Norwegian death metal vets BLOOD RED THRONE will release their 10th album, “Imperial Congregation”, on October 8th with Nuclear Blast. Today, the band has released a lyric video for a vicious new single titled ‘Itika’.
Founding guitarist Daniel Olaisen says of the track: “‘Itika’ was one of the first songs I wrote for this album and it’s heavy as fuck. Some real cool rhythm stuff going on and somewhat futuristic leads. ‘Itika’ stands out on the album as a more fictional love song. Some necrophile dude, longing to get the sexy corpse, which keeps ignoring him. He wishes he was good enough, or dead enough, to get her in the end.”
“Imperial Congregation” Tracklisting: 1. Imperial Congregation 2. Itika 3. Conquered Malevolence 4. Transparent Existence 5. Inferior Elegance 6. We All Bleed 7. 6-7 9. Consumed Illusion 10. Hero-Antics 11. Zarathurstra
With over 25 years and 10 albums soon to be under their belt, BLOOD RED THRONE is dedicated to the continual delivery of straight forward, exceptional death metal with “Imperial Congregation” being no exception. “This time around we’ve made something new and fresh in our sound. We felt it from the very first song that was written; this will take us to a whole different level in terms of arrangements, riffs, vocals… everything. We are super-excited to share this with our fans, and in cooperation with the greatest label ever,” says Olaisen.
“Imperial Congregation” delivers quality, old school sound while reflecting in part upon the self righteous nature of humanity and its incessant need to destroy itself through power, ignorance and religion. “We live outside this system,” explains Olaisen. “We don’t join in on the sheep mentality. Create your own possibilities, be responsible for your own misery or success!” The haunting, organic album artwork was designed by the infamous Marcelo Vasco. The image displays a flock of old, religious men as they meet in secrecy to design the laws of lower society. “Many of our lyrics deal with our skepticism of religion, and of mankind in general. Be free or be dead,” says Olaisen. “Two gigantic skeletons tower over the men of worship as they dictate human fate by candlelight.”
After incubating for the larger part of 2020 – at time when creative mastermind Al Jourgensen was able to ruminate on the new world we as a society have found ourselves in – the time has finally come for MINISTRY to unleash their much-anticipated 15th studio album.
Aptly titled “Moral Hygiene”, the album will be released via Nuclear Blast Records on October 1st. With some of MINISTRY’s strongest and most inspired material to date, the 10 tracks are a follow-up to 2018’s lauded “AmeriKKKant” and put forth Jourgensen’s societal manifesto and plea for civilization to get back to a set of standards that lives up to and embraces our humanity.
“The good thing about literally taking a year off from any social activity or touring is that you really get to sit back and get an overview of things as they are happening, as opposed to being caught up in the moment. And what I saw with how we handled several public crises – from the pandemic to racial injustice to who we vote in to lead our country – is that times are changing, and society needed to change to get away from the idea that has permeated us of take care of yourself, fuck everything else. Now more than ever we need moral hygiene,” says Jourgensen of the new album. “It consumed me as I wrote this album. It’s not some pious term. It’s what we have to return to in order to function as the human species on this planet. And I’m proud to have had such great guests on this album to help cement that message like Billy Morrison, Jello Biafra and Arabian Prince.”
In conjunction with today’s album announcement, the latest track ‘Good Trouble’ is also released. The song, inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the activist work of the late Congressman John Lewis, is accompanied by a new video that includes sampling from last year’s demonstrations in Los Angeles as captured by Jourgensen and his partner Liz Walton.
See the video for ‘Good Trouble’:
“Moral Hygiene” also includes the previously released ‘Alert Level’ that sounded the alarms about our collective dissonance towards the pandemic, climate change and the man formerly in the White House, bolstered by the song’s overarching question posed to listeners: “How concerned are you?”
The new album also adds perspective to the countless lives that were tragically lost to the COVID-19 pandemic on the haunting track ‘Death Toll’ while ‘Disinformation’ describes the too frequent willingness to accept everything – even mistruths – as fact.
Other musical jewels on the upcoming release include a collaboration with Jello Biafra (Jourgensen’s cohort in side project LARD) on ‘Sabotage Is Sex’ and a unique take on The Stooges’ ‘Search And Destroy’ that features guitar virtuoso Billy Morrison (Billy Idol/Royal Machines). Morrison is also heavily featured on a number of songs on the album.
