Finnish metal band MUSTAN KUUN LAPSET have released second single from their upcoming acoustic album Kruunu (release date February 26th 2021). The song features Mark Kelson from Australian progressive doom metal band The Eternal as lead singer.
“The dream of a dying angel is all about what the title says. It’s actually one of MKL’s oldest songs; it was originally recorded as a demo version to the legendary and now very rare demo tape “Varjomaa” in 1997. So it took almost 24 years to complete the work! And because it’s such a unique song, the unique man had to become its singer as well. The leader of Australian band The Eternal Mark Kelson took over, and the result is truly awesome.” the band backgrounds the track.
Mustan Kuun Lapset’s seventh album Kruunu is the band’s first fully acoustic recording. It is also the band’s first production with an international group of singers and musicians. In addition to acoustic guitars and pure male and female vocals, the album presents e.g. bowed lyre, french horn and ukulele! Kruunu will be released on February 26th via Inverse Records.
Stockholm Sweden’s ‘Story Metal’ trio PRESSURE will release their new video “What You See” on February 19th, written and composed by Simon Forsell, Olof Jönsson, Emil Salling.
”Pressure wants you to use their music as tools to handle your life and to be proud of whoever you are! The music brings you closer to your own soul”
Stockholm Sweden’s ‘Story Metal’ trio PRESSURE have delivered yet again with another riveting and mesmerizing track from their up-and-coming album. Right from the opening laughter and guitar riffs from the heavy guitars, the song just keeps your ears at attention and wanting more. Olof’s growling but clear tone just grabs and brings you inside the track. This single release is from the trio’s up and coming album which will be self released sometime late April, early May.
WHAT YOU SEE (is what you get) the latest single from Pressure continues to express the ins-and-outs of life’s pressures. This particular track relays the message of how society perceives people. The man centered in the song is strong within himself. The track pushes the genre of music Pressure intends it to, which they are calling “STORY METAL”.
“Story metal combines characteristics of traditional heavy metal with elements of melodic rock, with a lot of focus on the vocals! The beat varies as the mood of the song is written to reflect a true experience, challenge, emotion or occasion. “- Simon Forsell.
The term Story metal was first used in 2020 by the Swedish story metal band Pressure who plays story metal with three guitars and recorded drums and bass!
Story Metal definitely describes the concept of their songs and for the up-and-coming album.
A quote from Simon Forsell sums it up…
“Everyone has dreams – dare to live them. Everyone has inner strengths – do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Be yourself, show us what and who you are. Stand up, stand tall. What You See Is What You Get!”
New York/New Jersey metal formation TOMBS will be performing their very first virtual concert on February 5 @ 3:00 P.M. EST // 21:00 CET via Bandcamp, making the band the first metal artist to premiere a live stream through the platform. The band will be present for a live meet and greet and will be selling some exlcusive merchandise items! Tickets are now available at THIS LOCATION.
In addition, TOMBS previously premiered the official music video for their new song, “The Hunger,” which pays homage to cinema’s most infamous vampires! The song and video, which was created by Jaclyn Sheer, can be found at THIS LOCATION.
‘Under Sullen Skies’ can be streamed, downloaded, and ordered HERE.
Picture info & credits: Jarno Suodenjoki (left), Miika Haavisto (right) -Photography by Anne Lill Rajala
Finnish theatrical metal band LOST IN GREY is thrilled to announce that Jarno Suodenjoki (Embassy of Silence, Kiana) joins the band as second guitarist.
The band states: “Greetings all thee! We proudly announce that from now on Lost in Grey is a seven-piece Theatrical Metal act as Mr Jarno Suodenjoki (Embassy of Silence, Kiana) joins the Lost in Grey family as 2nd guitarist. We have known Mr Suodenjoki for 15 years or so and played together in various bands, projects and such. Additionally some of you have already had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful gentleman on the Female Metal Voices tour in 2019 when Mr Suodenjoki was filling in for Miika Haavisto for the first half of the tour. We are also happy to inform you that the album recordings at the Grey Realm Studio are nearly finished, and Juhis Kauppinen will start mixing the album this week at the Shedstudios. The release date for this third album will be announced later. Yours sincerely, Lost in Grey”
Jarno adds: “Knowing Lost in Grey’s work ethic, enthusiasm and professionalism, plus seeing that they did not transform into monsters on tour either, it was an easy decision to join the band when asked. It has been superb to record and work on the forthcoming album’s guitar tracks. I can’t wait to hear the final mix and to play the songs live.”
