Finnish melodic metal band DARK THE SUNS have released a new single and music video ‘The Secrets of Time’ from their upcoming fourth studio album ‘Suru Raivosi Sydämeni Pimeydessä’ which is set to be released on April 9th 2021 via Inverse Records.
Mikko Ojala commets: “With the lyric video of our song The secrets of Time we wanted to exhibit the beautiful wintery nature of Finland, continuing with the theme set with our previous videos. This song is one of our personal favourites among the songs releasing on our new album in April.”
Nu-metalcore quintet SEEKER have released a video for their new single ‘Bite Your Tongue’, their heaviest and most aggressive track to date. ‘Bite Your Tongue’ offers a glimpse into the band’s upcoming EP, Call It A Hatred, due for release on 7th May 2021.
For fans of After The Burial, Northlane, Wage War and Alpha Wolf, ‘Bite Your Tongue’ is an exhilarating blend of heavy, groovy, technical metal that cements them as ones to watch.
Hailing from Surrey, Seeker is comprised of two sets of brothers and one close friend. Formed in 2019, the band began their steady rise in June 2020 with the release of their debut single ‘Deranged’, gaining momentum with over 25,000 collective streams.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Seeker built their live reputation through shows across the UK, including a support slot with Heart Of A Coward.
Now the quintet are putting their feet firmly on the pedal, offering a thrilling taste of things to come with their new single ‘Bite Your Tongue’.
Power-folk metallers VEXILLUM have released a visualizer for the song ‘When a Good Man Goes to War’, the first single taken from their new album ‘When Good Men Go to War’ – out on April 23 on Scarlet Records.
This is how the band commented: “This song is about an almost unknown force, a force so rare and frightening to see that, when unleashed, is not possible to describe the scenario that lies ahead. That disruptive, uncontrollable force that comes from breaking a balance. It’s easy to predict the reaction of an evil man, but not what can happen if a man who has always been good goes into battle and puts aside all the rules that define him. As at sea, everything can change in an instant, from calm to raging storm. Everything could go wrong if you don’t respect the forces that unleashed it.”
Enriched by the epic cover artwork by Andrea Butera, ‘WGMGTW’ is a record with more aggressive and powerful sounds – a crucial evolution in Vexillum’s style and aesthetic, obviously tinged with that folk atmosphere that has always distinguished the band.
BRANDON GIBBS, an explosive guitar player and singer / songwriter who has a powerful, soulful voice and a brilliant sense of melody that sets him apart from his contemporaries.
‘Lost Boys’ is a pure rock tune and it shows the heavier, darker side of Brandon both lyrically and musically as it was written and recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is drenched with emotion and honesty.
“Lost Boys is a song for the people As an artist it’s my job to put feelings into words and song. 2020 was like living in a nightmare for millions upon millions. From wildfires, a global pandemic, riots, a derecho, loss of so many lives, people not even having a chance to say final goodbye’s properly, shut-downs, loss of employment, closed business’s, stages for the arts being closed down and the one thing that brings us together like music events being prohibited… We all collectively got hit so many times that one can’t help but feel empty and lost. I won’t ever forget it and we all have long lasting scars from it. Sink into the lyrics as this isn’t about the good times rolling, this is about being so vulnerable you can’t help but scream it out loud! “I don’t want to be a lost boy AGAIN!” – Brandon Gibbs
Brandon Gibbs is best known for being a cryptic, spiritual, radiant songwriter & national live performer. Brandon’s songwriting takes you on an incredible journey throughout each performance, often transcending genres of rock, blues, pop and country but all the while still remains Brandon in every play. The cocktail that is equal parts songwriting, performing and compels his fans to continue to support his journey also has a heavy measure of explosive guitar work that has been instilled in the 35-year-old artist since the age of 8. This keeps his fan base nothing short of all included! He’s also a public speaker and a major advocate for anti- bullying.
Brandon’s passion for guitar began around the age of eight. At the age of fourteen, he and his twin formed The Gibbs Brothers Band and would perform together for the next 10 years while also writing and recording together. Their reputation for harmonies, instrumentation, and pure entertainment earned them more opportunities than most unsigned bands ever see. Some of their shows included The Doobie Brothers, Poison, Bret Michaels, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, George Thorogood, the late Jeff Healey and many others.
When Brandon and his twin parted ways musically in 2010, Brandon began traveling extensively as a solo artist. In 2012, Brandon formed the band Cheap Thrill which featured two members of multi-platinum band Cinderella. Cheap Thrill toured nationally and internationally and still performs presently. Brandon would write and record during his downtime, and his song, This Town, was picked up by the John Force Racing Team and was eventually used for ESPN’s NHRA division for three consecutive seasons.
