WHITE VOID Release “This Apocalypse Is For You” Single & Video

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 15, 2021
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Today, Norwegian eclectic hard rock band WHITE VOID are proud to present This Apocalypse Is For You, the second single from their upcoming debut album, Anti, which is scheduled to be released on March 12th, 2021.

Like its predecessor this catchy uptempo tune is accompanied by a stylish music video, but now the imagery is a lot more surreal and symbol-laden.

Pre-save Antion the streaming plattform of your choice: http://nblast.de/WhiteVoidAntiPreSave

Pre-order the album here: http://nblast.de/WhiteVoid-Anti

Front man Lars Nedland comments on the song:
“The absurd can never be permanently accepted. It requires constant confrontation, unbroken revolt.
 
If you fail revolting, This apocalypse is for you!
 
This is a song about crises. Also, it’s a song to put some boogie in your life. Because everyone needs boogie!
 
The video was beautifully created by animation wizard Joakim Storsve and editor Daniel Øverland, and draws inspiration from the oil painting “Adrift” by Jeremy Geddes, which incidentally serves as the cover for our debut album.
 Enjoy the uproar, the cosmonauts and the boogie.”

‘Anti’ Tracklist:

1. Do. Not. Sleep.
2. There is No Freedom but the End
3. Where You Go, You’ll Bring Nothing
4. The Shovel and the Cross
5. This Apocalypse is for You
6. All Chains Rust, all Men Die
7. The Fucking Violence of Love
8. The Air was Thick with Smoke

WHITE VOID is absence of direction and sense in life. It’s a description of the fundamental disharmony between the individual’s search for meaning and the meaninglessness of the universe.Eclectic hard rockers WHITE VOID are a curious bunch. Forged in the space between the occult rock of the seventies, the no-excuses-hard rock of the eighties and the British New Wave movement, they balance on the event horizon that separates old from new. Aggression from melody. Dream from drive.

Add to that the fact that the bandmembers of WHITE VOID have their backgrounds in Norwegian black metal, chiptune electronica, pop music and blues, and you’ll see why Anti is an album that’s hard to pin down. It’s darkly melodic, it’s driven, and it’s infused with earworms, hooks and licks. Boasting a shameless attitude, though, it comes forth as deeply true to the core of our shared hard rock heritage.

In the center of WHITE VOID stands Lars Are Nedland, long time member of BORKNAGAR and SOLEFALD. Leading a team of musicians including Tobias Solbakk of IHSAHN fame, electronica staple Vegard Kummen and blues rock virtuoso Eivind Marum, he navigates the waters of hard rock riffs, new wave harmonies and blues rock solos with determination and elegance.

Still, Anti probably doesn’t sound like you think. It’s an album riddled with contrasts and references, musically as well as philosophically. The concept is based on Albert Camus’ Absurdism and deals with how you cope with an existence that is in its core absurd. Musically it draws on the past while forging towards the future. And the result? Well, enter the Void to find out!

ACCEPT Release New Single ‘Zombie Apocalypse’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 15, 2021
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ACCEPT could have hardly chosen a more fitting title for their new upcoming masterpiece – “Too Mean To Die”. First a virus interrupted the recording process of their 16th studio album back in spring 2020, and now the same rotten thing has caused the release to be postponed by two weeks, to 29.01.21.

However, ACCEPT will not be knocked down by these setbacks. As a consolation for fans and to shorten the waiting time for the complete album, the band will release a very special treat on Jan 15th: their third single ‘Zombie Apocalypse’.

Hard-hitting melodies – a 5-minute classic ACCEPT treat: dynamic, unshakeable, mega loud! There’s no doubt about it: ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ makes you want MORE and provides a perfect taster of the new album.

The single contains a special hint about a widespread disease of our time – and rest assured it’s not Corona…

Singer Mark Tornillo explains: “They’re everywhere, they can’t put them (mobile phones) down. They can’t keep them charged; they can’t take their eyes off the screen! It’s a zombie apocalypse!” 

