Lyrically, and musically, the award-winning Dutch artist lays her soul bare with the most evocative record of her career – captivating song-stories told with acoustic guitars, strings, horns, percussion, and Anneke’s hypnotic vocal harmonies.
ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN couldn’t be happier and more excited to be releasing her most personal album to date: ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’ was inspired by heartbreak, but it is also a manifest of how heartbreak can lead into transformation and make way for something new and bright once the dark has been overcome. Anneke comments in her own words: “When I scribbled down some lyric ideas in 2018, I took the first steps on the long road that would lead to the release of ‘The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest’. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of self-doubt when you’re writing and recording highly personal songs, but once the album was done, I was able to put my mind at ease. I’m so proud of what we’ve created and release day has finally arrived!”
To show a yet different side of the album’s musical diversity, today sees the release of the brand-new track and video for “I Saw A Car”, which Anneke comments as follows: “The stomps and plucky brightness might fool you into thinking this was a ditty, but the vulnerable and self-assessing lyrics actually fit the headspace that being expressed throughout the album. This song was written and produced very late in the recording process, but I just instantly knew the track had something special and needed to be included on the album.”
Watch the video for “I Saw A Car” here:
(Music and words by Anneke van Giersbergen Directed by Jasper van Gheluwe)
On February 26th, Denmark’s IOTUNN released their new full-length, Access All Worlds, via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the record, a video for the album track, “The Weaver System” (produced by Costin Chioreanu – Twilight Media – twilight13media.com), can be viewed here:
Iotunn comments: “‘Weaver’ has been in our creative loops for several years since back when Jesper came up with the very first clean guitar part. We always knew it would appear on our debut album. For us, it’s an album highlight on its own terms, and to this day, it still sounds fresh to us. With Jón’s vocals and lyrics, the composition has found its home, and when Costin did his visual art and film, ‘Weaver’ got weaved into new spheres and perspectives. We are very proud of this collaboration and hope you’ll like what you see and hear! Additionally, we are now ready to have the entire album released for takeoff. We present to you the whole voyage of ‘Access All Worlds‘ and encourage you to come with us and spend one focused hour listening to ‘Access All Worlds‘ from the first to the last note. We believe that we have created seven distinctive worlds constituting one world – one album, seven songs, for all of us who love listening to full albums!”
Purchase and stream Access All Worlds in full now at: metalblade.com/iotunn – where the album is available in various formats.
Formed in 2015, Iotunn (which is old Norse for “Giant”) entered the scene with their acclaimed EP, The Wizard Falls (2016), which was mixed by Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica, Morbid Angel, Blind Guardian, Rainbow) at Sweet Silence Studios. After some line-up changes, the band found their voice and narrator in March 2018: Jón Aldará (Hamferd), plus bassist Eskil Rask (Sunless Dawn) in October 2019. The quintet – completed by Jens Nicolai Gräs (guitars), Jesper Gräs (guitars), Bjørn Wind Andersen (drums) – then began work on their first full-length and Metal Blade Records debut: Access All Worlds.
Mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, At the Gates, Dimmu Borgir) at Fredman Studios, Access All Worlds is seven songs driven by creative curiosity and artistic honesty, that also initiate feelings and reflections. An epic, cosmic and contemplative journey of energetic beauty and ferocity, Access All Worlds reflects on human existence, set in a storyline following daring space travelers. The music is grounded in roaring, colorful drumming and crushing bass, while the sonic horizon is painted with a vast spectrum of guitar-driven expression, all overarched by narration through diverse vocals. “We wanted to make an epic, strong and atmospheric yet rocking record both musically and lyrically. Jón came with the idea based on space travelers trying to find answers to the apocalypse, which reflects many of the impressions, feelings and thoughts human life holds that originates from something vast, mysterious, chaotic and breathtakingly spectacular. Everything just went berserk regarding the album theme. Is everything occurring in the lyrics just a dream? Is the album an allegory for any individual’s chapters in life? Where does the album actually start and end? Stuff like that. We find that the album can be interpreted in various ways. For us, the album is a truly exciting journey, and we hope it will be for the listener as well, on his or her own terms”, says guitarist Jens Nicolai.
Access All Worlds track-listing 1. Voyage of the Garganey I 2. Access All Worlds 3. Laihem’s Golden Pits 4. Waves Below 5. The Tower of Cosmic Nihility 6. The Weaver System 7. Safe Across the Endless Night
Legendary Rockers ANGEL are set to start recording a brand new album on Cleopatra Records. This will be the second album on Cleopatra and a follow up to the very successful album “RISEN” released in 2019. Founding members Punky Meadows and Frank DiMino have been working with new partner and band member, guitarist Danny Farrow to write and craft the new songs. The three recently got together and wrote 13 brand new songs and the band is super excited to get back in the studio to record. “We’ve written some great songs and are excited for all you guys to hear,” says Meadows, continuing “We’re recording our second album for Cleopatra records and couldn’t be happier about it! They’re an awesome record company and we can’t wait to get started.” Says guitarist Danny Farrow, “We are all super Excited to be working with Cleopatra Records again on a follow up album to RISEN. It will be great to get back in the studio again with the band as well as working on lots of positive things for the future of ANGEL.”