In 2014, Brandon joined forces with Rikki Rockett (Poison), Tracii Guns (L. A. Guns), and Eric Brittingham (Cinderella) to form Devil City Angels. Their first single, All My People, which was actually previously written and recorded by Brandon and his twin brother, was used in the State Farm segment on the 2014 Monday Night Football Countdown. Devil City Angels was quickly signed by Century Media Records and released their self-titled record in September of 2015. (In 2020, DCA surprised their fans and released a video called “Testify” which Joel Kosche (Collective Soul) co-wrote, produced and performed with Brandon and Rikki and Topher Nolan. In 2015, Brandon was asked by members of multi-platinum band Poison, Bobby Dahl, Rikki Rockett, and CC DeVille to perform hits from the Poison catalogue. They were called “The Special Guests.”
In 2017, Brandon also created an incredible guitar driven show called “Planet Axe” featuring Ryan Roxie (Alice Cooper) and Joel Kosche (Collective Soul) This show was extremely well received by fans. 2016-present – Brandon and Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Cher, TSO) perform together in an acoustic show called “The Campfire Tour.” An intimate vibe with a BIG sound that fans love!
In April of 2019, Brandon signed his first deal as a solo artist with Golden Robot Records releasing the single “Rain Whiskey” fall of 2019 and “Leave” in 2020. Brandon will be releasing his third single “Lost Boys” with Golden Robot early 2021.
Just recently, Italian Rock Grunge Project JULIA AND THE ROOFERS released their debut album ‘The Will Of Evil’, strongly influenced by the sound of the Seattle bands of the 90s as well as by the angry approach typical of the riot groups (Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Hole, Babes in Toyland). The album is now available digitally on the main digital platforms, and physically on Amazon, eBay, Spotify + on the band’s Bandcamp page.
Metal Shock Finland‘s Tarja Virmakari had a pleasure to talk with the band’s frontlady Julia and Ranza, talking widely about the band’s debut album ‘The Will Of Evil’, which was released on January 7th 2021 via Diamonds Prod, and many more. Read the interview below.
Hello JULIA AND THE ROOFERS, welcome to Metal Shock Finland! First a question to you, Julia, entered the musical world in 2010, would you like to tell me about how?
Julia: Hi Tarja! I started playing when i was 15 in a band made up of some school friends. When I realized music was more than a passion I started studying singing and guitar. Then I joined a Led Zeppelin tribute band and this experience completely changed my point of view and “trained” me. After that I tried a lot of diffenre genres: I played guitar in a reggae band but also sang in some prog, heavy and thrash metal bands.
Please tell us, how you came up with the project, formed in 2018, and why this name? How is it connected to roofs, lol, or just a nice nick to your band mates?
Julia: At first we were an acoustic cover band because where we live is very difficult to play in an electric set. So at the beginning we just wanted to play and have fun till we decided to try composing something new taking adcantages of the lockdwon period. I left my colleagues choose the name and they insisted on calling themselves “roofers”.
Ranza: About the word “roofer” we choose this one with Peso because sounded cool, yeah guys, we fix roofs lol, last year we discovered that in english slang it means “pushers” lmao
Infact, talking about your band mates, Peso and Ranza, how did you meet each others? And what are their inputs in this project, concerning the songwriting etc?
Julia: I met Peso and Ranza when I started taking guitar lessons at musicart school with Pier Gonella. I performed a few times with Peso for various events sponsored by the school until he offered me to start a band. this is how Julia And The Roofers were born.
Ranza: I first met Julia in a concert organized by the school where I teach guitar, when I was coming in the theatre where the bands played I heard her singing and I thought “Wow! She has a great voice!” Then six years later I started playing with her.
What are your personal influences, music-wise?
Julia: Personally I consider Led Zeppelin my biggest influence as a singer and a musician but I also like Alice In Chains especially Jerry Cantrell’s work as a composer.
Ranza: My influences come from jazz, I love John Coltrane and Pat Metheny, ‘70 rock with Beatles and George Harrison and one of my favourite metal records come from Finland: “Elegy” by Amorphis, I think it’s a milestone in my musical growth.
Talking about the songs themselves, from where you take the topics and inspiration?
Julia: This album is a very personal work. I decided to talk about some episodes of my recent past that I wanted to exorcise using all the bad memories and anger to create something useful and start over.
Ranza: It was a pleasure and honor to work with such a musicians like Peso and Julia and I really enjoyed and had fun studying the harmonic arrangements. I only regret that we had not the magic of work together in a rehearsal room and in a recording studio but, well, I think we did a great team work.
How would you describe your musical style?
Julia: We tried to make something different not focusing on a specific genre. Anyway my grunge influence is very recognizable as well as some reference to the sound of the 70s. I think that Peso gave that heavier touch to the songs and Ranza worked hard to make everything homogeneous.
We all know that this current world situation has changed the music industry, but you didn’t stop, and during the lockdown you decided to draft your debut album ‘The Will Of Evil’, please tell us more on how it came together?