Watch the visualizer for ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ here:

Get the latest single here: http://nblast.de/Accept-TooMeanToDieDSP

Most of the limited vinyl formats of the album “Too Mean To Die”, which will be released on 29.1.2021, are already sold out! Therefore, Nuclear Blast has decided to release another version in cooperation with ACCEPT‘s partner Spotify: Double vinyl in white strictly limited to 300 copies.

Pre-order/pre-save your copy here: http://nblast.de/Accept-TooMeanToDie

And here you even have a chance to win the album: www.accepttoomeantodie.com

More about “Too Mean To Die”:
‘The Undertaker’ OFFICIAL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/DQy6npwdwsY
‘Too Mean To Die’ OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO: https://youtu.be/tHwCTnH5_Z8

Video Interview: Godfather of Finnish Heavy Metal /Filmmaker KIMMO KUUSNIEMI Talks About The End Of SARCOFAGUS And His Future Plans

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 15, 2021
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Just recently Scars And Guitars‘ Andrew McKaysmith conducted a long and far-reaching conversation with KIMMO KUUSNIEMI, talking about the end of SARCOFAGUS and his future plans. The video interview starts with a short history of Sarcofagus and Kimmo Kuusniemi with music video clips.

Watch the video interview here:

or stream the interview at this location.

Conversation topics:
1) The thinking behind ending Sarcofagus
2) Kimmo provides a comprehensive summary of Sarcofagus’ albums and other releases
3) His plans for the future and projects he’s working on
4) The impact of COVID-19 on the music business
5) Film and TV work, especially ‘The Promised Land of Heavy Metal’
6) Observations on social issues

More information at http://www.sarcofagus.com

At the end of 2020 Kimmo Kuusniemi declared that SARCOFAGUS has returned to the Valley Of The Kings.

Kimmo stated: “Sarcofagus has been great balance of fun and pain. My albums have always had social commentary as many of my films have. I had come to the conclusions on the CORE VALUES re-release video long before the Covid19 pandemic arrived, that I am fed up with writing songs about social problems. Technology is progressing with ever increasing speed but us as humans we seem to be doomed to repeat our mistakes.

Since Covid started I have been working on a new audio visual project. This combines my need to create something new both in music and in film. There is already several songs finished with collaboration with great musicians from Siberia to Los Angeles.

This project will be released as album, videos and a world tour. Without going yet into too much detail this project is designed to work in the post Covid world. When we get over this virus I do not think the music business will ever be the same. So it is time to re-invent the wheel 😉

Ending Sarcofagus has been in my mind quite long time but this year it became very clear that there is no space for Sarcofagus in my mind anymore. Time for a reset.

Sarcofagus has been an interesting and complicated 43 year rollercoaster ride, but everything comes to an end. At the end of this press release there is the Sarcofagus story ‘in brief’. The same story with plenty photos, some never published before, are available online at http://www.sarcofagus.com .

On digital platforms (Spotify, iTunes…) you will also find the newest single release “Absence Of Light”, accompanied by a fresh remake of the song “Go To Hell”, featuring an almost original lineup of the band.

We started the band with Hannu Leiden, Juha Kiminki and Esa Kotilainen so like the title of the first album “Cycle Of Life” another Cycle of Life has come to a full circle with the “Absence Of Light” release.

The “Absence Of Light” was meant to be the next Sarcofagus album but in 2019 I decided to stop working on it. There already were few songs made for it.

Now the fantastic artwork for “Absence Of Light” by Toni Hietomaa are available as Sarcofagus T shirt and A3 Poster from the Sarcofagus website: http://www.sarcofagus.com.

These are made to order for awhile. So there is no stock and these are aimed for the fans and collectors to commemorate the 43 years of metal work.

The next project will be introduced soon so stay tuned.

