Norwegian Sognametal veterans VREID have 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.
VREID’s unique new album and accompanying film, ‘Wild North West,’ will be released on April 30 via Season of Mist! The band recently shared official video for the title track, which can be seen and heard at THIS LOCATION.
‘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 album coverart 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
Sweden’s own SOLE SYNDICATE have released a lyric-video for the song ‘We All Fall Apart’, taken from their new album ‘Last Days of Eden’, out now on Scarlet Records, and created by David Bagaric/Morbid Film Production.
This is how the band commented: “‘We All Fall Apart’ was the first song we wrote for the album ‘Last Days of Eden’ and it was written by Jonas Månsson and David Gustavsson. The song is about bad relationships that just keep on going. When you’re with someone and the chemistry is destructive, violent, abusive or in other ways bad for the both of you. It can be a love affair, a business partner or a friend. You know that you should break the relationship but you just keep going on.”
‘Last Days of Eden’ is a modern heavy metal album with strong melodies and roots that can be traced in the classic bands of the genre but also in many other musical styles: hard rock, pop and country, they all give foundations to the songwriting. Lyrically, the album deals with everything from politics to the environment and traditional rock poetry. The album title is a reference to the ongoing pandemic and the political instability that brought.
It feels like a legacy, but most likely a news that will make every doom heart beat faster: Members of the final lineup of doom legends IRON MAN, have announced their return with SPIRAL GRAVE!
SPIRAL GRAVE, comprised of vocalist Screaming Mad Dee, Iron Louis Strachan (bass), Mot Waldmann on drums and former LORD guitarist Willy Rivera – whose aggressive riffing sets the mood for the band’s heavy as hell, in your face doom – was born after the tragic death of IRON MAN founding member Alfred Morris III.
They quickly carved a place for themselves in North America’s heavy music scene, playing well-received sets at New England Stoner Doom Fest or the Maryland Doomfest. Their first single, Nothing, was released by Salt of the Earth Records in mid-2019. But finally the wait is over, since SPIRAL GRAVE have just announced to release their long- awaited debut album, entitled Legacy of the Anointed, in 2021 through Argonauta Records; the Italian powerhouse label and home for all that is heavy, who not only released Dee Calhoun’s recent solo records but also IRON MAN‘s Hail To The Riff, due out on March 5th!
Says guitarist Willy Rivera about SPIRAL GRAVE‘s upcoming debut:
“Some of the musical ideas that ended up as songs on our debut were initially written while I was still with my previous band but with a rift growing between myself and the other members over personal and musical differences, I decided to hold onto them til I was able to find the right vehicle for them. I wanted to step away from the extremity of my former band and get back to writing songs that were heavy but had hooks and a strong vocal presence. For this band, I wanted to draw from bands such as Dio-era Sabbath, Candlemass, Metal Church, Armored Saint, Mountain, UFO and Judas Priest with enough experimentation that would allow us to branch out on future releases. I wanted that to be the template and I found like-minded friends in the surviving members of Iron Man. I’ve known Dee for over a decade and met Lou and Mot from the scene and affiliations and while I knew working with them would bring certain expectations due to the legendary status of Iron Man, I was hopeful in what we could create and had a gut feeling that it would be great. I was very aware of the fact that you only get one shot to make your 1st impression and being that I was writing a lot of the initial ideas,it meant that I had a lot to prove…not to mention, the scrutiny that I may encounter from people who perceived me as somehow trying to replace Al Morris but you can’t replace a legend so you just try to make your own mark. So Spiral Grave is a new band with a debut album that I think will do justice to not only the scene we come from but those who helped pave the way…“
After releasing their fifth album entitled “V” MyGrain now present a brand new visualisation of their opening track “The Nightmare” . Created by Timo Honkanen from death.illustrated.net the video animations together with Tommys performance capture the feeling of the song perfectly.
The band states: “We’re proud to finally present the visualization for the furious and hard hitting opening track “The Nightmare” from our new album “V”. The video was shot and created by our visual mastermind Timo Honkanen | death-illustrated.net. Also special thanks to our long time friend Toni Salminen | metalscope.fifor additional camerawork! So, without further ado, let’s kick off this wintery week with “The Nightmare”! -MyGrainiacs”
Inspired by Tolkienian mythology, prog-rock orchestra AINUR has been composing J.R.R. Tolkien masterpieces into galloping escapades across the audio landscape for nearly two decades.
Their next anticipated record “War of The Jewels” is due out March 19th, 2021 (CD+Digital) (Vinyl – June 12th) via Rockshots Records, which sees the band take an interesting evolution in sound from previous releases. Ainur will completely immerse fans in J.R.R.Tolkien’s war atmospheres. They have imagined every story and every battle and recreate them through unique and deep music.
The band comments: “‘War of the Jewels’ is the eleventh volume of “The History of Middle-Earth”. In Tolkien’s mythology is the tale of the big wars that came out after the creation of the Silmarils by Fëanor. The main theme is the big battles of Beleriand, except for Nirnaeth Arnoediad that will have big space in our next album. The main implied character is Fëanor, the mightiest of the Elves. Musically, it’s a thematic album as all our previous and future ones and you will recognize musical themes that we already used in “From Ancient Times”, “Children of Hùrin” and “Lay of Leithian”; however, the atmospheres are more aggressive and mighty than in the past because the topics we have put in Music this time needed a more powerful musical support.“
The compositional process of “War of The Jewels” has been very long. It started in 2009 (or maybe before) and it ended more or less last year. Ainur sees it as their “rebirth” album. They have been working hard composing and arranging their music to create the best tribute to Tolkien’s histories that they can.
