WICKED SMILE Release Single + Video ‘Killer At Large’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 14, 2021
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
(Photo : Cassidy Paris)

Australian heavy rockers WICKED SMILE have roared into 2021 with a brand new single titled ‘Killer At Large’. This follows on from their 2020 debut ep titled ‘Delirium’ to very favourable reviews.

The new single is again produced by Paul Laine (The Defiants) and mastered by Bruno Ravel (The Defiants/Danger Danger).

Guitarist Stevie Janevski goes on to say, “last year was all about giving the world a ‘taste’ of what we’re about. We’re a five piece kick ass heavy rock band and I think we made our presence known with the release of our Delirium ep”.

The new single ‘Killer At Large’ will no doubt be another talking point with its bombastic wall of sound. Vocalist Danny states, “this is my favourite song so far. It’s heavy, yet melodic and the song fits in perfectly with what we’re about. The energy from the entire band is amazing”. 

Watch the video below.

Wicked Smile is fronted by charismatic powerhouse lead vocalist Danny Cecati (ex Pegazus & Eyefear) with Stevie Janevski (ex Black Majesty & Cyclone Tracy) & Dave Graham(ex In Malice’s Wake) on guitars, Glen Cav (ex Virtue) on bass and Jason Tyro on drums.

All of the boys in Wicked Smile were overwhelmed by the positive response from the underground rock and metal community. The band received great support from Internet Radio who played the band’s songs, with some stations putting them on heavy rotation. Steve Price at ARfm radio called the band “kickass Australian rock with killer vocals”. Wicked Smile were Number 1 on 97 Underground, Power song of the week on the Nite Flight Rock Show and the Number 1song on the Friday Night Rock Show.

Vocalist Danny says “I’ve really enjoyed putting my stamp on these songs. It’s allowed me to put my heart and soul into them and really capture the emotion of the lyrics. We cover important issues such as government and decision making in the song ‘We Fall’ and discuss the human state of mind in ‘Daze Of Delirium”. Another talking point is the track ‘Stronger’ which was written by Stevie to highlight the issue of bullying in schools and in society as a whole.

Songs like ‘Love’s Got A Hold On You’ sound huge. Our shows are loud and proud!” 

Fans of bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, Skid Row, etc. should feel at home, with the band drawing major influence from seventies and eighties heavy rock and heavy metal. 

A recent WEBFEST live appearance via the New Wave Of Classic Rock Group was applauded, with many calling Wicked Smile the pick of the bunch.

Lookout there’s a Killer At Large!

*Wicked Smile will release their full length debut album mid 2021.

EPHEMERALD Release Debut Album In February, New Single Out Now

Posted by metalshockfinland on January 14, 2021
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
Photo by Ephemerald

Finnish symphonic death metallers EPHEMERALD are releasing their debut album on February 19th 2021 and now they present new single from the upcoming album.

Listen to “All There Is” on music services:Spotify: http://spoti.fi/3oGaaWE
Apple Music: https://apple.co/3bK56wG
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/album/191773462
Tidal: https://listen.tidal.com/album/165341181
Amazon: https://amzn.to/38IPYxQ
Bandcamp: https://ephemerald-metal.bandcamp.com/

The song represents a calmer, almost ballad-like atmosphere with acoustic guitars and clean vocal harmonies. Lyrics are about the importance of living in the moment; yet people are often more prone to clinging onto the past or their fearful assumptions of the future, thus refusing to see and accept the world as it is.

EPHEMERALD was formed in 2016 by Joni Snoro (ex-Frosttide), Lauri Myllylä (Voidfallen), Vesa Salovaara (Vorna) and Juho Suomi (Apocryfal). Later they joined forces with Tuomo Sagulin (Mechanik Project). The band creates epic yet furious and straightforward metal music from the hearts of its creators.