Thank you for all the fans who have been supporting us through these years!”

Kimmo Kuusniemi

More information at http://www.sarcofagus.com

SARCOFAGUS IN A NUTSHELL:

Sarcofagus is reputed to be one of the most influential & original Scandinavian Progressive Heavy Metal Bands (formed 1977). They have inspired numerous new metal bands.

-Officially the first Finnish Heavy Metal Band

-First Finnish Heavy Metal Band singing in Finnish

-First Scandinavian Heavy Metal Band to have a female vocalist (Muska Babitzin)

-First Scandinavian Band (first in the world?) to release a FULL ALBUM length story/broadcast quality video ever (Moottorilinnut/Motorbirds). This was before MTV, rental or sales videos and before people had VHS players

-1979-1982 Released 1 Single and 3 Albums (Single: Go to Hell/All those Lies 1979, Albums: Cycle of Life 1980, Envoy of Death 1980, Moottorilinnut 1982)

-Kimmo Kuusniemi was the 1st spoke person for Finnish Heavy Metal. He also started the Finnish Heavy Metal Association to bring together all the Finnish metal fans

-Kimmo Kuusniemi brought metal to radio, TV and papers where he was often used as the expert to explain the metal philosophy to reporters

-1996 the albums Cycle of Life and Envoy of Death re released as CDs in Italy by Mellotron

-2004 Kimmo Kuusniemi released a downloadable free web version of 1981 Moottorilinnut (Motorbirds) album with original alternative Sarcofagus cover

-2006 Cycle of Life re released in Finland

-2007 Envoy of Death and Moottorilinnut (Motorbirds) re released in Finland

-2007 the 4th Sarcofagus album “Core Values” came out after 25 years with most of the original band onboard; Kimmo Kuusniemi (guitars/drums), Esa Kotilainen (keyboards), Juha Kiminki (bass) and Tanja Katinka Karttunen (vocals)

-2008 limited edition CD release of an previously unpublished studio tape “Sarcofagus Live in Studio 1979″, and a limited edition DVD release of the 1982 full album length music video “Moottorilinnut”

-2008 Kimmo Kuusniemi produced a feature length HD TV documentary “Promised Land of Heavy Metal” that tells the story of the Finnish Metal Phenomenon (featuring also Sarcofagus) – Finland is the only country in the world where metal is now mainstream. The film is directed by Tanja Katinka Karttunen. It is in worldwide TV and DVD distribution (and also available as an iPhone App)

-2009 Sarcofagus Anthology 1979-1982 double CD by Rocket Records published in Finland, including the first Single and 3 Albums, artwork and booklet with lyrics, history of the band and a foreword by Kimmo Kuusniemi

-2010 First Finnish Metal Band to have an iPhone App

More information at http://www.sarcofagus.com

BROTHERS OF METAL Unleash ‘Chain Breaker’ Music Video

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 15, 2021
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Sensational Swedish 8-piece power metal band BROTHERS OF METAL are back with a new music video, which was filmed for „Chain Breaker“, a song from their latest chart-breaking studio album „Emblas Saga“.

„Mighty Defenders of Valhalla! The music video for our song ‘Chain Breaker’ is OUT!
On the day of Ragnarök, Fenrir will break his chains, Gleipner and join the giants in their battle against the gods“, the band comments.

The video was directed by Jonas Helmersson & Sara Gustavsson.

TRIBULATION Release Single & Video “Funeral Pyre”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 15, 2021
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Today Sweden’s TRIBULATION release the third single “Funeral Pyre” from their upcoming album “Where the Gloom Becomes Sound” (out: January 29th).

Watch the video which was directed by Claudio Marino and produced by Artax Film HERE!

TRIBULATIONchecked in with the following comment about the single “Funeral Pyre” and its video: “Here’s something for the fire worshippers out there: an ode to the one that transforms and delivers, aids and burns. It’s a song about sacrifice and loss and the immortality quest of heroes past. Giving form to the name, we had the help of Claudio Mario and Artax Film who contributed with their own vision of ‘Funeral Pyre’ – as ragged, yet stylish and clean-cut as always.”

