US Upstarts TETRARCH Are On The Move Into 2021

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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[photo credit: Guillermo Briceño]

This year, the music industry experienced arguably its toughest year yet, battling many setbacks and standstills. But, tenacious and hardworking, TETRARCH refuses to waver – remaining on the move upward into 2021 with colossal achievements in tow!

The steadfast trajectory of “I’m Not Right” and its impressive streaming numbers matches the official music video’s YouTube views – with both boasting over 1.5 million streams and views individually and respectively. The triumphs the band has seen with the single at US radio are also matched at European radio stations such as Kerrang! (UK), StarFM (GER) or Radio Lombardia (IT), and TETRARCH are more than ready to build on these achievements. 

In addition to this success, TETRARCH lead guitarist Diamond Rowe and frontman/guitarist Josh Fore have both been nominated in Music Radar’s “Best Metal Guitarist of 2020” accolade. The deft duo is nominated alongside guitar greats Mark Morton, Willie Adler, Matt Heafy, Robb Flynn and many more.

In 2021, the Atlantean firestarters will push even harder by releasing their upcoming album Unstable! The album was recorded earlier this year with producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Allegeon, Khemmis) and is due for release via Napalm Records, whom the band signed with in 2020.

Lead guitarist Diamond Rowe says:
“We are thoroughly impressed with the year that we have had in the TETRARCH camp. 2020 has not been the best year for artists, but we have always been a band that tries to go out and make our own opportunities when circumstances may not permit and that’s just what we did with this year. I am extremely happy with what we achieved and it’s only a foreshadowing of what’s to come. We have so much in store for 2021 and we cannot wait to unleash this monster of a new album on the world.”

Experience TETRARCH via the official music video for “I’m Not Right” HERE

Fierce individuality and a fearless embrace of the outsider are at the heart of TETRARCH, a band equally defined by metallic power and melodic hooks. Seamlessly blending technical chops and aggressive ferocity with menacing groove and massive choruses, TETRARCH obliterates musical barriers. The band’s tireless hard work and relentless determination has established them as one of the top up-and-coming bands in heavy music, catching the attention of major media including Pollstar (cover mention), Billboard, Revolver, Alternative Press, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Premier Guitar, Kerrang! and Metal Hammer, many in which lead guitarist Diamond Rowe was the first African American female lead guitarist from the heavy metal genre to be featured. As of today, TETRARCH boasts over 180,000 monthly streams on Spotify, where they’ve been featured on playlists such as Kickass Metal, Rock Hard, New Blood (cover featured), Metal Tracks and more. The band has also seen stellar support from Apple Music and their users, appearing on several playlists and seeing their debut full-length, 2017’s Freak, emerge at #3 and #17 on the iTunes Metal and Rock charts, respectively. Having appeared on major festivals such as Epicenter and Exit 111, TETRARCH will charge back into the major touring scene upon its resurgence with renewed persistence and the mighty nonconformist’s spirit that has driven them since day one.

AUTARKH Release Album Details Of ‘Form in Motion’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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Photo by Steph Byrne

Dutch extreme metal outfit AUTARKH are now revealing the album details of their upcoming debut album ‘Form in Motion’. The new offering will be released on March 12, 2021 and pre-orders will start soon.

In celebration, the band is now releasing a first glimpse of what’s to come HERE. Further album details like track titles, recording info and artwork can be found below.

Founder Michel Nienhuis comments: “We are very proud to show everybody a bit of what we have been working so hard on this year. ‘Form In Motion’ is quite a rollercoaster of an album that all of us put a lot of time and effort into making, and we are quite excited about the final result. The amazing artwork by Manuel Tinnemans / Comaworx had us in shock and awe when we first saw the full scope of this enormously detailed drawing – it is a very fitting translation of our music and the process of growth that the album revolves around. The collaboration with everyone involved in making this album has been great so far and we are eager to present you some full tracks in the upcoming months.” 

Track-list
1. Primitive Constructs (1:23)
2. Turbulence (6:43)
3. Cyclic Terror (5:17)
4. Impasse (1:50)
5. Introspectrum (5:20)
6. Lost To Sight (7:39)
7. Metacognition (2:47)
8. Clouded Aura (7:25)
9. Alignment (6:39)
10. Zeit ist nur eine Illusion (2:27)
Total: 47:30

From the fertle grounds of Tilburg (NL) rises new contemporary metal outit AUTARKH, a group of musical extremists dedicated to pushing the boundaries of the auditory senses. Autarkh is the brainchild of Michel Nienhuis, founding member and composer/guitarist of DODECAHEDRON. Dodecahedron released 2 albums on the French record label Season Of Mist in 2012 and 2017 and has played at Inferno festval (NO), Reykjavík Metalfest (IS) Brutal Assault (CZ), Roadburn Festival (NL) and Eurosonic (NL) amongst others.

