New Solo Project SHADE OF SORROW – Produced By Tuomas Saukkonen – Releases Single ‘No Return’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on March 26, 2021
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Single cover by Sami Kettunen

New Finnish solo project SHADE OF SORROW by Mika Juhani Kankainen sees daylight.

Frozen soil of the North has brought to life a new embodiment of Finnish darkness, gloom and beauty. After working in the background for mighty Wolfheart it is time for Mika Juhani Kankainen to step into the spotlight with his own solo project SHADE OF SORROW. Debut single NO RETURN is out today and is the first of series of singles to be released during 2021. Just released single can be viewed on Youtube and listened on all digital streaming platforms.

Just released video and song is produced by Finnish metal mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen. He comments:
“Mika has been helping Wolfheart in the studio and video production and it was an honor and pleasure to return the favour and sit into the producers chair both with music and video. Relentless, talented and strong like a bear. Truly a my kind of an artist to work with” – Tuomas Saukkonen / Wolfheart, Before the Dawn, Dawn of Solace etc.

Listen NO RETURN single:
Youtube: https://youtu.be/uwVlQIMuJE0
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2NRfwBp
Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/QzdZ1yM6exAckKoc9
Apple Music: https://apple.co/39dpVPe

Song is recorded by Esa Uusimaa and vocals produced by Juha Kylmänen (Whiteleaf studios). Mix and mastering by Esa Uusimaa.

Between Chile And Finland – Video Blog About Hot Rhythms And Cold Metal

Posted by tarjavirmakari on March 26, 2021
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One of Chile’s best-known metal guitarist Erick Avila in Finland – Metal meets hot Latin American Rhythms. See the first episode of ‘Between Chile and Finland’ now on YouTube, watch below. New episode every Friday!

Erick Avila moved to Finland two years ago for the love of the local music scene and he is now building his new career there. He has documented this new musical beginning in a video blog series and it culminates to the point when Erick Avila’s band releases their first single on May 21st 2021. Erick Avila is one of the best-known metal guitarists in Chile. He is also a composer, producer and for a long time he has been the leader of a Chilean metal band Six Magics.

Avila found a band bearing his own name with three Finnish musicians. The group is doing now something no one has ever done before – combining metal and the hot rhythms of Latin America such as the Chilean cueca, Brazilian bossanova and Cuban salsa.

“Between Chile and Finland” is a ten chapter video blog series that tells a story about how two very different cultures meet and wrap around each other through metal music. You can see the struggle when Finnish musicians start to learn and play these new rhythms in their own style. The series also tells about Avila’s own struggles and experiences when he is building a new life in a foreign country filled with the difficult Finnish language.

Is Erick Avila the next big thing to break through with his band in Latin America?

Avila’s former band Six Magics has toured also in Europe in addition to Latin America. They have headlined concerts for thousands of people and supported bands like Nightwish and Tarja Turunen. Avila has a vast fan base in Chile for over 20 years of career and he has been an inspiration source for many guitarists in the area.

Erick Avila – The band:
Erick Avila – guitar, vocals
Tuomas Riihimäki – keyboards
Aki Kontiokangas – bass
Elias Koljonen – drums

Find out more on band’s webpage, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

CODE Debut Track ‘The Mad White Hair’ From Upcoming Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on March 26, 2021
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Fans of CODE don’t need to wait until the 4th June to find out what the band’s fifth full-length release “Flyblown Prince” holds in store for them, because Dark Essence Records have today debuted a track from the long-awaited album.
 
The track, titled “The Mad White Hair”,  can be downloaded or streamed from a number of platforms at https://darkessencerecords.fanlink.to/Code_TheMadWhiteHair
 
The  choice of “The Mad White Hair” may seem like a bit of an unusual one for a debut track, as the band explains:
 
Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, the first song we are releasing from our forthcoming album ‘Flyblown Prince’, is the album closer, and also the longest and most involved song we have ever written. It is a broiling mix of psychedelia, claustrophobia, desperation and grandiosity. We hope you find time to listen to this 12-minute opus of impending madness in all its unhinged and gleefully epic glory.
 
Formed in London in 2002 from the black ruminations of Aort’s early project, SEASONAL CODE,  the band has, over the years, become somewhat  of a legend, both in the UK and internationally.  And, by refusing to be categorised,  CODE has very successfully  forged its own individual path through the ever-expanding minefield of genres.

With “Flyblown Prince” CODE have created  a perverse fairy tale of an album that guides its listeners through the twists and turns of a dark and ghoulish nightmare fantasy of cinematic proportions via an  ever-shifting soundscape of moods and violent aggression.  The end-result is a progressive album, both musically and technically, and one the likes of which hasn’t been heard in years.
 
