Juno nominated singer/Songwriter LINDSAY SCHOOLCRAFT (Antiqva) is pleased to announce that she has launched a Pateron in order to better connect and engage with her fans. The Pateron will be used to give Exclusive Songs, Live Performances, Monthly Hang Outs, and videos documenting the creative process. Fans will also get to vote on what song she works on next and have a say in helping aid along the creative process, essentially contributing to Lindsay’s next album.
In short, fans will be given inside access to Lindsay’s world when they join.
So far 1 exclusive song is available along with 2 months worth of behind-the-scenes footage. The first 100 Patrons to sign up will receive a limited print, signed and numbered postcard in the mail as a thank you!
Lindsay commented “I can’t wait to show you more of my world and what being a musician and songwriter is really like. I am so excited for you to hear these songs too!”
DAWN RAY’D return with Wild Fire – a two track release due for release on May 7. Featuring two versions of the same song, constructed with alternative compositions and evoking different atmospheres, Wild Fire showcases the many facets of DAWN RAY’D.
The two tracks will be self released via Bandcamp on May 7 on 7” vinyl and cassette, and digitally via Prosthetic Records. Wild Fire I is bombastic black metal at its finest, whilst Wild Fire II embraces the most folk leanings of DAWN RAY’D. A lyric video for Wild Fire I is currently premiering via Decibel.
Of the release, the band comments: “For too long have we watched antisocial losers use cheap far-right shock tactics, shameful relics of the past, swastikas, dog whistles and other cowardly signifiers to which they have no claim, so as to inject a bit of life into otherwise unremarkable bands.”
“Why is it those bands, (of which we all know the names) when pressed, deny any far right leanings, hastily distance themselves from any sincere conviction, mumble apologies, insist there was some misunderstanding, or some other historical context?
Dawn Ray’d has done everything we can to make it as clear as possible what we believe, why we think the world should be better, and how we think we can get there. And one of the first jobs we have is to erase these parasites, cowards and bad actors from our communities: we are against fascism in all forms, now and forever. We make no apologies and will not concede one inch in our conviction and belief that people are good and need defending, everything for everybody, until this world is a good and fair place for everyone who is good and fair.
“Wild Fire is two versions of the same song, and I hope the lyrics ring out clear for themselves.
“Fuck all the coward bands that crumble when pressed, let’s together build the true black metal resistance!”
Wild Fire was recorded & mixed by Jason Taylor-Brown at Coastal Sounds, and then mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios. A performance of both tracks was premiered exclusively via Roadburn Redux last month.
DAWN RAY’D are currently writing the follow up to 2019’s Behold Sedition Plainsong, with recording and release dates still to be determined. Their back catalogue, including the reissue of debut EP, A Thorn, A Blight, is available to purchase now.
Wild Fire tracklist: 1. Wild Fire I 2. Wild Fire II
Hungarian Death Metal quintet DAMNATION‘s debut material titled Majesty In Degradation is set to be released via Pest Records (a Loud Rage Music chapter) this May 28th, and the is now streaming a second track The Colossal Dread here:
Majesty In Degradation is now available for pre-order here.
Established in Makó, Hungary by ex-Thy Catafalque guitarist János Juhász in 2020, DAMNATION soon evolved into a full line-up formation featuring experienced musicians from the Hungarian underground:
János Juhász – ex. Thy Catafalque, Gort (Guitarist / Songwriter) Árpád Szenti – Ahriman, Athame, Evil’s Tears, Mörbid Carnage, Sentio Ergo Sum (Drums) Péter Gáspár – Gort (Bass) Ádám Forczek – Needless (Lyrics / Vocals) Tamás Bárány – Needless (Lead guitars / Solos)
supported by: Zoltán Kónya – Gire, Gort (Recording / Mixing / Mastering) István Verebes – Shiva (Logo)
After a successful debut EP “Reset” in 2020, the instrumental trio NAVIAN returns to the spotlight with their new mesmerizing single “Luna”. “Luna” is an embodiment of an auditory catchiness, embedded into a landscape of heavy riffs and cathartic melodies. Listen to this sonic masterpiece here: https://orcd.co/lunaoutnow
“Luna” is the first taste off Navian’s upcoming debut album, TBR via Indie Recordings.