Stay tuned for more infos and watch out for the release of a new masterpiece this summer! The current album “The Waste Land” was released via Reaper Entertainment in January 2019.
The Waste Land represents a place where suppressed thoughts and emotions are buried. In the Waste Land they either die out, or live on as echoes and whispers. It is a place for withering, but also for growth. Additionally we may learn more about the history and thoughts of the characters – Lillian, Odessa and Patrick – or even catch glimpses of what the future will bring. Telling the story, Harri Koskela (also keyboard), Emily Leone (also violin) and lyricist Anne Lill Rajala play the characters within the story and bring a very own touch to it through their diverse voice talents. Additionally, wonderful guest musicians such as Nele Messerschmidt (Elvellon), Andi Kravljaca (Thaurorod), Tero Kalliomäki (Embassy of Silence) and Lasse Nyman (Thaurorod) have contributed to the album making The Waste Land an unforgettable experience.
Recent The Artisan Era signees STORTREGN are proud to announce the upcoming release of their fifth full-length, Impermanence. Set for release on March 12th via The Artisan Era. Famed Italian painter Paolo Girardi (Power Trip, Artificial Brain, Chthe’ilist) lends his masterful touch to the fantastic artwork adorning Impermanence. Recorded, mixing and mastering was handled at Conatus Studio, Switzerland by Vladimir Cochet (Mirrorthrone, Weeping Birth).
Active since 2006, the Geneva-Switzerland-based act has released four albums and an EP to date which has garnered worldwide praise from music writers and extreme metal fans alike. Their most recent prior album, 2018’s Emptiness Fills the Void, boosted the band’s status and fanbase to new levels. Now the time has come for the group to take their next leap forward, a sentiment Impermanence embodies and embraces with unorthodox yet graceful conviction from start to finish.
Impermanence draws inspiration from a large array of influences including progressive tech-death to 90’s Swedish black metal, old-school heavy metal, and jazz in order to craft a unique style of melodic black metal intertwined with a variety of death metal influences.
Stortregn – Impermanence is highly recommended for fans of bands such as Obscura, Opeth, Inferi, Dissection.
The band partnered with Everything Is Noise today to premiere “Multilayered Chaos”.
Everything is Noise comments “Although they are new to me, Switzerland’s Stortregn are well versed at creating engaging and intense tech death that steers clear of the traps many other bands fall into. The songs possess natural hooks and fascinating sections that separate them greatly from other death metal clichés.”
Norwegian Sognametal veterans VREID will be releasing their ninth full-length, ‘Wild North West,’ on April 30 via Season of Mist! The conceptual record will also feature a movie companion piece. Throughout eight chapters, the listener will be taken on a journey deep into the mountains, to a dark place where the borders between reality and fantasy fade and where death is only one step behind you: The Wild North West.
VREID songwriter and bass player Jarle Hváll Kvåle comments: “Ever since February 2020, we have been working like hell on this new project. The only short break was when we hosted the livestream from my mountain farm last summer. This project has become all-consuming, and the hours we put into it is just insane. Most of the music was written during winter/early spring least year, and lyrically I started to work on this concept story. Then, me and movie producer Håvard Nesbø who did the lyric videos for ‘Lifehunger’ and produced our livestream started talking about taking things further. I brought up this wild idea of doing a series of music videos, one for each song and then build these together as a movie. A movie that is the actual album. Håvard who has no limits on his lunacy jumped on board, and we never looked back.
“This became the most creative adventure I have ever worked on. The whole process of writing music, recording and mixing it, writing lyrics, making the script for the movie, the actual filming and editing it and working on the design all got tangled up in one twisted world, where all these elements influenced and colored each other. It’s given a whole new dimension to our art. The result is ‘Wild North West’. This as DIY as it gets, and it’s OUR story.
“With ‘Wild North West’ we have the whole legacy in our backpack, but with new adventures and visions fulfilled. From the most extreme and intense we have ever done to a heavy and melodic world where we open new doors. VREID‘s origin is rooted in the blend of the aggressive 80ies metal, the grooving 70ies heavy rock and the northern black metal of the 90ies. This is our DNA and this is the spirit of Sognametal.
