Originally released back in 2013, “Cobblestone Street” is the seventh studio album by the well-known former White Lion and Freak Of Nature lead singer, MIKE TRAMP. Recorded at Medley Studio, in Copenhagen, with producer Søren Andersen (Glenn Hughes, Pretty Maids, Tygers Of Pan Tang), it displays a back-to-the-roots acoustic folk style rock.
“”Cobblestone Street”, can easily be called the album that grounded me and made me take a good look at where I was and where I wanted to go. Sometimes when you’re lost, just go back to where you started, the answers are usually there”, Tramp says. “Not just did I go back to the neighborhood where I was born and raised, but also to earliest form of music I remember. Cobblestone Street is where it all started” he adds.
…And now it’s time for a revamped reissue of the album. The “Cobblestone Street” 2021 version will be released in 180g LP in yellow, purple and green vinyls (each limited to 100 units, hand-numbered by Mike Tramp). All exclusively available at Targetshop.dk. Also out: a thematic “Cobblestone Street” t-shirt and CD version.
Tracklist: 01. Cobblestone Street 02. Caught In The Storm 03. New Day 04. Ain’t The Life I Asked For 05. Revolution 06. We’ll Be Alright 07. Angel Or Devil 08. Find It In Your Heart 09. Once 10. What Are You Gonna Do
LA Based, 5 piece band FUSED BY DEFIANCE have released the official music video for their single, “Cancel Culture.” Originally premiered on GHOST CULT MAGAZINE, “Cancel Culture” was directed and edited by Ron Underwood.
“Cancel culture is a powerful weapon that when used appropriately, has the power to take down disgusting human-beings in less than 140 characters; something most court systems can’t manage to do in 140 days. But like a vigilante with no moral code or restraint, it can easily tip toward the dark-side. This song talks about the inappropriate usage of cancel culture. Metaphorically, a virus in the system; that searches through a person’s past and finds the one thing that may be able to bring them down as a petty response or knee jerk reaction to a human occasion. What cancel culture in this instance fails to take into account is the fallibility of humanity. Within this cycle is a tale of growth through experience which in current times are posted for public review. We are all human and all make mistakes, however only in the fallacy of stagnation does cancel culture become its own demise.” – FUSED BY DEFIANCE
Fused By Defiance, also known as FxD, is a five piece band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2012. They incorporate sounds of Rock, Metal, Rap and Funk, coupled with socially conscious lyrics, to create songs that will move both your body and your mind. Add in their naturally energetic performance and the live shows become an event to remember, or as one fan put it, “Poetry In Motion.”
Long-running Los Angeles hardcore outfit TERROR is preparing to release Trapped In A World, revisiting their earliest records with former guitarist Todd Jones of Nails, who will also be producing the band’s next LP. Set for release on March 5th, the band has issued the details on the special release including pressing info, preorders, and more, and No Echo is hosting a premiere of “Overcome.”
Since their 2002 inception, TERROR has held their own at the forefront of hardcore, through nonstop international touring, an incredible discography, and deep roots in the hardcore community. While their full-time touring has been halted for the past year during the ongoing pandemic, the band has been revisiting material from some of their prior incarnations, and in recent months, the current lineup met up to recapture songs from their earliest days. Joined by former guitarist Todd Jones, who formed Nails upon his exit from the band in 2004, at drummer Nick Jett’s studio. The band recorded a brutal session of songs from their seminal first two records – 2003’s Lowest Of The Low (Bridge 9 Records) and 2004’s One With The Underdogs (Trustkill) – the session also serving as a precursor for their upcoming studio album which will be produced by Jones.
Vocalist Scott Vogel reveals, “As the world locked down and terror went on a full pause with the pandemic hitting the USA hard, somehow this created a perfect opportunity with Nick, Todd, and myself to start writing TERROR songs twenty years after we started this band. Of course, all the other members are involved in this process, but with travel restrictions and us being so spread-out location-wise, a lot of weekends the three of us were just getting in a room and creating new terror songs and it’s been a pretty insane experience. Todd is a deep-thinking maniac that can write hardcore songs like no one I have seen before, and the three of us fell right back into our early mindset and the energy and aggression felt just like it did on day one.”
Todd Jones adds, “Got together with the TERROR Crew (in a creative sense), for the first time since recording One With The Underdogs. The ideas, guitars, lyrics/vocals, songs came pouring out. Locked in with Nick and Scott as if it hasn’t been sixteen years since we played together. There’s no shortage of song writers in Terror and the stuff we’ve collectively come up with so far… I can’t stop listening to these tracks. Magic via musical chemistry. It’s our aim to deliver to you a visceral and explosive hardcore record and I really hope you enjoy it.”
With twelve of their most seminal and foundational tracks brutally delivered in less than twenty-four minutes, Trapped In A World was recorded with the band all playing together at once to capture a more raw and “rehearsal tape” type of energy in July 2020 at Jet to Mars Studio, engineered and mixed by Nick Jett with additional engineering by Ryan Marr, and mastered by Will Putney. The record is completed with cover art by Rico Pakun with additional art by Chase Mason, handwritten elements by Tyler Mullen, layout and design by Martin Stewart.