“Moral Hygiene” was recorded with engineer Michael Rozon (also behind the boards on “AmeriKKKant”) at Scheisse Dog Studio, Jourgensen’s self-built home studio and creative lab. As with all MINISTRY albums, all songs are written and performed by Al Jourgensen. Additional contributions come from Billy Morrison (Billy Idol, Royal Machines), Cesar Soto (Man The Mute), John Bechdel (Killing Joke, Fear Factory), Roy Mayorga (Stonesour, Soulfly, Nausea), Paul D’Amour (Tool, Feersum Ennjin), Arabian Prince (N.W.A.), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and sitar player Flash.
“Moral Hygiene” track listing: 1. Alert Level 2. Good Trouble 3. Sabotage Is Sex 4. Disinformation 5. Search and Destroy 6. Believe Me 7. Broken System 8. We Shall Resist 9. Death Toll 10. TV Song #6 (Right Around The Corner Mix)
Iconic AC/DC singer Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott would have turned 75 years old on July 9th 2021. To mark this occasion, Bon’s family is launching the first ever official Bon Scott website which will serve as a destination for fans keen to discover more about the legendary singer, including tributes from renowned rockers. Fans will also be able to leave testimonials about seeing or meeting Bon and purchase newly-available official merchandise.
The Bon Scott Estate said: “On the occasion of what would have been his 75th birthday, the Bon Scott Estate (Ron’s two brothers and his nephew) are proud to launch the new website and take this important step toward elevating Bon’s legend and tending to his legacy. Bon was a unique singer, songwriter and character that the world should never forget.”
Few rock singers were as unforgettable – and have proved as enduring – as Bon Scott. As the frontman of AC/DC from 1974 until his tragic passing in 1980 (at the age of 33), his “rock n’ roll pirate persona,” street poet lyrics, and striking image (one of the first rockers to proudly sport multiple tattoos) have made him an absolute legend. Additionally, Bon’s vocals were featured in several pre-AC/DC bands, including Fraternity, the Valentines, and the Spektors.
But really, it is the quality of the songs of the “Bon-era” of AC/DC that serve as his greatest legacy – “Highway to Hell,” “Sin City,” “Whole Lotta Rosie,” “Let There Be Rock,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “TNT,” and “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)”…the list is seemingly endless.
How does Bon measure up to rock’s all-time great frontmen? Classic Rock Magazine declared him “The Greatest Rock n’ Roll Front Man of All Time” in 2004, beating out the lofty likes of Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, and Axl Rose in the process.
And now, The Bon Scott Estate will oversee the new official Bon Scott site, which will both pay tribute to the singer and help keep his memory alive for new and old fans alike.
The Estate added: “This is an invitation for Bon’s fans and friends to gather and share their memories and observations of him and his music. His legacy lives in the hearts and minds of those who love him.”
After symphonic power metal force RHAPSODY OF FIRE just recently released their brand new EP, I’ll Be Your Hero — an appetizing precursor for a new full length to follow – now the Italian band has finally shared a first song from their upcoming, 13th studio album. Glory For Salvation, which is slated for a release on November 26, 2021 through AFM Records, will be the second part of an enthralling trilogy.
Thirteen epic yet heavy and powerful tracks taking you on a journey through the realms of symphonic metal. Catchy hooks, a sophisticated orchestration and the distinctive voice of frontman Giacomo Voli make Glory For Salvation not only a glorious, second piece of their trilogy, which started with their latest 2019- album The Eighth Mountain, but a captivating and true metal masterpiece. The energy of each band member is flowing with precision and fury, opera choirs intersecate with Voli’s superlative vocals in a cinematic orchestral polyphonic escalation towards the highest epic musical peaks.The deeply inspiring solos by guitarist Roby De Micheli and Alex Staropoli’s magic ochestrations once again create the Film Score Metal at its best!