You can check out the previously released singles “Leviathans” HERE & “Hour Of The Wolf” HERE.

TRIBULATION entered Linus Björklund’s Studio Ryssviken in April and exited (informally) nearly two months later. The group – guitarists Adam Zaars and Jonathan Hultén, Johannes Andersson (vocals/bass), and Oscar Leander (drums) – used the first 10 days of their studio time to rehearse. Once the bone-oil had sufficiently run its course, the group and co-producer Jamie Elton started to hammer into the rudiments of the recording process. Elton, who also serves as TRIBULATION’s soundman and is a long-time friend, took the reins from Martin Ehrencrona, who helmed the 2018 Down Below sessions. Together, they crafted a well-appointed production, one that’s luxuriously grim and auricularly inviting. “Where the Gloom Becomes Sound” was then given to Grammy-nominated producer Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Rammstein) to mix at Psalm Studios. Once the mixing was finished – Dalgety would send over versions from his studio in Wales – TRIBULATION re-enlisted Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios in Stockholm to master.

“Where the Gloom Becomes Sound” is also available for pre-order in its various formats HERE!

Where the Gloom Becomes Sound track-listing

In Remembrance
Hour of the Wolf
Leviathans
Dirge of a Dying Soul
Lethe
Daughter of the Djinn
Elementals
Inanna
Funeral Pyre
The Wilderness

Bonus tracks:
The Dhampir, Pt. I *
The Dhampir **
Månvisan ***

*) Bonus on Ltd. CD Mediabook, First chapter of the song
**) Bonus on Ltd. Deluxe LP Artbook, Complete version of the 18-minute song
***) Bonus on Ltd. Deluxe LP Artbook, Instrumental song

Most recently, TRIBULATION have announced the departure of guitarist Jonathan Hultén and have announced Joseph Tholl as his replacement.

TRIBULATION “Where the Gloom Becomes Sound Europa 2021” tour dates
w/ BØLZER & Molassess
Sept. 17, 2021 – Copenhagen (Denmark) – Pumpehuset
Sept. 18, 2021 – Hamburg (Germany) – Gruenspan
Sept. 19, 2021 – Utrecht (The Netherlands) – De Helling
Sept. 21, 2021 – Vosselaar (Belgium) – Biebob
Sept. 22, 2021 – London (UK) – The Dome
Sept. 23, 2021 – Paris (France) – Petit Bain
Sept. 24, 2021 – Milan (Italy) – Slaughter Club
Sept. 25, 2021 – Aarburg (Switzerland) – Musigburg
Sept. 26, 2021 – Essen (Germany) – Turock
Sept. 28, 2021 – Heidelberg (Germany) – Halle 2
Sept. 29, 2021 – Munich (Germany) – Technikum
Sept. 30, 2021 – Krakow (Poland) – Kwadrat
Oct. 1, 2021 – Prague (Czech Republic) – Nova Chmelnice
Oct. 2, 2021 – Budapest (Hungary) – Barba Negra
Oct. 3, 2021 – Vienna (Austria) – Szene
Oct. 5, 2021 – Berlin (Germany) – Hole44
Oct. 6, 2021 – Malmö (Sweden) – Babel
Oct. 8, 2021 – Gothenburg (Sweden) – Valand
Oct. 9, 2021 – Oslo (Norway) – Parkteatret

TRIBULATION live 2021:
June 19, 2021 – Dessel (Belgium) – Graspop Metal Meeting
June 15-17, 2021 – Gävle (Sweden) – Gefle Metal Festival
Aug. 3-7, 2021 – Bergen (Norway) – Beyond The Gates Festival
Sept. 12, 2021 – Stockholm (Sweden) – Macken Festival
And more dates to be announced soon…

MEMORIAM To Release “To the End” On March 26th, Cover Artwork Revealed

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 15, 2021
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photo © Timm Sonnenschein

Almost two years have passed since album the »Requiem For Mankind« was released, but we all know there’s no standing still in the MEMORIAM camp. Their fourth studio album »To the End« will be released on March 26th – Fans can be assured that this is going to be one of the strongest albums of 2021.