Preorder the album: http://bit.ly/Ephemerald_Pre-order

ABIOTIC Launch “Grief Eater, Tear Drinker” (Ft. ex-The Contortionist vocalist)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 14, 2021
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Recently re-emerged technical death metal outfit ABIOTIC are back with their third full-length, Ikigai. Set for release on Friday, February 12th, 2021 via The Artisan Era. 

While going on hiatus does not necessarily mean a group’s best days are behind them, often this rings true, yet Abiotic eagerly buck that trend with their finest effort yet on Ikigai. Abiotic states, “We also leaned on some classical and eastern style instrumentation, along with some progressive and jazzy elements.”

Ikigai also boasts numerous killer guest spots from musicians such as Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder), Chaney Crabb (Entheos), Brandon Ellis (The Black Dahlia Murder), Scott Carstairs (Fallujah), Jared Smith (Archspire), and Jonathan Carpenter (ex-The Contortionist). Abiotic have dug deep and hit a new apex and the end result of their evolution is astounding on Ikigai.

Yesterday the band partnered with Toilet Ov Hell to premiere “Grief Eater, Tear Drinker” which features guest vocals from former The Contortionist vocalist Jonathan Carpenter. The launch of today’s single is paired with an eye-popping music video that is bound to blow you away. 

*You can check out Abiotic – “Grief Eater, Tear Drinker” HERE

Toilet Ov Hell comments
“This song is everything I like in technical death metal. It’s intermittently heavy and soaring with mystical, mysterious melodies, driven by lightning instrumental work (plus a wonderful guest spot from vocalist Jonathan Carpenter), a dense composition yet easy to follow with new details unfolding on subsequent listens. It carries trace elements of Arkaik and Rivers of Nihil, but as a whole, it’s another thing entirely. Between this, “Souvenir of Skin,” and “Smoldered,” Ikigai is shaping up to be an incredibly exciting release.”

Pre-orders for Abiotic – Ikigai are now live
Label Store: https://www.theartisanerastore.com/category/abiotic
Bandcamp:  smarturl.it/Abiotic-Bandcamp

VOYAGER Cover Aussie Modern Classic “This Boy’s In Love” by The Presets

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 14, 2021
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
photo by Carving A Giant Photography

Australia’s premiere synth-prog outfit VOYAGER have played to their strengths and have covered the Australian modern classic “This Boy’s in Love,” originally by Electronic duo The Presets. Fusing together Voyager’s signature epic electro progressive power prog metal with a huge pop song, the VSets version is sure to be a hit! You can watch Voyager’s performance video of the song at THIS LOCATION.

The band comments on the cover: “The Presets song is one of those songs that I heard and thought ‘I wish I’d written this.’ At the time it came out it was so fresh in Australia, and so bizarre that it became so popular because it’s really very much Euro Style Dark Synthie EBM. Given that a lot of Voyager songs start out as electronic ideas, this semi-obscure modern Australian classic was a no brainer to cover. We hope you enjoy!”

Moreover, Guitarist Scott Kay recently taught fans how to play a riff from the band’s song “Colours” in the latest installment of Guitar World’s “Sick Riffs” series! In addition to the play-through, Kay also includes the tablature. Watch and learn at THIS LOCATION.

The song is taken from the band’s 2019 release, ‘Colours in the Sun,’ which can be downloaded and streamed HERE.

‘Colours in the Sun’ was recently the winner of The Independent Music Award in the Rock/Hard Rock Album category. The record was released in November of 2019 and landed a coveted #1 placement on the Australian Independent Albums chart! ‘Colours in the Sun’ also debuted at #7 on Independent Label Albums as well as #27 on Official iTunes Australia.

Moreover, the band has reissued 2017’s ‘Ghost Mile’ as a digipak version, which contains three bonus tracks which were recorded during the VOYAGER show at ProgPower in 2017. It can be ordered HERE.