“Welcome to the Wild North West.”
The cover for ‘Wild North West’ was created by Remi Juliebø (Deformat Design), can be found below along with the tracklist.
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
From its tumultuous inception, the Norwegian metal scene has always been about pioneering. While embracing the illustrious black metal history as part of their musical heritage, the many iconic bands have now evolved in various directions. Leading the black ‘n roll movement in Norway, VREID are the perfect example of that. The band arose in 2004 from the ashes of WINDIR after the tragic perishing of Terje ‘Valfar’ Bakken. The Sognametal legends declared the mission of exploring new musical paths, which they have pushed to even greater heights on their new record ‘Wild North West’.
The ninth record is not just a collection of songs, but a concept album that developed alongside an entire movie. Throughout eight chapters you will be taken on a journey deep into the mountains, to a dark place where the borders between reality and fantasy fade and where death is only one step behind you: The Wild North West. Not just in sheer size of the project but also in terms of music videography, creativity, and determination, VREID have done something truly unique and lifted their art to a new dimension.
On the concept, founder and bass player Jarle Hváll Kvåle states: “Wild North West is a concept story about life itself and its eternal shadow: death. It is built around the world of our fictional character E, but it is surely inspired by my own life, my band’s life, historical events and many tales that have inspired me over the years. Is it a true story or fictional? I would have to say both, and sometimes is hard tell the difference.”
‘Wild North West’ features the most extreme and intense work of the band to date, as well as heavy and melodic rock songs. These influences have always been a part of VREID’s DNA, and it is this combination that makes up the spirit of Sognametal. A remarkable homage to that same musical spirit is the song “Into the Mountains”. The ideas for that track were written in 2002 by Jarle ‘Hváll’ Kvåle and Terje ‘Valfar’ Bakken (WINDIR). Inspired by these ideas, Hváll wrote the song and included the original demo keyboard tracks from 2002, recorded back then by Valfar.
VREID have always chosen a course of constant evolution that is marked by thematically denoted phases regarding their often historically inspired lyrics. This became particularly clear with albums ‘I Krig’ (2007) and ‘Milorg’ (2009), which both revolved around concepts dealing with resistance and liberation of Norway during World War II. With their following three records, the pitch black brigade returned to their Norse roots on ‘Sólverv’ which received high critical acclaim in 2015.
In 2018, the Norwegians teamed up with Season of Mist for their previous full-length ‘Lifehunger’, a record that successfully blended elements of 70’s rock, 80’s classic metal, and Norwegian black metal and which featured a remarkable guest contribution from SÓLSTAFIR’s vocalist Addi Tryggvason on the track “Hello Darkness”.
VREID have hammered out their success partly by being a heavily touring band. The four-piece performed more than 500 shows in 25 countries so far. Their everlasting march to conquer new territories has led the Norwegians to headline tours in Europe, North America, Japan, and India.
The band’s onward march did not come to a halt in 2020, a year that will go down as devastating for the international music scene. VREID launched their own beer, which turned out to be the biggest success of the Balder Brewery as the first batches were sold out immediately. Instead of waiting to be able to tour again, the Norwegians invited the fans to their home region and hosted a massive streaming concert among the beautiful mountainous surroundings of the Sognefjord. The concert, ‘Into the Mountains of Sognametal’ took place in June 2020 was viewed by over 140.000 people from more than 40 countries.
In 2021, VREID will once more invite the fans to their dark, cold, and wild universe but tread carefully as from these haunted mountains, no man can descend.
Recording studio: Studio 1184 & Nabolaget Studio Producer / sound engineer: Jarle Hváll Kvåle / Anders Nordengen Mixing studio and engineer: Jarle Hváll Kvåle / Helge Bentsen Mastering studio and engineer: Fascination Street by Tony Lindgren
Guest musicians: Terje ‘Valfar’ Bakken – Keys on “Into the Mountains” Espen Bakketeig – Additional keys on “Wolves at Sea”, “Dazed & Reduced”, “Shadowland” Eli, Helena, Anna – backing vocals on “Into the Mountains”
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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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