As the band states: “We wanted our upcoming single “Luna” to be the first exposed song from the album because we felt that it’s the one song that ties the whole thing together and represents many of the elements that go throughout the different tracks on the record. For this album, we wanted to experiment with bigger soundscapes and more dynamic sections in the songs, as well as heavier and low-tuned material. “Luna felt like the right song to show the musical direction we have taken as a band for our debut album.”
The band has been described as the Norwegian version of Animals As Leaders, and are inspired by bands like Plini, Intervals, and Polyphia. Navian build their music on technical melodies, interesting rhythms, big soundscapes, and groovy hooks! RockNews (CH) described Navian’s music as ‘special and challenging in so many ways’, while ManofMuchMetal (US) writes that their debut EP “skips along with a freshness and a bounce that is entirely infectious…
Navian builds their music on technical melodies, interesting rhythms, big soundscapes, and groovy hooks.
The guys met while taking a bachelor’s degree in contemporary music and were all working as session musicians. It is safe to say that the trio have an above average interest in music theory and history, production, instruments, and gear. Navian started out as a musical playground, a place where the members could challenge themselves and write the music they most wanted to play. “Practicing on something really hard, something that feels like we’re never going to master, and to spend numerous hours to finally achieve it. That feeling of pure joy is indescribable. It’s something we all love. It could perhaps be compared to sports, and how the sense of achievement hits you when you make the most crucial score of the game.”
The band came together in just one month. It all started with the bass player attending a concert with Polyphia and instantly thinking that he had to start a band like this. From there, the line-up was set, but they didn’t really get things going before their first festival booking, giving them one month to finish tracks for a full set. The intense work turned to great success, leading the band to continue the work for a full length.
Right before the first lock down in the home country Norway, they played at the Norwegian show case festival by:Larm, where the audience “sang” along to the track “Multiplayer”.
TOWER is a Polish band founded in 1994 (originally as Gothic Flowers) by Piotr Kolleck, who together with the bands Aion, Medebor, Sirrah and Sacriversum co-created the heavier part of the gothic metal scene in Poland.
In the 90s, the group released two very well-received albums: The Swan Princess (1998) and Mercury (1999). In 1999, the formation performed at the Metalmania festival – one of the largest metal festivals in this part of Europe, and appeared as a support for Bruce Dickinson. Unfortunately, the band broke up in 1999, just before the planned concert at the Castle Party festival.
After the band broke up, the leader Piotr Kolleck decided to register material for a new album called Raven, at Selani Studio in Olsztyn. He invited to cooperate: Leszek Rakowski (bass), DJ Qlhead and Szymon Czech.
In 2020, the Tower band officially returned. In cooperation with the Russian label GS Productions (http://gsp-music.com/), the albums The Swan Princess , Mercury and Raven were re-released. All these three titles were released in the form of a 6 panel digipak called Trilogy. The premiere took place on April 3, 2021.
May 3, 2021, the album Uriel was released. This is the latest studio album of Tower, which refers to the band’s roots, but with a richer instrumental layer containing elements of film and industrial music. Guest singing on the album: Eva Ortiz and Liv Kari.
The author of the new covers for the reissues of The Swan Princess and Mercury albums as well as the new Raven and Uriel releases is Blackdante, cooperating with Kalmankantaja and Sieged Mind, among others. Piotr Kolleck is responsible for the mix, while the Russian musician and producer – Anton Shafarostov – for mastering.
All Toweralbums will be available for sale via the webstore of the Polish record label Witching Hour Productions.
Comment of Piotr Kolleck, the leader of the Tower band:
“Life always has its own rules, everyone has weaknesses, fears and hopes. It was like that when the Tower ended a certain stage and it froze for the next 21 years, life turned out differently for each of us and did not allow us to return … our paths diverged. All these years, the relentlessly rushing time pressed me by the throat, it also dulled the feeling of weakness, isolating the nightmares in some distant part of my nature and allowed me to dig up long-hidden dreams and inspirations.
URIEL was born in the rain so that no one could see my tears. I saw the sun floating in the sky and all the beauty that can come into being on earth. But I have also seen pain, death and evil. It was an impulse to save the following pages of TOWER.
URIEL is balance and hope giver. Positive in the puzzle of life, the first part of something bigger, something that will allow me to smile while watching the last night on earth.
I am the creator, but some of the Magnificent have also been here, which will be a mystery, because Anonym must be kept.