But give ear, as today RHAPSODY OF FIRE have shared a first single taken from their upcoming Glory For Salvation. Watch the brand new lyric video for the epic album title track right here:
RHAPSODY OF FIRE belong to one of the most popular metal acts in Europe, who have raised the bar for their genre. They are the founders of epic symphonic metal, combining Hollywood-like sound landscapes and heavy power metal. The numbers are telling its own tale – with a huge fanbase of over 500.000 fans on Facebook, 40.000 Instagram followers, 56.000 subscribers on YouTube and 2 million sold records – while “The Eighth Mountain” entered the German album charts at a phenomenal #22 – RHAPSODY OF FIRE belongs to the first league of metal. Their new album will be the unquestionable proof to that.
Glory For Salvation was mixed and mastered by Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann, and will be out on November 26, 2021 via AFM Records. The pre-sale of this MUST-HAVE album, that belongs into every well- sorted symphonic and power metal record collection, is now available at THIS LOCATION!
Swiss-based four-piece blues rock band ELLIS MANO BAND release their third single Ambedo Mind on Friday 9th July. The single is taken from the band’s sophomore albumAmbedothat was released on Friday June 25th by Jazzhaus Records. The single is accompanied by a unique cinematic music video that can be seen HERE.
The band’s critically acclaimed new album went to #2 in the Official Swiss Album Chart. Order the album on CD and digital from https://orcd.co/ellismanobandambedo.
Ellis Mano Band describe their trademark well-produced sound as “a sort of rock n’ soul, rooted deep down in the blues.”
“Smooth, sexy, and horn-section-soulful, this song is a nod to the soul and R&B greats,” is how the band’s guitarist, Edis Mano, describes the Ambedo Mind single.
“During the pandemic, I taught myself filmmaking which is something I have wanted to do that for years,” says Edis about the making of the Ambedo Mind music video.
“Keep It Simple and The Question were the first two music videos I made,” continues Edis. “With Ambedo Mind I wanted to have a cinematographic reference to the subject of Ambedo. That’s why we took the macro recordings with a special lens. This optic makes the smallest objects appear gigantic. This is exactly how we behave during the process of creating an album. The smallest details are often discussed very intensively. There are many parallels.”
In Switzerland, Ellis Mano Band are not unlike the Wrecking Crew or the Funk Brothers. They are top-flight studio musicians and elites in the Swiss music scene. Although they spent years recording with other artists, they never had much time to make music of their own until now.
“Ambedo Mind unleashes a smooth, soulful horn section. Chris’ voice rises effortlessly to the challenge of reproducing the 60’s R&B Greats. Underneath is a wonderful looping bassline, for someone who doesnt like soul, this is very impressive!” – Velvet Thunder
“Crisp clean guitar licks flow effortlessly in the intro of Ambedo Mind, as the snare drum snaps along with a cool cymbal tap that just gets this track beaming with awesome tones and musicality. Bass chords, funky groove beats, soulful vocals gives you goosebumps.” – Jace Media
“We chose the album title Ambedobecause it reflects the state of the process of recording an album,” says guitarist Edis Mano. Ambedo refers to the tendency both to reflect and to absorb. As musicians, we do its all the time, especially when we write new songs and create an album.”
Every track on the new album is rich with perfectly chosen detail including Chris Ellis’s rough voice, Edis Mano’s vintage sounding guitar playing, and the tight rhythm section of drummer Nico Looser and Severin Graf (bass). The album also features Hammond B3 organ, and horns that reflect the blazing summer heat during which they were recorded. The harmonious backing vocals are reminiscent of something you would hear from Muscle Shoals Studios.
“We would get together with just a few ideas, fill it out, let it grow, work on it, with a great passion,” says Chris. “For session musicians, it was not about having just another project to play on, but it was an opportunity for us to play as a real band again. It was a great feeling to see the guys together and getting emotional from time to time playing the music.”
The album was recorded at Edis Mano’sStudio E10 with a lot of vintage gear and instruments, resulting in a contemporary sound. The songs were recorded live with a few overdubs, including backing vocals and horns.
The album is nothing short of brilliant. With Ambedo, the Ellis Mano Band presents a rich tapestry of universal joy and sorrow; the awkward moment after a one-night stand in Breakfast, the desperation and grief in Long Roadand the loud, social criticism in The Horrible Truth.