ICYMI: Earlier this year, VOYAGER‘s music video for “Runaway” was exclusively premiered via ‘Eurovision – Australia Decides!’ Following an application via the Song Portal, the band finally received recognition for submitting a track and were paid tribute on the live television broadcast that aired on Saturday, February 8 on the Gold Coast. The video is now available worldwide and can be seen at THIS LOCATION.

IMMORTAL GUARDIAN: Cover ‘Into The Pit’ with Metal Mike Chlasciak & Leandro Caçoilo

Posted by aliblackdiamond on January 13, 2021
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The first of many IMMORTAL GUARDIAN collaboration covers, this is the band’s version of the classic song ‘Into The Pit‘ by Rob Halford’s band FIGHT. For the cover video, Immortal Guardian collaborated with Metal Mike Chlasciak (Halford, Sebastian Bach, Testament, Pain Museum) and Leandro Caçoilo (Viper, Eterna, Seventh Seal, HardShine, Dirty Dogs, Caravellus).

“This is the first of many covers, so let us know what you would like to hear next and who you would want us to collaborate next!”

Check out the video:

Cover Video Line-up:
Immortal Guardian: Carlos Zema – Vocals, Gabriel Guardian – Guitar/Keys, Joshua Lopez – Bass, Justin Piedimonte – Drums
Special guests: Metal Mike Chlasciak – Guitar, Leandro Caçoilo – Vocals
Produced by: WidowMaker Studios

After winning over new audiences with their acclaimed 2018 debut full-length “Age of Revolution” and touring relentlessly alongside fellow shredders such as Marty Friedman, Powerglove, and Exmortus, IMMORTAL GUARDIAN gathered in Las Vegas last year to begin recording their second album. As the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic began to ensue, each member of the band retreated to their respective hometowns. With shutdowns around the world being enforced, the band completely scrapped the record that they had been working on and were heavily inspired to write and create a new thematic record about their emotions surrounding current events. 

“Psychosomatic” is a product of the extraordinary events of 2020. The result is a truly multi-national record, with guitarist/keyboardist Gabriel Guardian remaining in Las Vegas, vocalist Carlos Zema recording his vocals from his home in Brazil, new drummer Justin Piedimonte joining the band from his hometown in Montreal, Canada, and new bassist Joshua Lopez remaining in IMMORTAL GUARDIAN‘s native Texas. 

The group, founded by Gabriel Guardian, whose uncanny ability to play guitar and keyboard simultaneously has been showcased on MTV’s “Amazingness” along with his unique dual-instrument covers of classics by the likes of Iron Maiden, Pantera, and Guns N’ Roses have garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and have been built upon the band’s following through multiple self-released EPs before signing with M-Theory Audio for the 2018 release of their first full-length record, “Age of Revolution”. The band has also performed live alongside some of the biggest names in metal, including Judas Priest, Dragonforce, Kamelot, Symphony X, Sonata Arctica, Slayer, Metal Church, Soilwork and Steve Vai, and in countries such as Brazil and Russia, and during high-profile performances at ESPN’s X Games, South By Southwest and the Fun Fun Fun Fest. 

“Psychosomatic” is the next step in IMMORTAL GUARDIAN’s evolution while still capturing the band’s exhilarating trademark melding of melodic power metal with progressive/shred tendencies. 

Digital pre-save, CD and limited-edition purple vinyl pre-orders for “Psychosomatic”, which will be released by M-Theory Audio on February 12, 2021 are available now at http://smarturl.com/immortalguardian.

Second single ‘Lockdown’:

Track Listing:
1. Psychosomatic (5:33)
2. Read Between The Lines (6:01)
3. Lockdown (4:12)
4. Phobia (6:13)
5. Clocks (5:12)
6. Self-Isolation (0:39)
7. Goodbye To Farewells (5:50)
8. Candlelight (5:24)
9. Find A Reason (7:00)
10. New Day Rising (5:56)
Album Length: 52:06

Album cover art by Nathalia Suellen (Secret Sphere, Almah, Dark Moor).