It is the beginning of a new era – and the beginning of a new trilogy of albums.
 »To the End«  is a tremendous demonstration of power that impressively unites all elements of its predecessors and paints a frightening picture of war, death and destruction at the end of which nothing remains but ashes and the realization of a masterpiece. The grandiose songwriting and first-class recordings are rounded off by the production of Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR, AT THE GATES, AMORPHIS etc.) at Parlour Studios, which comes across as charming “Down to Earth”, but wonderfully differentiated, to give every detail on  »To the End«  its deserved space.

The album’s impressive artwork was created again by Dan Seagrave (BENEDICTION, DISMEMBER, HYPOCRISY, SUFFOCATION,…)

MEMORIAM states about the album and the artwork:
“Back in 2015, when we first got together we all discussed what we wanted to achieve with Memoriam, top of Scott’s ambitions was to have an album with Dan Seagraves artwork. He has now done 3. 
We are really chuffed to be collaborating with Dan, his vision and interpretation of ideas are totally unique and its fantastic to be involved in the  creative process with him seeing the ideas that we have transformed into stunning images that we are proud to have as artwork for our albums.
His style is second to none, so much so that using any other artist at this point would seem like a compromise, his attention to detail is incredible. 
We approached Dan relatively late in the day, (in September)  as it took us a while to decide where we were going visually with the new album. Once the concept was in place we approached him to engage his services and miraculously he rearranged his busy schedule in order to complete the artwork.
The design brief we provided gave him a solid basis to work from, this new album is the start of another trilogy of albums.
The first trilogy focused on what we consider to be “the death cycle” where the central theme is the end of life of the central “king”  figure, For the Fallen follows the coffin across a battle ravaged landscape, following death in battle , The Silent Vigil illustrates the lying in state and the mourning of the followers and finally Requiem for Mankind depicts committal to earth of the body as the “King” is laid to rest.
We decided that the next trilogy should be a celebration of the “kings” life and will focus on events that occurred whilst he was alive.
To the End is the first album of this trilogy and features the events that led up to the scenes depicted on the first album we did “For the Fallen”. The art shows the “king” leading his troops into the last battle in which he was killed. 
It looks bloody killer.”

Legendary artist Dan Seagrave adds:
“For this album, the band were looking to explore the germination of events that led up to the battle and demise of their king as depicted in the earlier records.
This serves as part of a retro trilogy prequel as we work backwards with the narrative unfolding to its origin.
In this moment we’re capturing the dawn of the onslaught of the city. Visible from the industrial outskirts, as the forces descend with a pincer movement into the valley, spreading destruction towards their goal.
The king character to me at this stage has become something of a creature. Beyond just human. There is an elemental shift in its DNA and a detachment of its ordinary senses. Held together by earthly materials, I feel its presence brings with it a surrealistic sickness that affects the immediate environment and those who tread within its boundaries.
My aesthetic look of this was to combine the retro military tech of the early 20th century with the memory of renaissance times art. Such as with tanks that have bas relief sculpture, and inventions such as the flying wingsuit. A metallic armored vehicle contraption. Worn by the foreground figure. 
Less of a littoral darkness in the depiction. Here there seems to be a permeating flow of dust particles, like a concocting mist of specular ice and grey concrete. The dawn of a bright day reacting with it, both illuminating and deadly.”

The first digital single “Onwards into Battle” will be released on January 22nd. You can pre-save the song on Spotify now: https://smarturl.it/OnwardsIntoBattle