Today, the collective shares their music video for the next single “Kinslaying (The First)” [ft. Ted Nasmith] in support of the upcoming full length.
The band adds: “This song came almost by chance. Everything began with the initial chord, then we put the classical instruments on it and everything else came in the blink of an eye. We wanted to describe one of the darkest moments in Tolkien’s mythology: the Alqualondë fratricide, also called ‘First Kinslaying’, when Elves killed other Elves for the first time. When we asked Wilma (our poetess that writes almost all our original lyrics) to write something about this dark moment, she came back with one of the best lyrics ever written for us and a verse of this song became the ‘main topic’ of the album: ‘No longer Brothers, while vessels burn, beyond the riot of waves that churn’. From minute 5 you will be amazed by the powerful sadness of these words.”
Track Listing: 1. Fate Disclosed ft. Ted Nasmith (2:08) 2. Wars Of Beleriand (6:58) 3. Hell of Iron (5:46) 4. Wars Begin (7:01) 5. Kinslaying (The First) ft. Ted Nasmith (7:43) 6. Grinding Ice (8:27) 7. Battle Under The Stars ft. Derek Sherinian (4:39) 8. Spirit Of Fire ft. Roberto Tiranti (Labyrinth) & Ted Nasmith (7:17) 9. The Broidress (3:43) 10. The Great Battle (Or The War Of Wrath) ft. Ted Nasmith (11:58) 11. Apocalypse (4:24) 12. Apocalypse (Acoustic Bonus Track) (3:46) [Digital only] Album Length: 1:13:55
Artwork by Felipe Machado (Blind Guardian, Axel Rudi Pell, etc)
Blackened industrial doom collective CULTED will be hosting a two-hour radio special via Gimme Metal on Friday, February 26 @ 3:00 P.M. EST to celebrate the imminent release of their new full-length, ‘Nous!’ In addition to curating a unique playlist, members Matthew Friesen and Michael Klassen will also be present in the chat for a live Q&A! As always, it is FREE to listen and you can sign up HERE.
‘Nous’ is due on on February 26, 2021. ‘Nous’ is available for pre-orders HERE.
Track List: 1: Lowest Class [7:47] 2: Lifers [4:59] 3: One Last Smoke [4:45] 4: Ankle Deep [5:29] 5: Black Bird [5:28] 6: Opiate the Hounds [4:14] 7: Maze [8:07] 8: Crown of Lies [6:40] 9: The Grid [7:36] 10: Crush My Soul (Godflesh cover) [8:41] Total: 63:00
From the icy expanse of the Canadian prairies to the Nordic coast of Sweden, industrial blackened doom collective CULTED have long been innovators of creating music remotely, transcending both literal and metaphorical boundaries for over a decade. Michael Klassen and Matthew Friesen were first approached by Daniel Jansson to collaborate on an international project and come 2008, these ideas began to coalesce, with fellow Canadian Kevin Stevenson joining the cult. The band soon recorded and unveiled their first LP, Below the Thunders of the Upper Deep (2009), as well as the EP Of Death and Ritual (2010.)
In 2013, sophomore full-length Oblique to All Paths was released upon being written, recorded, and produced in various closets, basements, dens, and domiciles. After forming a union with Season of Mist, CULTED continued their down-tempo exploration of blackened and industrial soundscapes with 2019’s mini-album, Vespertina Synaxis; A Prayer for Union and Emptiness, which was inspired by the isolation, alienation, and damnation that dominates the rime-encrusted lands CULTED inhabit. Now, the band is ready to unleash their most devastating and personal opus yet, Nous.
Nous was born in turmoil after members of the band endured a period of extreme personal experiences, both psychological and physical. The creation process was informed by disease, death, and the resulting existential crises. Instead of predetermining the direction CULTED would take with their third full-length, the band allowed the music to speak for itself as it came together organically. Nous was a result of its creators attempting to destroy or ignore the egoic (that chatter and everything outside of pure consciousness that attempts to sabotage you of peace and rob you of the moment) and instead, opening themselves up to the unidentifiable and nameless muse of sound.
CULTED further explores their relationship with doom, black metal, and industrial on yet another experimental effort in which the band’s collective agony is translated into something both nihilistic and tangible through dissonant soundscapes. Each song is a nightmare in the abyss, dragging the listener through caverns of inexplicable darkness and suffering.
Exemplifying the themes, meditations, and diatribes of the human condition, Nous, which roughly translates to “common sense” or “practical intelligence,” explores both the religious and conspiratorial processes of the mind within the framework of critical thought. According to biblical scripture, Satan convinced Eve that the most powerful of conspirators – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – were secretly trying to keep the first humans shrouded in a veil of ignorance, preventing them from becoming “like God” and “knowing good and evil.” Eve became the first in a long line, from Gnostics to flat-earthers, to believe powerful forces were withholding secret information. Nous attempts to know God or the inner essence or principles of created things by means of direct perception. Nous must be carefully distinguished from reason as it does not formulate abstract concepts or argue them using deductive reasoning, but rather, it understands divine truth by means of immediate experience. Thelema of the gods.
To further solidify these introspective concepts, the cover art is an interpretation of the Temptation of St. Anthony who was one of the first monks to retire to the desert to devote himself to fasting and prayer, which is an often-repeated subject in the history of art and literature, especially concerning the supernatural temptation reportedly faced by Saint Anthony during his sojourn in the Egyptian desert. The art encapsulates both the music and lyrical concept, visually.
CULTED is now inviting you to open your mind, abandon your religion, and to join the cult on this existential and devastating journey.
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
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Ads
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 ) 