For more info:
M-theoryaudio.com 
ImmortalGuardian.net
Facebook.com/igmetal
Instagram.com/immortal_guardian
Twitter.com/igmetal

Doug Aldrich: “Glenn Hughes Brings A Grooviness & Heaviness To The Dead Daisies” + Glenn’s Thoughts On Working w/Iommi

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2021
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Canada’s The Metal Voice recently interviewed Rock legend Glenn Hughes ( Deep Purple, Rock Hall of Fame) and guitarist Doug Aldrich (Dio , Whitesnake) from The Dead Daisies to talk about their upcoming album Holy Ground which is due on January 22, 2021 via SPV.

What is it like to have Glenn in the band now?
“It’s a brand new day, we are very happy to have Glenn leading this ship. It’s still the Dead Daisies but it’s a brand new start. It’s not so far away from Deep Purple in some ways, that there were different eras of Deep Purple. This is like Version four, Mark four of the Daisies” Doug Aldrich 

“It’s another chapter in my life, it was a good experience for me to come into this, Doug is an old friend, I love Doug, it’s a great ship we are flying here. We go back 25 years and Doug played in my band about 5 years ago, it was fantastic and back then we talked about doing more work, we didn’t know it was going to be in The Dead Daisies but here we are doing just that .” Glenn Hughes

What is the difference musically between the Corabi era and now with Glenn in the band?
“We love John (Corabi) and are dear friends but basically it’s a great change because we are not trying to replace John, we are going in a fresh direction. Glenn basically brings a grooviness and heaviness to the band that maybe we didn’t have that before with John when we had a different thing. They are like apples and oranges in terms of musical styles. ” Doug Aldrich 

“It would have been silly to repeat the same formula. I was brought into this band to change the game if you will and to make it just a different vibe. With the same classic rock movement, the same generational values where classic rock is. I don’t like the word classic rock or any terminology for rock music, it’s just music that we feel is appropriate for this time. The songs were written before pandemic and they speak to a lot of people. For me to join this band was a beautiful moment for me cause I wanted to express myself musically in this band and I was allowed to do that. So we are pressing forward, we are not looking so far back, we are in the moment, we are pressing all the right groove moments,we are just getting on with life. We spent a lot of time together last November and December. We made the album in France, we lived together and we ate together, we laughed together, we rocked together and it was a great moment. You can hear on the album there is a great blend of musicians all bringing the love to the table and I’m glad we captured ‘Holy Ground’ in that moment in time before we got hit with this awful virus  ”  Glenn Hughes 

Does Glenn Hughes write about waterfalls like Dio wrote about Rainbows?
“No one has touched on this before, I’m glad you touched on it, if you listen to my work even 50 years ago I was singing about the sea, of the ocean, on the shore, like Medusa, always on the shore. I live on the ocean here in LA. It’s like I am always singing about the sea, it’s enchanting to me so I thought the waterfall I can’t go back to the shore, it’s typical Glenn stuff, it’s tongue and cheek but it’s what I write about. ”  Glenn Hughes  

Will you be playing cover songs live?
“I don’t think there is going to be a lot of covers going forward, I think the Dead Daisies were a cover band and that is now going to change cause there are so many songs that have been written and been written as we speak. I just think The Daisies were a little short on material before and it’s just time to press the boat about and this band is a killer band.”  Glenn Hughes  

Glenn any other projects going on with Tony Iommi?
“There is always something going on with Tony (Iommi) we have done three albums and you never know and there is a possibility there will be another one. But at this time it is so hard to say anything I’m just doing everything I can to make sure The Dead Daisies get to as many people as humanly possible.” Glenn Hughes  

“Holy Ground” track listing
01. Holy Ground (Shake The Memory)
02. Like No Other (Bassline)
03. Come Alive
04. Bustle And Flow
05. My Fate
06. Chosen And Justified
07. Saving Grace
08. Unspoken
09. 30 Days In The Hole
10. Righteous Days
11. Far Away