Stream the Trapped In A World track “Overcome” at No Echo RIGHT HERE and find preorders and much more now at TERROR’s official StickTight.LA.
TERROR will self-release Trapped In A World on all digital service providers and on 12″ vinyl including new merch and more on March 5th. The LP will be pressed in an array of vinyl variants: 500 TriColor Pink/Blue/Yellow, 200 Black vinyl big hole limited cover, 25 Test pressings, 200 Gold Vinyl (Coretex exclusive), 200 Neon Yellow (RevHQ exclusive), and 100 Glow in the Dark with Japanese OBI Strip (WAR Records Exclusive).
Watch for new details on TERROR‘s upcoming, yet unnamed, new LP with Todd Jones at the production desk to be issued later this year.
Experimental progressive metal band BENTHOS have revealed a new music video and single for the song “Debris // Essence“. The video was directed by Stefano Galli. Watch it right now at this location.
“Debris // Essence” is the first single from the band’s debut full-length album II which is scheduled for a worldwide release on April 23, 2021 via Eclipse Records. The album was produced by Matteo Magni (Anewrage, Deep As Ocean) at Magnitude Recordings. Pre-order / Pre-save the album at this location
“Debris // Essence is an immersion through consciousness” says guitarist Gabriele Papagni. “The song was written to bring out instinctive passions oppressed by the imposed patterns that are dictated by reality. We chose this song as the first single from the album, because the song summarizes the varying aspects of our sound and style.”
II by Benthos is a stunning debut of experimental progressive metal. Featuring seven tracks showcasing the band’s technical prowess, II quickly catapults the band onto the global metal scene alongside the likes of Periphery, Between The Buried And Me, TesseracT, Sikth, and Meshuggah. The album tells a first-person story about the opposing forces of dualism such as life vs death, intuition vs rationality, and finite vs infinite concepts. The first single “Debris // Essence” is an immersion through consciousness represented with a dive into the deepest part of the abyss. “Cartesio” is the second single off the album which represents the beginning of the inner journey described throughout the album. The third single “Talk To Me Dragonfly!” is a fast-paced jazz-infused staccato of progressive metal which brings the listener on a confrontation with one’s negativity resulting in awareness, acceptance, and improvement towards positivity. On II by Benthos there is a lot to digest on this amazing album, but one thing is certain… after you are done digesting this sensory feast you’ll be wanting more!
Onwards into battle, one more time… In the two years since MEMORIAM released Requiem For Mankind, the band haven’t rested on their laurels. Their fourth studio album, To The Endis due for release on March 26 via Reaper Entertainment.
Today, the band presents the first album trailer for this upcoming record. Check it out and get more info about, how Spike did join the band and about the album recordings:
The lyric video of the first digital single “Onwards Into Battle” can be seen here: https://youtu.be/goDKHYj-UFY
Karl Willetts states: “Onwards into Battle” is the opening track from the new album “To the End”. A powerful introduction that sets the tone of the album and gives the listener a taste of what is to come. Lyrically the track provides continuity from the previous album “Requiem for Mankind” and is similar in many ways to the track “Fixed Bayonets”. The lyrics focus on the start of battle “Zero Hour” which is appropriate for the start of the album. within the theme of “War” the lyrics explore the brutally of trench warfare specifically. The war continues. Let battle commence.”
Marking the beginning of a second trilogy of albums, To The End serves as something of a prologue to the first three MEMORIAM albums. Working backwards and narrating the life story of the leader whose demise was depicted in the first trilogy, the lyrics on the album may play out in a fictional realm, but they incorporate inspiration from real life. A central theme of war is coloured with political fulminations and everyday experiences that combine to create a cohesive and enthralling chronicle.
The four-piece returned to producer, Russ Russell, for the recording of To The End. For the first time, the band demoed the songs and entered the studio with a new level of preparedness. Coupled with their close relationship with Russell, this created an environment that allowed for greater experimentation, as demonstrated by the diverse array of textures and sounds present on the nine tracks on the album.
From the earliest days of the band, they had their eye on the art Dan Seagrave (Benediction, Dismember, Hypocrisy, Suffocation etc) as an accompaniment to their music. Having created the artwork for the first three MEMORIAM albums, he has also created the cover for To The End.
Blackened industrial doom collective CULTED will be releasing their brand new full-length, ‘Nous,’ on February 26, 2021!The band is now sharing the official music video for the third and final single, “Maze.” The clip, which was created entirely by the band, can be seen at THIS LOCATION.
“‘Maze’ is both a reaction and objection to the extra-ordinary, potentially dangerous, awe-inspiring, fear-inducing beliefs, rites, and objects that are often crowned sacred,” explains CULTED. ‘Maze’ is sound ordained to render the invisible and the tangible, to make manifest the lamentable impurity of the flesh, and to make sublime the infinite distress of the soul.”
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
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 ) 