URIEL is a musical evolution of TOWER and although it is the first of two parts I think the old spirit has remained within it.“
Prepared to satiate a legion of devoted fans, Canadian alt-metal/heavy rock crossover stars SUMO CYCO will finally drop their highly anticipated upcoming full-length album, Initiation, this Friday, May 7 via Napalm Records!
If their three ultra successful current singles “No Surrender”, “Bystander”, and the Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, In This Moment, Papa Roach) produced “Vertigo” (which have now surpassed one million combined cross-platform streams/views) are any indication, it should come as no surprise that the band’s final pre-album single – the eclectic, infectious “Bad News” – is another total winner, showing off the band’s perfected multi-genre attack more potently than ever!
Frontwoman Skye “Sever” Sweetnam says about “Bad News”: “I’m sure many people can relate to feeling like everyday is ‘Bad News’ over and over again. There was a point in 2020 when I was so glued to the news and current events it felt like my personal identity was fading away into an abyss and replaced with a scrolling, media consuming robot. It made me miserable, but I felt like I had a responsibility to know what was going on. It took me a while to peel myself away from the constant barrage of negativity and find a balance.”
Sweetnam adds about the video: “The music video was really fun to film. I’m so lucky to have band members who are willing to get pretty weird with me. Once the make-up and prosthetics were on, the guys and I came to life as our Cyco Terrornaut family. I included some obnoxious color combos that almost make you question your sanity when you watch the video.”
SUMO CYCO’s Initiation invites a mass of new followers into their warped, dystopian-like world of “Cyco City”! As with its predecessors Lost In Cyco City (2014), Opus Mar (2017) and countless singles, Initiation is based in the imaginative conceptual location of “Cyco City”. But unlike most concept albums, the lyrical content is inspired by the band’s real-time environment – featuring timely, personal themes of love, sacrifice, anxiety, empowerment and more that all listeners can relate to.
Sweetnam adds about the album: “The album’s title, Initiation, stems from wanting to invite the audience to be “initiated” into our world. There are usually two congruent themes to each of our albums – one is real-world inspiration, and the other is “Cyco City”, a comic book-esque alternate universe where all our music videos take place. With Initiation, we introduce four gangs or clubs. Our music videos for Initiation all include a theme of these clubs – whether it’s gang vs. gang, a forbidden love between opposing sides, or the idea of having to choose where you belong.
Outside of the story, the lyrics relate to the polarization of the world we live in now. We all have a longing to belong, but what makes one feel accepted or ostracized from a group? To be INITIATED, would you be willing to try to understand another point of view? I have always written lyrics about internal struggle, the war within oneself. Throughout the album, we bounce back and forth between struggle and overcoming. It reflects the times, and there are moments that seem a bit dark.”
At the album’s start, SUMO CYCO lights a spark with the seductively hooked track “Love You Wrong”, connecting like a punch and setting the stage for the vigor to come. The blitz continues with standouts like lethal room-mover “Bystander” and electronic-infused, in-your-face rock anthem “Vertigo” – the latter standing tall with its airtight, gritty pop sensibility and featuring the production mastery of Juno Award-winning producer Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, In This Moment, Papa Roach). Swiftly followed by erratic, addictive nod-to-the-times “Bad News” and heavy, creeping success “No Surrender”, Initiation proves not even halfway through that the band’s songwriting ability and the commanding performance prowess frontwoman Skye “Sever” Sweetnam, guitarist Matt “MD13” Drake, bassist Oscar Anesetti and drummer Matt “Trozzi” blend a recipe for greatness. The album continues winding through a mastery of heavy-meets-pop execution before ending with the full-throttle, sugar n’ salt packed album closer “This Dance Is Doomed” (while various editions cap off with sultry, confident “Awakened”).
By the end of Initiation, listeners will wonder just what exactly SUMO CYCO can’t do, proving them as a band on the rise, and that unconventionality always stands out from the pack.
Initiation tracklisting:* 1) Love You Wrong 2) Bystander 3) Vertigo 4) Bad News 5) No Surrender 6) M.I.A. 7) Cyclone 8) Run with the Giants 9) Overdrive 10) Power & Control 11) This Dance Is Doomed 12) Awakened (not available on standard digital version)
*Various new tracks, such as “New Jive” and “We Are The Nation” are available in different groupings on various formats of Initiation (i.e. Die Hard Limited Edition).
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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
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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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