The songs are saturated in a deep respect and understanding of American roots music, from the early blues of the American South through to the blues rock revolution of 1960s Britain.
Influenced by Led Zeppelin, J.J. Cale, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jimi Hendrix and more recently John Mayer, the Ellis Mano Band have put their own unique stamp on the blues which, in recent years, has become a shared global phenomenon.
“Making this music was fascinating, it was really easy to create the music and take it further,” said Chris. “It was a beautiful experience and I hope we can repeat it time and time again.”
AMBEDO – TRACK LISTING
THE HORRIBLE TRUTH (3:31) SWEET SIN (3:12) AMBEDO MIND (3:34) THE FIGHT FOR PEACE (5:45) JOHNNY & SUSIE (4:04) LONG ROAD (3:49) THE QUESTION (3:36) BREAKFAST (5:44) KEEP IT SIMPLE (4:16) HEART ‘N MIND (4:07)
Band Line-Up
Chris Ellis – Vocals Edis Mano – Guitars Severin Graf – Bass Nico Looser – Drums
Production Credits
Music by Edis Mano & Chris Ellis Lyrics by Shane Brady Recorded by Edis Mano Arranged by Ellis Mano Band Mixed by Oli Boesch Mastered by Oli Boesch Produced by Edis Mano Recorded at Studio E10
Additional Musicians
Manuel Halter – Keyboards on all Tracks except Track 7 Lachy Doley – Hammond Organ (Track 7) Cathryn Lehmann – Backing Vocals Lesley Bogaert – Backing Vocals Dave Blaser – Trumpet Flo Egli – Saxophone Lukas Wyss – Trombone Benjamin Hartwig – Violin (Track 6) Roberto Hacaturyan – Percussion
SPIRIT ADRIFT — the new masters of heavy metal — are back. Not even a year after their critically acclaimed album Enlightened In Eternity, Spirit Adrift have returned with yet another masterpiece: a 20 minute-long, three-track E.P. titled Forge Your Future. The E.P. will celebrate its release on August 27th and today, Spirit Adrift have premiered its title track on all streaming platforms.
Watch below the lyric video for Spirit Adrift’s “Forge Your Future”.
Spirit Adrift guitarist/vocalist Nate Garrett comments, “On March 1, 2020, I relocated to the woods outside of Austin, Texas. Two weeks later, everything was locked down. I turned to the thing that has helped me navigate difficult situations for most of my life: writing music. I wrote and demoed a ton of songs over the course of the pandemic. The songs on this E.P. are the best of the bunch. Marcus, Preston, and I recorded these in March of 2021 at Homewrecker Recording Studio with Ryan Bram at the helm. Zeuss handled mixing and mastering, after lengthy discussions about Martin Birch, Tom Allom, Crowbar, and how important it is to carry forth the essence and spirit of heavy metal. Special thanks to our friend Cody Davis for the brilliant title.” He continues, “These songs, and this band, represent persevering through difficult times, staying true to your innermost self, and celebrating the life-affirming power of metal. We can’t wait to see you all live and in the flesh, in the meantime we hope you enjoy the tunes.”
Since their inception, Spirit Adrift is much more than an obsession for Garrett. It’s become a mission unto itself — a quest to re-cast the power and potential of melodic metal, doom and hard rock like the masters before him. Garrett’s songwriting style teeters between vintage and modern, combining intelligent lyrics that provoke spiritual and philosophical thought with bold hooks and gilded riffs. With four albums behind Garrett and drummer Marcus Bryant, including 2020’s year-end chart-topper Enlightened In Eternity, Spirit Adrift have shown the world just what heavy metal can be.
On Forge Your Future, Garrett and Bryant are joined by Preston Bryant on synthesizers. The group will be joined by Sonny DeCarlo on bass in live settings moving forward. With Ryan Bram engineering and the legendary producer Zeuss on mixing/mastering, Spirit Adrift showcase their tightest songwriting yet. The three luminous new tracks on Forge Your Future cement the band into the upper echelon of heavy music.
Forge Your Future will be available August 27th from Century Media on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Pre-orders are available here.
Look for more news and music to surface soon from Spirit Adrift.
Forge Your Future, track listing:
Forge Your Future
Wake Up
Invisible Enemy
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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
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 