Recently, legendary power metal band DRAKKAR signed a record deal with Punishment 18 Records for the release of their new full-length, titled “Chaos Lord”. Today the band has unleashed the first taste of the upcoming album, the official audio for “Lord of a Dying Race”, stream it below.
The band spent most of 2019 writing and recording the album, which was supposed to be released in 2020, when… a world pandemic happened! Now it is finally ready for release, and it will be out before end of March! Recordings were held at Elnor Studio under sound engineer and producer supervisor, Mattia Stancioiu (Crimson Dawn, Labÿrinth, Sunstorm, Madhour). That’s metal for you all… Stay power!
Stream “Lord of a Dying Race” below.
Born in 1995, Drakkar is one of the prime movers of the Italian Power Metal scene, together with bands like Rhapsody Of Fire, Labÿrinth and Domine.
Swedish metal quartet ORBIT CULTURE have unveiled a new single, ‘Mute The Silent’, the first new music heard from the band since the release of new album, Nija, which was released summer 2020 via Seek & Strike.
Watch the video for ‘Mute The Silent’ here:
‘Mute The Silent’ will feature on ‘Nija’ expanded digital edition, out Friday 15th Jan via all streaming platforms.
In the deep forests of southern Sweden lies the small town of Eksjö where the band ORBIT CULTURE originate. The idea of ORBIT CULTURE came to vocalist / rhythm guitarist Niklas Karlson in 2013 whilst working on bedroom demos; he quickly formed and early version of the band, which included drummer Markus Bladh.
Citing Metallica and Gojira as their main heavy influences, ORBIT CULTURE are band who love to experiment with wide a range of sounds and textures to create something that is fresh but also familiar. Nikas comments: “As much as we love metal, we love other music, too. We love a good hard-hitting song as much as the next guy, but we’ve always found that blending and mixing genres seems more fun for us at least, rather than deciding on a specific genre to write within the metal scene. It really helps us to be creative and motivated. I’m guessing that is something that we’ll always do.”
Quickly after forming, ORBIT CULTURE released a self-produced EP and an LP, but it was summer 2016 when two new members joined the band – Richard Hansson on the lead guitar and Fredrik Lennartsson on the bass guitar – and the quartet perfectly honed their distinctive sound.
With the new line-up in place the band set to work on stunning new album Nija and in 2019 caught the attention of the Seek and Strike label, who signed them immediately.
For fans of Trivium, Metallica, Gojira and Architects, ORBIT CULTURE are a band from a small town with big ambitions.
UK’s rising metal force PRIMITAI’s album “Violence of The Skies” is a culmination of the growing achievements and team spirit of the band in recent years which saw their most extensive touring yet, conquering of new territories, and signing with Rock of Angels Records.
With their increasing confidence the band has pushed their classic metal influenced sound to the boundaries with power and progressive metal, much like bands such as Savatage or Queensryche did upon taking the torch from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
The sci-fi feel of the atmospheric synth and orchestral scoring complements the album’s space themed concept – a story about escaping the end of the world, seeking new victories and facing unknown dangers. Vocal recording, guitar recording, production and mixing by Tom Keech at Cedarfield Studios.
Drum and bass guitar recording by Pete Miles at Middlefarm Studios. Guitar re-amping by Lasse Lammert at LSD Studio. Mastering by Alan Douches at West West Side Music. Album cover art by Stan W Decker. Photos by Andrew Rakkan.
Very Special Guests: Paul Quinn (Saxon) – guitar solo on “Put To The Sword” Tom Draper (formerly of Primitai, Carcass, Pounder) – guitar solo on “The Storm Kings” Mladen Pecovic – guitar solos 1 and 2 on “Warriors of Time” Vladimir Djedovic (The Tilt) – synth arrangement and keyboard solos on “Warriors of Time”
“Violence Of The Skies” will be released through ROAR! RockofAngelsRecords, physically and digitally worldwide on March 26, 2021.
Progressive heavy metallers MASTORD from Finland are set to release their second album on February 19th this year.
Their debut album, Trail Of Consequence, was released on Valentine´s Day 2019 and it got some really good attention and reviews without any larger promotion. The album was made for the love of music and joy, and this new album, To Whom Bow Even The Trees, is made with the same principle and approach as was the first one.