It is, quite possibly, the most intense and extreme album the band has ever produced in its long and illustrious career, and about which  CODE’s lineup of Aort on Guitars, Lordt on Drums, Syhr on Bass and Wacian on Vocals, with guitarist Andras providing support on the recordings,  recently had this to say:
 
We are thrilled to finally be unleashing our new album ‘Flyblown Prince’ with our friends at Dark Essence Records.  This album is the result of three years of work and it is wonderful to be able to let it loose in all its mad, brutal and grandiose glory.  Every detail has been meticulously poured over and we think this is our richest release to date.  We hope you enjoy our 45-minute, darkness filled and anxiety ridden offering. 

 
With cover art by Kristina Pavleska, layout by Costin Chioreanu and photography by Julie Cottrell, track listing for “Flyblown Prince” is as follows:

1. Flyblown Prince
2. Clemency & Atropy
3. By the Charred Stile
4. Rat King
5. From the Next Room
6. Dread Stridulate Lodge
7. Scold’s Bride
8. The Mad White Hair

“Flyblown Prince” will be available in CD, Digital and Vinyl formats, and is now available to pre-order from the following:

Bandcamp:  https://codeblackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/flyblown-prince
Webshop:  https://darkessencerecords.no/product-category/preorder/ 
US Webshop: https://darkessence.aisamerch.com/

A video teaser for the album “Flyblown Prince” can be seen below.

NORDJEVEL Release New Single & Lyric Video ‘Gnawing The Bones’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on March 26, 2021
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Photo credit: Lacin Temocin

Norwegian Black Metallers NORDJEVEL release their new single “Gnawing The Bones”  today! You can listen to it here: https://orcd.co/gnawingthebones or watch the lyric video on YouTube. “Gnawing The Bones” is the second single off their upcoming EP “Fenriir”, due May 7th.

Pre-order the EP here: https://shop.indierecordings.no/collections/nordjevel

The five-track EP, takes its name from “Fenriir”, the monstrous wolf of Norse Mythology. “Fenriir” is not, however, a concept recording, as NORDJEVEL are quick to point out:

“Fenriir” is an EP that shows all sides of NORDJEVEL, from the very beginning, right up to where we are now. We had a few extra tracks which we decided early on in the recording process didn`t fit our upcoming album, so we decided to include two tracks, the title track “Fenriir”, along with “Rovdyr”, and make them exclusively available for this EP.

To make the release more special, we also decided to record ” Gnawing The Bones” which is one of the new songs that will be on the upcoming album. We also wanted to include a live track, so we mixed and mastered a version of ” Det Ror Og Ror” which was recorded live at Brutal Assault in 2019 by Hugo Alvarstein.

And of course we couldn’t miss the opportunity to record a cover of “Fallen Angel” by the mighty POSSESSED. It is our tribute to them as the pioneers they are for our music, and also to honour them after we had the pleasure of touring with them last year.

NORDJEVEL’s lineup on “Fenriir” includes Doedsadmiral on Vocals, Destructhor and Valla on Guitars, Dzepticunt on Bass and Dominator on Drums. Vocals, bass and guitars were recorded at Velvet Recording, Spydeberg, Norway, by Nordjevel and Christer Krogh, whilst drums recorded at Studio LV5 in Sundsvall, Sweden.

With Artwork and layout by Doedsadmiral and long-time collaborator Khaos Diktator Design, “Fenriir” will be available in CD, Digital and Vinyl formats. Track listing for “Fenriir” is as follows:

Fenriir
Gnawing The Bones
Rovdyr
Fallen Angel (Possessed Cover)
Det Ror og Ror (Live At Brutal Assault 2019)

Credits:

All music and lyrics by Nordjevel, except Fallen Angel, which was originally performed and written by Possessed. The track Fenriir is based upon the poem called Fenriir.

One Time Supergroup FLESH & BLOOD Feat. TYKETTO Vocalist DANNY VAUGHN Put Out Fully Remastered ‘Blues For Daze’ For First Time Digitally

Posted by tarjavirmakari on March 26, 2021
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FLESH & BLOOD was a short lived super-group put together by Mark Mangold (Touch, Drive She Said) on keyboards, Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) on vocals, Al Pitrelli (Savatage, Joe Lynn Turner, Alice Cooper) on guitar, Chuck Bonfante (Saraya, Drive She Said) on drums and Mitch Distefano on bass.

Blues For Daze is bluesy-based hard rock…classic rock mixing upbeat rockers and atmospheric mid-tempo / ballads with more than a hint of AOR / Melodic Rock. Keyboardist Mark Mangold had this to say about the re-issue, “So thrilled to be revisiting our bluesy funky side, with the bonus tracks, and hanging with friends.  I love listening to this album. Mamma say stank.”