Death and illness was closing in on Dodecahedron, triggering a conceptual transformaton that was necessary to effectuate Nienhuis’ artstic development. In the fall of 2019 Nienhuis teamed up with producer Joris Bonis (Dodecahedron, Ulsect), guitarist David Luiten and electronic composer / producer Tijnn Verbruggen, a set of musicians with backgrounds ranging from metal to techno. Autarkh’s first full length album ‘Form In Motion’ will be released the 12th of March 2021 through Season of Mist records.

AUTARKH takes a unique position in the world of extreme metal. Synthetic, IDM-style beats and glitch effects – reminiscent of those produced by artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre – are perfectly balanced with overwhelming riffs and vocals that range from dark growls and exasperating screams to semi-clean harmonies. Together with fluttering blast beats, dense bass lines and eerie soundscapes these elements produce an intense and crystal clear tunnel of sound where the energy of contrasting emotions is constantly felt.

‘Form In Motion’ feels like an evolution in both sound and lyrical content from the two albums Nienhuis released with Dodecahedron. Musically, because of the radical approach the band takes with their rhythm section; lyrically because the album is more about a personal experience of human nature and the nature of the universe. The album takes us from unraveling storms and destructive chaos to transformation, liberation and fundamental shifts in understanding in order to align with the divine. That progression is also present in a linear sense – the intrusive uneasiness the album starts with gives way to a sense of epic victory towards the end.

Give yourself the opportunity to dive into this radical exploration of sonic and spiritual ideas and allow yourself to get inspired by what AUTARKH has to offer.

Recording line-up:
Michel Nienhuis: vocals, guitars, bass, programming
David Luiten: vocals, guitars
Tijnn Verbruggen: synthesis, beat design
Joris Bonis: synthesis, sound design

Music, lyrics and production: Michel Nienhuis

Mix:
– Turbulence, Cyclic Terror, Introspectrum, Lost To Sight, Clouded Aura and Alignment mixed by David Luiten
– Impasse mixed by Tijnn Verbruggen
– Primitive Constructs, Metacognition and Zeit ist nur eine Illusion mixed by Michel Nienhuis

Master: Joris Bonis

Artwork: Manuel Tinnemans / Comaworx
Design & Layout: Arno Frericks & Reinier Bonis

NEONFLY Release Final Fan-Picked Acoustic Cover Of HEART ‘Alone’ And Tease New Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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NEONFLY have released via YouTube an acoustic cover of the iconic chart-topping 80s power ballad “Alone” originally released by i-Ten, and most notably performed by Heart on their 1987 album “Bad Animals”. The song, with an accompanying self-shot and self-edited video, is the final release of a 10-part series of fan-picked acoustic covers that Neonfly recorded earlier this year during the COVID-19 lockdown in London.

Over the past few months, Neonfly have treated their fans to covers of artists as varied as Iron Maiden, Frank Zappa, Edguy, Marillion, The Righteous Brothers and Joe Cocker, to name but a few.

The covers were picked by fans last year as part of a highly successful crowdfunding campaign that helped to finance Neonfly’s upcoming 3rd album, “The Future Tonight” with Grammy-Award nominated producer Romesh Dodangoda (Motorhead, Bring Me The Horizon, Funeral for a Friend) and Miro Rodenberg (Avantasia) on keys and orchestral arrangements.

With this final acoustic release, Neonfly also teased their fans on social media mentioning that they had a big surprise planned for very early next year, which involved “turning the amps back on”, hinting at the fact that they’d soon be ready to release the new music everyone’s been waiting for.

CONVICTION Unleash Details + First Single From Upcoming Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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French doomsters, CONVICTION, have announced the release of their hotly anticipated, first full-length album! The band’s self-titled debut will drop on January 22, 2020 via Argonauta Records.

CONVICTION burst into the doom scene in 2013, when they released their first demo. The four- piece, which is featuring members of TEMPLE OF BAAL, MOURNING DAWN, ATARAXIE and many more high class blackened heavy acts, unleashes the pure traditional doom in the likes of Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Count Raven or early Cathedral. The upcoming debut, recorded, mixed and mastered by guitarist Frédéric Patte-Brasseur in the Vault 92 Studio, contains 8 fierce and massive tracks, that will take you on a trip into slow heaviness! Finally, the wait for CONVICTION’s debut album is over, listen to a first single, the doom monolith “Voices Of The Dead”, here:

Says the band:
“We’re proud to finally release Conviction’s first album, an album made by True Doom Metal fans, for True Doom Metal fans. Recording the whole album on our own in Frederic’s Vault 92 studio has been quite an intense experience. Lots of sweat & blood were involved, and we’ve learnt a lot on ourselves as musicians through the process, channeling all our influences.

The first single, Voices of the Dead, was inspired by long walks in the foggy countryside, forests and old churches of Normandie. Desolate empty places, ancient stones, old statues… Sometimes you feel like being between The Hound of the Baskervilles and a novel from the Brontë sisters, it can be both freaky and gothic at the same time. We’d like to salute Claudine Kax, who did a remarkable work on the album’s visual, directly drawn from a XVIth Century statue inside the church of Gisors.”