“Upcoming album is quite a mixture of many different styles and moods. It is difficult to fully set this album to any genre. It has it´s proggish feel, there is some metal, but there is also some very poppish and bluezy feelings mixed all together. This album was written with “come what may” attitude and it can be heard by very surprising arranges and untraditional twists and turns.” frontman and guitar player Kari Syvelä comments.
A firm favourite of the band’s, it’s the third track to be taken from CRAZY ARM‘s fast-approaching new album, ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts‘ (out 29 January 2021).
Epic of sound and cinematic in scale, ‘Fear Up’ erupts from the speakers like Ennio Morricone conducting the Constantines. From itsgunslinging opening guitar lines, to its stentorious rallying cries and palpitating drum rolls, “Fear Up” gallops towards a blazing Mariachi brass inflected finale courtesy of the genius that is Simon Dobson on trumpet.
A brooding and vengeful disposition, not for the faint hearted, the track finds Crazy Arm musing on a controversial and psychologically coercive military technique that plays on personal terror. As Darren Johns explains:
“The title (‘Fear Up’) is US military slang for the use of the spectre of violence to keep citizens submissive and afraid. Naomi Klein explains its nefarious use in her book, The Shock Doctrine.”
The track arrives hot on the heels of the hard-hitting polito-punk of recent single ‘The Golden Hind’, which alongside ‘Brave Starts Here’ pave the way for their long awaited fourth album: Dark Hands, Thunderbolts (out 29th January 2021 via on Xtra Mile Recordings). Their first new music in seven long years, it’s a record that promises a return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of their first two albums. Though much has changed since they’ve been away, expect a band in reflective, but no less indignant mood.
Speaking about the band’s long awaited return, Darren Johns (vocals/guitar) of Crazy Arm says:
“We may be 15 years old now (and more of a fluid collective than a band), and the twin troughs of Covid and Brexit may have scuppered all our best laid tour plans, but we’re not done yet! We hope ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’ makes this current colossal sh**show a little easier to bear. Here’s to the unwritten future.”
Guaranteed to be worth the wait, Dark Hands, Thunderbolts is a sonic and emotional rollercoaster ride that upends expectations at every turn. Latest single, “Fear Up” is out 15th January.
CRAZY ARM – NEW ALBUM: ‘DARK HANDS, THUNDERBOLTS’ – OUT 29TH JANUARY 2021 VIA XTRA MILE RECORDINGS – BUY HERE
Ohio’ most promising upcoming death metal outfit SANGUISUGABOGG have signed to Century Media Records. The band will release its label debut “Tortured Whole” on March 26. It’s available for pre-order HERE!
The band has shared the video for the new song “Menstrual Envy.” Watch it HERE!
“We gather here today to announce our partnership with Century Media and to release ‘Menstrual Envy,’ the first single off our LP ‘Tortured Whole’,” the band says. “This is a love song about chopping off your own damn hog. Thanks.“
Mike Gitter, VP of A&R, shares, ” Sanguisugabogg were one of the most unlikely and explosive success stories of 2019. Their acid-addled take on death metal struck a raw nerve with a scant 11 minutes of genre-busting insanity on the Pornographic Seizures EP. In a short space of time, they became the most buzzed-about band in extreme metal. Now, Tortured Whole is a creative step into a more unsettling terrain, probably death metal’s answer to PFunk’s Maggot Brain. This is your brain on Sanguisugabogg.“
Philipp Schulte, Director of Century Media Records, says, ” We are very happy having partnered up with Sanguisugabogg, one of the most promising new death metal bands from the United States of America. Even though it might take you a while to get the pronunciation right, every death metal fan on this planet will soon know the name. Sanguisugabogg solidifies Century Media’s commitment to releasing extreme music, and we are very much looking forward to the first quarter of 2021, when the band’s debut album is going to be unleashed.“
While establishing their own unique and ferocious musical approach, one can clearly notice the ’80s and ’90s influences in Sanguisugabogg’s music. The band pays tribute to genre legends like Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and Mortician.
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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
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 