After four years in the making, Oslo-based MESSIER 16 unbind their debut album “iota”. Aimed at relentlessly contemplative catharsis, this record seeks to dislodge the very bones of your quintessence. In a world of extreme solitude, Messier 16 encourages you to find company in this 53-minute journey of solemn musical atmosphere, to dare wallow in it, and let it be a hearth to which you can dry up.
The last single is also the last track on the album, Rho. Listen to the single HERE!
Rho, (meaning ‘density’, in physics), is the album’s last track, an explosive and yearning resolution to the album. It seeks to conclude a lot of the ideological material presented throughout the album, both in terms of music and lyrical content. It’s aggressive and fast paced, and calls to mind influences of both death metal and black metal, while also exploring more atmospheric elements.
Jonas comments on the single:
“The track tries to inspire catharsis after what is essentially a 53 minute long contrast between high tension and relief. As it is the last track written on the album, I feel like it perfectly represents the feeling of melancholy in closing off a chapter in life for good. To have courage to move on somewhere that’ll eventually be a better place in time. All in all, the album ends on a hopeful and sympathetic note.”
Rho is the third and last single off their record, released May 14th.
Inspired by bands like ColdWorld, Opeth and Emperor, as well as Stravinsky, Steve Reich and Jon Hopkins, iota is a difficult album to place, but an easy album to embrace. It’s a musical heat blanket of extreme metal, contemporary classical, and earnest choral elements.
All music written by Jonas Ulrik Eide, founder of the band, with the exception of the opening track, written by Alexander Scriabin, and played by the pianist Eirik Haug Stømner. There’s an orchestra piece played by Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. And a heap of aggressively sentimental metal tracks throughout.
The album as a whole is a deep dive in emotional desperation, and hopefully the listener will find it as inspiring, frustrating, melancholic and atmospheric as it can be.
Tracklist:
Scriabin: 12 Etudes, Op. 8, No. 11 in B-Flat Minor
Surfdog Records and BRIAN SETZER have announced the vinyl reissue Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL! on the 10th Anniversary of it’s original release. It will be released on limited-edition 180-gram, yellow splatter vinyl on 30th July 2021.
Originally released in April 2011, Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL! was Brian Setzer’s first ever instrumental album and earned him a Grammy Award Nomination for “Best Pop Instrumental Album.”
The album featured covers such as Bill Monroe and The Blue Grass Boys “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” a song covered by Elvis Presley in 1954 as the B-Side of his debut single “That’s All Right.” Talking to MusicRadar on the release Setzer said, “I was working off the Elvis version, the whole Scotty Moore thing. It’s a traditional bluegrass song, so I put some jazz chords behind it. All of a sudden, I had something unique. That’s what makes it worthy. You can’t do it better than Elvis!”
He gives his own stamp on other classics such as Ray Noble’s “Cherokee,” Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-A-Lula” and Gene Austin and Nathaniel Shilkret’s “Lonesome Road.” You also ride the road with Setzer originals such as “Hillbilly Jazz Meltdown,” “Far Noir East” and “Go-Go Godzilla” which was accompanied by a hot-rockin’ adventure filled animated video, that you can check out here.
Produced by Dave Darling and Setzer at IPR Studios and Winterland Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, the trio is completed by Johnny Hatton (double bass) and Noah Levy (drums).
Track list
1. Blue Moon Of Kentucky 2. Cherokee 3. Be-Bop-A-Lula 4. Earl’s Breakdown 5. Far Noir East 6. Intermission 7. Go-Go Godzilla 8. Lonesome Road 9. Hillbilly Jazz Meltdown 10. Hot Love 11. Pickpocket
Doom distributors CAVERN DEEP gear up to release their chilling self-titled debut album, out July 23rd.
The start of the expedition.
One archaeologist and 49 men stand at the gates of a previously unknown civilization, for a moment staring down into the bowels of the mountain before they begin their decent. The journey downwards turn out to be more dangerous than expected, they climb down through whirling stairs lit only by organic fluorescent lights.. Further down the path turns more and more crumbled, eventually they must use ropes to traverse the broken bridges and tunnels over the deep chasms below. Filled by the promise of treasure they continue downwards. Many men go missing as they’re tasked to explore diverting tunnels, they never return and their screams are followed by silence. the only thing found is their safety ropes, driven by greed the archaeologist continues the expedition.
Cavern Deeps debut concept album is about 50 adventurers that find the entrance to a lost underground civilization which they enter with the hopes of treasure.
1. Staring Down
The first song is about the ominous feeling whilst staring down the stairs. “Staring down…. Into the deep”. Unknown symbols from a by gone by intelligence fills the walls of the staircase which never seem to end.
