immediacy and live feel found throughout Sacrificio.

The past 30 years have seen twists and turns in the Criminal tale, but Sacrificio finds them sounding more compelling than ever. The sole original member, vocalist/guitarist Anton Reisenegger (Brujeria, Lock Up, Pentagram Chile), allows plenty of room for the newer and younger members of the band – Danilo Estrella (drums), Danny Biggin (bass), Sergio Klein (guitar) – to add their personal touches to the band’s missives.

Album artwork by: Gary Ronaldson

Read on to see what other artists have to say about Sacrificio!

“Fucking awesome, the best album I’ve heard in a long time. Amazing production, everything sounds natural, not over compressed like most productions nowadays. Amazing guitars, drums, vocal tones – some over the top guitar leads!” – Moyses Kolesne (Krisiun)

“Criminal is back! Be ready for a non-stop, no bullshit, full frontal assault to your senses! As a long-time fan, I can confidently say that this is some of Anton & company’s best work to date!” – David McGraw (Cattle Decapitation)

“Being a long-time fan of the band, I was already stoked to hear the new material, as always, expecting to hear great riffs and aggressive songs – but I was also pleasantly surprised to hear the band expand their sound into new violent territories, without losing the energy and feeling of their earlier albums!!! Tracks like ‘Caged’ and ‘Sistema Criminal’ are perfect examples of how Criminal keeps delivering amazing METAL!!!” – Dan González (Possessed / Gruesome)

Sacrificio track-listing
1. Live on Your Knees
2. Caged
3. The Whale
4. Zona De Sacrificio
5. After Me, The Flood
6. Dark Horse
7. Theocrazy
8. Sistema Criminal
9. Zealots
10. Age of Distrust
11. Hunter and the Prey
12. Ego Killer

TREMONTI Releases Music Video for Debut Single “If Not For You”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on July 22, 2021
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[Photo Credit: Scott Diussa]

On the heels of the recent announcements of their fifth studio album, TREMONTI have released their music video for the debut single from Marching In Time scheduled for global release on September 24th via Napalm Records. The track “If Not For You” shows the evolution of the band’s sound in 2021 and the single is now available via all digital streaming platforms. Fans that pre-order the album digitally will receive the new single as an instant download. The music video is a frenetic, high-energy performance video that visually compliments the single that will be impacting radio this month.

Watch the Video for “If Not For You” HERE:

Mark Tremonti is no stranger to storytelling. Throughout his years with top-charting bands Alter Bridge and Creed, and most recently his solo band, Mark has never strayed from his love of writing memorable songs. With the upcoming fifth album, Marching In Time, the band looks to continue this trend while exploring their love for heavy music, drawing from current events from the last year to form the basis of each song. While its predecessor, A Dying Machine, was an overall concept album seeped in darker sentiments and story, the vibe of Marching In Time is different – emerging as a charging rock/metal offering that takes the listener on 12 individual journeys.

Marching In Time is now available for pre-order HERE

From the driving drum beat of opener “A World Away” to the epic closer “Marching In Time,” the new album is a reflective look at the world around us today. TREMONTI’s unmatched musicianship bleeds through the album, showcased on tracks like “Thrown Further,” “In One Piece” and the thought provoking “Would You Kill.” Alternatively, the band displays their softer side on pensive tracks “The Last One Of Us” and “Not Afraid to Lose.” Epic title track “Marching In Time” tells the story of a father having a child during a global pandemic and how he prepares for life during that time – something Mark Tremonti recently experienced in his own life. Marching In Time was produced longtime friend and collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette – the producer Mark has worked with exclusively since 2007.

The track listing for Marching In Time is:

  1. A World Away
  2. Now And Forever
  3. If Not For You
  4. Thrown Further
  5. Let That Be Us
  6. The Last One Of Us
  7. In One Piece
  8. Under The Sun
  9. Not Afraid To Lose
  10. Bleak
  11. Would You Kill
  12. Marching In Time

TREMONTI will hit the road in advance of the release of Marching In Time with longtime friends Sevendust, before being a part of the recently announced tour with Daughtry and Sevendust through the US.