Julia: Because of pandemic we had to work remotely so I played the drafts of the songs via Skype and I recorded them with my phone so they could work on them too. It was a bit of a complicated process but it allowed us to arrive in the recording studio prepared and motivated.
Ranza: Sometimes, working one by one, we felt differently the feelings of any single song, I remember that one time, when I was first approaching “bones” I played a totally different intro and she told me “this is not what I have in mind” lol, but we worked to give form to Julia’s ideas and this is good.
Your debut album ‘The Will Of Evil’ was released on January 7th 2021 via Diamonds Prod, what can you tell us about its sound?
Julia: I think this album is something to be listened to without prejudice, without imposing limits related to genres and styles. This is what I recommend: close your eyes and just listen!
Is it a concept album, or does it have 9 separate stories?
Julia: It’s more a concept album, all the songs are shades of the same story. To sum up the record is about a toxic relationship.
Just recently you released 3 singles + videos from the album, ‘Sound of Evil’, ‘Eros & Thanatos’ and ‘River’, why these choices as first singles?
Julia: We chose at first “Sound Of Evil” ’cause when we were recording it we fell in love with the song which also sees the participation of Pier Gonella as solo guitarist. With the second single “Eros And Thanatos” we wanted to show our dark and erotic side which we best represented in the video. For “River”, the third one, we created a lyrics video cause it’s one of the most representative lyrics of the album.
As we don’t yet know when the proper shows and tours will be again possible, how will you support the album in the meantime?
Julia: We planned to make more video to support the project hoping to be able to perform live as soon as possible.
Ranza: The best thing to support the album is to work hard for live shows, the arrangements in the recording are rich in overdubbings and we have to recreate the same feelings in three on stage.
And what about your future plans?
Julia: We are getting ready to be ready to play the record live but we are also working on some new material.
Ranza: Cross the fingers while we wait for a change of season when people and musicians can come back to live shows, we really miss them.
Now the word is yours, what is your message to our readers and your fans?
Julia: Thank you so much for your support! You can find us and all our songs on our Facebook page, Bandcamp, Spotify and Youtube! We can’t wait to play all these songs and entertain you all! See you very soon.
Ranza: I’m really pleased to talk to Finnish pals ‘cos guys YOU ROCK! You have a lot of the best metal musicians ever!
Current line-up JULIA – voice and bass RANZA- guitar, sitar and keyboards PESO drums
The Will Of Evil -tracklisting: River Summer (seems so easy) Sound of Evil Come to an end Eros & Thanatos The rope Gardens Down in the net Bones
“The Will Of Evil” was recorded and mastered by Pier Gonella at MusicArt Studio.
Norwegian Sognametal veterans VREID have teamed up with Decibel Magazine to premiere the haunting video for their new song, “The Morning Red”. The track is taken from VREID‘s unique new album and accompanying film, ‘Wild North West,’ which will be released on April 30 via Season of Mist! Watch and listen at THIS LOCATION.
VREID comments on the film’s historic location: “The more than 100-year-old sanatorium lies completely isolated in the mountainside above the world’s longest fjord, Sognefjorden. Once built to shield people from infectious diseases and later the asylum of the wild northwest, it became our creative center during the pandemic. With the world closed down, we admitted ourselves to one of Scandinavia’s most mythical and majestic buildings to record the movie. The massive building has been abandoned for almost 30 years, and the harsh climate has taken its toll as the building are being consumed by nature day by day. The history and destinies that these roughed walls embrace are fascinating, vile and dark to say the least. And with Wild North West, we have become a part of this majestic white castle’s history.”
VREID has recently appeared on Norway’s TV2, the biggest commercial news station in the country! The clip spotlighted the band’s ‘Into the Mountains of Sognametal’ livestream, which attracted over 140,000 fans from all over the world when it premiered in June of 2020, as well as the band’s ambitious upcoming album and film. The TV2 news item can be seen HERE.
‘Wild North West’ is a concept album that developed alongside an entire movie. Inspired by both true events and pure imagination, the listener is taken on a whirlwind of a journey, diving deep into themes of war, fear, betrayal, loss, anxiety, and madness with thought-provoking lyrics that embody human nature. It captures the Nordic heart at the core of their sound, taking cues from Norway’s rugged landscape as it ricochets between eternal darkness and the solace of bracing light.
Pre-orders are available for ‘Wild North West’HERE.
The cover was created by Remi Juliebø (Deformat Design).
Tracklist: 1. Wild North West (05:23) 2. Wolves at Sea (05:14) 3. The Morning Red (05:42) 4. Shadows of Aurora (05:20) 5. Spikes of God (04:10) 6. Dazed and Reduced (04:55) 7. Into the Mountains (05:20) 8. Shadowland (09:53) Total: 0:49:23
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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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