2. Abandoned Quarters
In this song the party finds the remnants of a lost city with abandoned spires and halls. “To the levels below”. The ruins are filled with hatched eggs and signs of struggle. But no corpses… On the other side of the city the stairs continue into the depths.
3. Ominous Gardens
After leaving the city the party stumbles on a huge abandoned garden. Abandoned by the warden this underground garden is filled with acient deadly fauna. Many of the party members perish as the jungle takes its toll.
4. Waterways
Below the jungle lies the aqueducts that provided all of the water needed for the once prosperous civilization. It soon becomes obvious that they’re no longer alone. “Searching… for the door”. The party soon gets lost in this maze, hope seems lost.
5. Leap of Faith
After many men had perished in the waterways, they finally find the door which leads out to a ledge. Before them lies an enormous gap, the chasm is so deep that the only thing they see is an endless darkness in the depths below. The darkness seem to have a life of its own…
6. Deeper Grounds
The depths of the leap swallowed its fair share of adventurers. “Deeper…”. Less then half of the party left they realize that there no way out but down.
7. The Fungal Realm
Finally, the party arrives in a dark and damp large cavern. It’s full of a fungus which has a hive mind intent of consuming the minds of the adventurers. “My mind is melting away”. Slowly the everyone but the leader of the expedition becomes a part of the fungus.
8. The Dark Place
The leader of the venture now alone enters a great dark room. On the other side of the room a dark and ancient entity lurks. The entity has lived in these caverns for a very long time, possible being the source of power of the ancient civilization. “We are lost, Cavern Deep”. This old god of a forgotten time has waited for someone to take his place. As the lost adventurer tries to scream the god consumes him to take his place, finally released.
The art: All of the art is made by Kenny, the guitarist of the band.
Cavern Deep is a slow, heavy band, founded 2019, by members from Zonaria and Swedish retro riffsters Gudars Skymning. The debut self-titled album is about one archeologist and his crew of ambitious henchmen and their descent into the cavernous realm below the crust of the earth. Learn about their fate and listen to some heavy, gloomy riffs along their slow path downwards.
Cavern Deep are: Kenny-Oswald Duvfenberg – Guitars and Vocals Max Malmer – Bass and Vocals Dennis Sjödin – Drums, Backup Vocals and Keys
MICHAL GRALL – musician from Poland, known from such bands as SINISTER (legendary Netherdlands Death Metal band), UNBLESSED DIVINE (band with ex-Malevolent Creation (US) singer), TRAUMA (Polish Death Metal act) – is now scheduling tons of new music, projects seeking wordwide attention and domination.
Here is what Michal reveals of his planning in the nearest future:
UNBLESSED DIVINE (Dark as Hell Death Metal) Full album is planned for Q4 2021 and will be released via Massacre Records The Exalted One video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo8nMGYrnlw
THE BLACK DISORDER (Black Metal) We have just recorded full length with my Black Metal vocals and some keys and solos, lyric video coming up, then the release, yet unsigned Kneel! video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5pAkOlSKd8
MANSLAUGHTER (Death/Black) 3rd album (followup from 2013 „Earthborn Daemon” will feature a cold Black/Death stuff Earthborn Daemon video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhAsOo8d67Q
DREAMSABYSS (Ambient/Industrial/Neoclassic/Avantgarde) One album released, three recorded, scheduled for premiere. This is like a dark soundtrack to fallen worlds like ours at the moment Paths To Abyss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tMBFdqxd_E
Furthermore, Michal has two yet-unnamed projects, one of them including Chudy (Trauma vocalist) which is a homage to 90s Death Metal scene with rotten lyrics about what everyone loves: the dead, bodies, corpses and death.
The other band is intended to be a total solo album located artustically in the softer tones of 90s Metal like mid-Tiamat, Moonspell (Sin/Pecado) etc.
KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band has released another track from their upcoming, new live album Point of Know Return Live & Beyond out May 28, 2021.
Fans can now stream “Portrait (He Knew) (Live 2019-20)” here:
The song was recorded on November 16, 2019 at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC.
This is the first live album since 2017 for the band that has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust in the Wind,’ to progressive epics like ‘Song for America.’
KANSAS previously released the live tracks “Point of Know Return (Live 2019-20)” (recorded April 4, 2019 in San Diego, CA at the Balboa Theater) and “The Wall (Live 2019-20)” (recorded February 22, 2020 in Knoxville, TN at the Tennessee Theatre).