In 2020, Angel also signed with veteran artist manager Ron Rainey in Beverly Hills, CA. “Ron is the real deal and has already done great things for Us!” Punky says. The respect goes both ways says Rainey, “I’m happy to be working with Angel again. The group is sounding great live and they are prodigious writers, testified by the success of their 2019 Cleopatra album ‘Risen.’ They are now writing songs for their next Cleopatra album and we at Ron Rainey Management are proud to be a part of their resurgence.” Part of that resurgence will be the eventual return to touring and Ron has already hired Mike Weinstein from American Artists Corporation to help bring their show to Angel fans across the USA. “We have a great team now and are looking forward to an amazing year, and of Course we’ll be back out on the road to blow the roof off in a town near you!” celebrates, Meadows.
But you don’t have to wait long to reconnect with Angel. Tune in to hear Punky, Frank and Danny interview with the radio rocker Keith Roth this Sunday night (Feb 28, 2021) from 8:00 to 10:00 pm Eastern time on The ELECTRIC BALLROOM show on WRAT 95.9FM Click “listen live” on www.WRAT.com, or play WRAT on iHeartRadio.
JOHAN KIHLBERG’S IMPERA is the brainchild of Stockholm born drummer Johan Kihlberg, who formed the band in 2011 after having worked in the music business for over 30 years, performing with members from legendary acts such as KISS, THIN LIZZY, EUROPE, RAINBOW and MÖTLEY CRUE.
Check out below their first single and video ‘All About You’ taken from the upcoming album ‘Spirit of Alchemy‘.
Every album leading up to Spirit of Alchemy has been unique in the how Kihlberg has invited his noted friends from the international rock and metal community to add their magic to the songs. This time, the stellar musicianship comes courtesy of no less than bassist John Levén (who has been with Swedish hard rock titans EUROPE since its formation) and renowned drummer Snowy Shaw (who has a history with KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE and SABATON). The soaring vocals are brought to you by power house Jonny Lindkvist of NOCTURNAL RITES, while the stellar guitar wizardry once again is handled by Lars Chriss from LION’S SHARE.
Spirit of Alchemy is an album full of focus and determination. The metal riffing in songs like the up-tempo rocker “All About You” and the guitar picking that starts off the haunting “When Souls Collide” manage to sound both classic and futuristic at the same time. Even though JOHAN KIHLBERG’S IMPERA’s new effort is rooted in the harder realms of rock, Kihlberg’s lifelong passion for atmospheric movie soundtracks once again shines through in the epic finale that is “Battle”.
Spirit of Alchemy is sure to please both older and newer fans and push JOHAN KIHLBERG’S IMPERA’s career to the next level. (Text: Carl Linnaeus)
TRACKLIST 1- Nothing Will Last 2- Read It And Weep 3- All About You 4- When Souls Collide 5- In Heaven 6- What Will Be Will Be 7- Lost Your Life To Rock’n’Roll 8- No 9- Battle
MUSICIANS
Johan Kihlberg– mastermind Lars Chriss (LION’S SHARE) – guitars Jonny Lindkvist (NOCTURNAL RITES) – vocals John Levén (EUROPE) – bass Snowy Shaw (ex- SABATON, KING DIAMOND) – drums Kay Backlund (LION’S SHARE) – keyboards Mats Vassfjord (220 VOLT) – bass on “Lost Your Life To Rock ‘n’ Roll” Pontus Egberg (KING DIAMOND) – bass on “In Heaven”
The world’s favorite Pirate Metal Drinking Crew, ALESTORM, are taking you on a wild, wet ride across the seven seas with their new live album/DVD/BluRay, Live in Tilburg, out May 28, 2021 via Napalm Records!
Starting within the very first seconds of the energetic “Keelhauled”, it is crystal clear that ALESTORM are one of the most creative and unique live bands out there today – and judging by Tilburg’s incredible live audience of 3,000 fans, the band’s unmatched energy leaves no one standing still. Feast your eyes on ALESTORM’s exciting funfest of a live show experience – featuring everyone’s favorite giant blow-up rubber ducky and loads of alcohol – from the comfort of your own couch!
Christopher Bowes about Live in Tilburg: “Oh wow! Live concerts! Remember those? Nah, me neither. Anyway, a couple of years ago we played a giant show at the 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was a whole lot of fun. We even filmed the whole thing. And when we released the recording for free on YouTube last year, a whole bunch of you said you really liked it. And being the treasure-hungry sellout pirates that we are, it made us realize we could probably convince a bunch of you to buy it if we wrapped it in plastic and stuck it in a big wooden box. We even added some low-effort bonus features. Enjoy!”
Excellently produced and mixed by the renowned Lasse Lammert, who has already been involved in ALESTORM’s studio albums Curse Of The Crystal Coconut,No Grave But The Sea, Sunset On The Golden Age and many more, Live in Tilburg features an amazing mix of ALESTORM’s most beloved hits like “Drink“, “Mexico”, “Alestorm”, “Hangover”, “The Sunk’n Norwegian” and of course, “Fucked With An Anchor”.