Vaughn & Co. rock out to Feel the Power, Shake Ya Tail Feather, title track Blues For Daze (Mr. Blue)” and I Know Where You Been, then chill out for the beautiful Bed of Roses, Jenny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Man Enough and the classic “Voodoo Moon”. Danny gives us his take on this album, ‘Blues For Daze’ is one of my favorite albums that I have ever done. It came at a time when I needed a change, and its ultra cool, bluesy roots gave me a chance to go vocally exploring in a place that I had always wanted to go but had always been worried that maybe I didn’t have “the stuff” that it takes. It’s up to the listener to decide if I came through or not but, inspired by such a tremendous group of songs and such wonderfully talented players, I gave it my all from the first to the last note. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Recorded in the mid-Nineties, ‘Blues For Daze’ became an out of print collectors piece. The band reformed in the fall of 2020, to record two new songs and their sound clearly remains the same on “Ready To Roll”, and Danny Vaughn shines with an acoustic version of “Riverside”, showing off not only his vocal chops, but also playing acoustic guitar and blues harp. Danny continues, “For a long time I have wondered if we would ever do a sequel so presenting this release with two brand new tracks gives this gem of a record some closure and is the sweet icing on the cake. Listen loudly!”

Check out the newly re-mastered Flesh & Blood release ‘Blues For Daze’ with bonus tracks here: https://smarturl.it/BluesForDaze

“Blues for Daze” Tracklist:
01 – Feel The Power
02 – Shake Ya Tail Feather
03 – Bed Of Roses
04 – Boogie Chile
05 – Riverside
06 – Jenny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
07 – I Know Where You Been
08 – Voodoo Moon
09 – Blues For Daze
10 – Man Enough
11 – Sweet Sister Rose
12 – Judgement Day

BONUS TRACKS:
13 – Riverside (Acoustic)
14 – Ready To Roll

CROBOT Release New Single & Video ‘Mountain’ Ft. Frank Bello

Posted by tarjavirmakari on March 26, 2021
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CROBOT and Mascot Records have announced the global release of an EP titled Rat Child on June 18th.  The complete track listing features “Mountain” (featuring Frank Bello), “Kiss It Goodbye” (featuring Howard Jones), “Everyone Dies,” (featuring Stix Zadina), and “Rat Child.”

Screen Video of “Mountain” Here:

Singer Brandon Yeagley shares, “We’ve grown to know the Anthrax dudes pretty well through touring and developed a working relationship in addition to our friendships. We’ve always talked about writing with Frankie because we have a lot of the same influences and that definitely shines through in ‘Mountain.’  Frankie has always lent us his ear and has been a big supporter of ours – it was a treat to work with him on something.”

The recording “Everyone Dies” was co-written by Steel Panther’s Stix Zadina, who performs piano, drums and bass on the track. Yeagley states, “One of the last tours we did was supporting Steel Panther. We hit it off with all of the guys. Stix even got tattooed by Bishop! We kept in touch and he sent us a bunch of ideas he had for songs. We really gravitated towards this piano instrumental he had called ‘Jimmy’s Piano Song.’ We don’t know Jimmy, but Stix must really love that dude…cause that shit brought tears to our eyes. Through a couple of Zoom sessions, we were able to work everything out and that’s how we wrote ‘Everyone Dies.’  We really wanted to venture somewhere different with this one but still pump it full of our personality.  This is our attempt to sit at the dinner table with Queen whilst eating a healthy portion of Meatloaf.”  

In reference to the collaboration with Howard Jones, Yeagley offers, “Howard was introduced to us through mutual friends. We have always been huge fans of his melodic footprint and his unique melodies. When we heard he would be interested in writing with us, we were beyond excited. He flew down to Austin and spent a few days in a studio with us. We had a such great chemistry with him and wrote ‘Kiss it Goodbye.’ We thought it was a shoe-in for being a track on Motherbrain but for whatever reason, it didn’t make the cut. It seemed like such a travesty to let such a great song sit on the shelf. So, we’re pumped to let the world hear it!”

On the collected body of work released as the Rat Child EP, the band shares, “These Motherbrain leftovers (and new tunes alike), will satiate your tastebuds for some new Crobot riffage. We had the unique opportunity to collaborate with Frankie Bello (Anthrax), Howard Jones (Light the Torch), & Stix Zadina (Steel Panther), with whom we not only value friendship but idolize as well. Whether it’s gritty grooves, ballistic riffs, or that good ol’ Crobot sound you’re yearning for to getcha through, we’ve got just frequencies for ya!  Say hello to our lil’ friends…”