Point of Know Return Live & Beyond is co-produced by Phil Ehart and Richard Williams, and is recorded and mixed by Chad Singer. The album features 22 songs selected from 12 shows recorded in 2019 and 2020 during KANSAS’s Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. The setlist includes classic hits, deep cuts, and culminates with the band’s sextuple-platinum album, Point of Know Return, performed in its entirety.
Following the success of the band’s Leftoverture Anniversary Tour, KANSAS followed that tour up with the even more popular Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. The overwhelming success of that tour, and the previous live album, Leftoverture Live & Beyond, led the band, along with Inside Out Music, to release selected songs from the tour as a live album.
“We knew we wanted to release a live album of the Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour. Being unable to tour for more than a year has given us the opportunity to work on Point of Know Return Live & Beyond and release it for our fans who are missing live concerts as much as we are,” said KANSAS drummer and album co-producer, Phil Ehart. “When we discussed who would mix the album, we thought the best possible person would be the guy who mixes the band live every night and recorded the shows on the road. Nobody knows better how KANSAS sounds live than our front of house engineer, Chad Singer!”
“This live album sounds great,” adds KANSAS guitarist and album co-producer, Richard Williams. “We wanted to make sure this album captures and represents how KANSAS sounds live in concert. Point of Know Return Live & Beyond does just that.”
Along with original KANSAS band members Phil Ehart on drums and Richard Williams on lead guitar, Point of Know Return Live & Beyond, features Tom Brislin on keyboards and vocals, Billy Greer on bass and vocals, Ronnie Platt on lead vocals and keyboards, David Ragsdale on violin and vocals, and Zak Rizvi on guitar and vocals.
Point of Know Return Live & Beyond, will be released May 28, 2021, on Inside Out Music and is distributed by The Orchard. The album will be available as a double CD digipak, triple 180-gram vinyl + 2 CD box-set, and digitally on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, iTunes, and other fine digital retailers.
Point of Know Return Live & Beyond Track Listing: 1.) Cold Grey Morning 2.) Two Cents Worth 3.) The Wall 4.) Song for America 5.) Summer 6.) Musicatto 7.) Taking in the View 8.) Miracles Out of Nowhere 9.) Point of Know Return 10.) Paradox 11.) The Spider 12.) Portrait (He Knew) 13.) Closet Chronicles 14.) Lightning’s Hand 15.) Dust in the Wind 16.) Sparks of the Tempest 17.) Nobody’s Home 18.) Hopelessly Human 19.) Carry On Wayward Son 20.) People of the South Wind 21.) Refugee 22.) Lonely Wind
When touring resumes, KANSAS will continue rescheduled Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates as well as KANSAS Classics tour dates. More information on the tour, including specific Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates, can be found at www.kansasband.com.
The band recently announced that their European Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour dates had been rescheduled to 2022. The full list of dates can be found below:
Swiss-based blues rock band ELLIS MANO BAND have released their second single “The Question”. The single is taken from the band’s forthcoming sophomore album “Ambedo” coming out Friday June 25th. Pre-save the single and pre-order the album HERE.
“The Question” features a guest appearance from Australian keyboard wiz Lachy Doley on Hammond B3 organ.
The band describe their trademark well-produced sound as “a sort of rock n’ soul, rooted deep down in the blues.”
“The Question is a true blues rock blaster,” says Edis Mano, the Ellis Mano Band’s guitarist. “It’s like a tornado blowing through your barn, nearly lifting it of the ground. It describes the writer’s demons and the constant temptation of past substance abuse and dependency.”
“The album is nothing short of brilliant” – Velvet Thunder
“Excellent song writing abounds on this recording, a mix of classic rock standards, stirred up with some blues, pop, soft rock, smooth jazz, dramatic love songs and ballads along with rocking out standards. Something beautiful to pop into the player and sing along to and FEEL to.” – Rock At Night
“Heart ‘n’ Mind is a really meaty, deep, emotionally loaded, atmospheric conclusion to a great album that has a touch of everything!” – Velvet Thunder
In Switzerland, the 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 making music with other artists, the band members never got much time to make music of their own until now.
“We chose the album title “Ambedo” because 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’s Studio E10 with a lot of vintage gear and instruments and produced with a contemporary sound. All songs were recorded live with just a few later overdubs, including backing vocals and horns.
The album is nothing short of brilliant. With “Ambedo”, the Ellis Mano Band presents a rich tapestry of that universal joy and sorrow; the awkward moment after a one-night stand in “Breakfast”, the desperation and grief in “Long Road” and by contrast, the loud social criticism in “The Horrible Truth”.
Each track is saturated in a deep respect and understanding of American roots music, from the early blues of the American South through to the revolutionary blues and 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 has now 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
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
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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
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