The live album will be available on yellow-colored double-LP with a slipmat and a patch, as well as on mint-colored and black vinyl. The special edition of Live in Tilburg comes in a wooden box, along with a CD+DVD, a mediabook and a 7-inch vinyl featuring two new acoustic ALESTORM cover songs! Live in Tilburg’s immersive experience is the true definition of what ALESTORM is all about – an endless fountain of foot-stomping, riff-busting, piratical singalong fun. A must-have for all the filthy landlubbers out there!
Live in Tilburg Tracklist: 1. Intro 2. Keelhauled 3. Alestorm 4. Magnetic North 5. Mexico 6. Over the Seas 7. The Sunk’n Norwegian 8. No Grave But The Sea 9. Nancy the Tavern Wench 10. Rumpelkombo 11. 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena) 12. Drunken Sailor 13. Hangover 14. Pegleg Potion 15. Bar ünd Imbiss 16. Captain Morgan`s Revenge 17. Shipwrecked 18. Drink 19. Wolves of the Sea 20. Fucked with an Anchor
The wait is finally over! Dutch Symphonic metallers EPICA have released their new album ‘Ωmega’! To celebrate the release day, EPICA present a brandnew video for the song‘Skeleton Key’:
“Welcome to the ‘Skeleton Key’ multi-layered dreamworld. Don’t forget to bring your Skeleton Key to unlock all the secrets within yourself! I hope this song will haunt you until we can see each other again” says vocalist Simone Simons.
The upcoming Epic Apocalypse Tour featuring Dutch Symphonic titans EPICA and Finnish Cello masters APOCALYPTICA and support from prog metallers WHEEL has been postponed to beginning of 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The tour will kick off on 6th January 2022 in Leipzig and the bands will perform all over Europe.
LIVE DATES:
03.06.2021 TR Istanbul – Kucukciftlik Park 04–05.06.2021 RO Bucharest – Maximum Rock Festival 02.07.2021 NL Dokkum – Dokk’em Open Air 03.07.2021 IT Verona – Rock The Castle 14–16.07.2021 AT Leoben – Area 53 15–16.07.2021 DE Balingen – Bang Your Head 22–24.07.2021 FIN Laukaa – John Smith Rock Festival 05–07.08.2021 ES Villena – Leyendas del Rock 12–15.08.2021 BE Kortrijk – Alcatraz
07.12.2021 BR Porto Alegre – Opiniao 08.12.2021 BR Curitiba – Tork ’n’ Roll 10.12.2021 BR Brasília – Toinha 11.12.2021 BR Sao Paulo – Audio Club 12.12.2021 BR Rio de Janeiro – Circo Voador
»An evening with EPICA« – Latin America 16.12.2021 CL Santiago – Teatro Caupolican 18.12.2021 EC Quito, – El Teleferico 19.12.2021 PE Lima – Centro de Convenciones Barranco
»The Epic Apocalypse Tour 2022« w/ APOCALYPTICA, WHEEL 06.01.2022 DE Leipzig – Haus Auensee 07.01.2022 DE Berlin – Columbiahalle 08.01.2022 PL Gdansk – B90 09.01.2022 PL Warsaw – Progresja 11.01.2022 AT Vienna – Gasometer 12.01.2022 CZ Brno – Hala vodova 13.01.2022 HU Budapest – Barba Negra 15.01.2022 DE Munich – Tonhalle 16.01.2022 I Milan – Fabrique 17.01.2022 CH Lausanne – Metropole 18.01.2022 CH Zurich – Komplex 20.01.2022 DE Wiesbaden – Schlachthof 21.01.2022 DE Ludwigsburg – MHP Arena 22.01.2022 LUX Luxembourg – Den Atelier 23.01.2022 DE Hannover – Capitol 25.02.2022 FIN Helsinki – IceHall 27.02.2022 NO Oslo – Sentrum 28.02.2022 SE Stockholm – Berns 02.03.2022 DK Copenhagen – Amager Bio 03.03.2022 DE Hamburg – Docks 04.03.2022 NL Amsterdam – AFAS Live 05.03.2022 DE Cologne – Carlswerk Victoria 07.03.2022 BE Brussel – Ancienne Belgique 08.03.2022 UK Nottingham – Rock City 09.03.2022 UK Glasgow – O2 Academy 10.03.2022 UK Manchester – Academy 12.03.2022 UK Bristol – O2 Academy 13.03.2022 UK London – Roundhouse 14.03.2022 F Paris – Zenith 15.03.2022 F Toulouse – Bikini 17.03.2022 ES Barcelona – Razzmatazz 1 18.03.2022 ES Murcia – Gamma 19.03.2022 ES Madrid – La Riviera 20.03.2022 P Lisbon – Coliseum
Tickets and VIP upgrades for all shows are available from www.epica.nl/tour
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
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 