Album Tracklist:
01. Prologue Affliction
02. Voices Of The Dead
03. Through The Window
04. Curse Of The Witch
05. Outworn
06. Wrong Life
07. Castles Made Of Shame
08. My Sanctuary

CONVICTION’s upcoming album is slated for a release on January 22, 2020 via Argonauta Records, and will be available as CD and Digital formats. The pre-sale of this MUST-HAVE doom epos has just started at THIS LOCATION!

TRIBULATION Announce Line-Up Change

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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Sweden’s TRIBULATION have announced a line-up change, read below.

After 16 years of creative, expressive, artistic and spiritual exchange and co-operation Jonathan has decided to leave the band to pursue whatever else life has in store for him in the future.

We know that whatever he decides to do in the future he will do it in the same wholehearted, immersive and meticulous way that he has tackled all the trials and tribulations that are Tribulation, and we truly wish him the best of luck in those endeavours.

The idea and concept of death and rebirth has always played a big role in the band mythos and while Jonathan leaving leaves a big chunk of what has built, maintained and nurtured the creature that is Tribulation behind, we are confident in our vision for the times to come, and we will build something new and once again ride the frightening yet powerful waves of creative uncertainty into the new decade!

“Vetera transierunt: ecce facta sunt omnia nova“

Jonathan Hultén comments:

Friends. After 16 years of playing together, the time has now come for me to part with Tribulation. For some time I’ve been swinging between doubt and determination in a recurring questioning of whether I am the right person in the right place, and in the end this is the conclusion that has been reached. This year made it more clear than ever that first and foremost I have to follow my heart rather than the mind – even if it means walking away from a lot of things I love doing and people I love. Life is too short to not follow your heart, wherever it might lead. I don’t know what the future holds, the only thing I do know is that I have to try to live in a way that makes me happy.

I wish Johannes, Adam and Oscar all the best in the world. I’m looking forward to seeing them continue on the adventurous cruise on the ship that is Tribulation, and all the glorious moments they will experience along the way. I am also very happy to pass the torch to the amazing Joseph Tholl, one of my favorite songwriters of all time. The magic he will introduce into Trib will be an invaluable treasure and I couldn’t imagine a better addition to the band.

And most importantly – I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported, appreciated and helped us along the years. I thank you from the bottom of my soul, you made this journey into what it has been. Thank you for everything!

However, this is not a goodbye. I won’t stop creating music and art as long as there is a heartbeat left in this body, that’s a promise. Much love…

Joseph Tholl comments:

As a long-time fan and friend of the band it’s sad for me to see Jonathan leave, but it’s also an honour that I’ll get to cherish his great work. I’m thrilled to join this assembly of old friends and I’m looking forward to be a part of what the future holds for Tribulation.

On January 29th, 2021, Tribulation will release their new album, “Where the Gloom Becomes Sound”, via Century Media Records (worldwide excluding North America).

The album’s first single can be checked out in a video directed and animated by Ulf Lundén HERE!

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

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.

Tribulation line-up:
(From left to right on above photo!)
Johannes Andersson – vocals, bass
Adam Zaars – guitars
Joseph Tholl – guitars
Oscar Leander – drums

BLOODY HAMMERS Reveal Macabre Second Single “Hands Of The Ripper”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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[Photo Courtesy of Bloody Hammers]

Horror-occult-goth metal/rock fusers BLOODY HAMMERS recently announced the upcoming release of their new horror punk-inspired full-length album, Songs Of Unspeakable Terror, out January 15, 2021 via Napalm Records. The 11-track album marks an eccentric new chapter in the Transylvania County, North Carolina-based husband and wife duo’s musical story.

After unleashing their macabre punk earworm “A Night To Dismember” around Halloween, the band is ringing in the new season horror-style with a swinging new anthem, “Hands Of The Ripper”. The bite-sized bop – accompanied by a gritty new music video featuring retro horror film scenes – mixes horror punk elements with rock attitude, soaked in murderous metallic energy!

Frontman/multi-instrumentalist Anders Manga says about the track:
“It’s one of those songs that appeared when I wasn’t trying to write a song. I was just sitting at the drums playing a shuffle beat when the verse melody just popped in my head and I thought, ‘wait this is pretty good’. I immediately started working on it and had it done in a day or two. As a horror rock band, perhaps it’s obligatory to have a Jack the Ripper themed song? I don’t know, these things just happen. We hope somewhere Screaming Lord Sutch is digging it.” 

Watch the grim official music video for “Hands Of The Ripper” HERE

At the start of 2020, Anders Manga was about to head out on tour for his darkwave side-project when COVID-19 hit. Soon locked in their house under local stay-at-home orders, Manga and his bride and bandmate, Devallia, spent time jamming in their basement and revisiting some of their classic punk favorites. Holed up and barred from the uncertainty of the world, BLOODY HAMMERS conjured 11 new raw-power tracks inspired by that sound, and now they’re unearthed… from the grave!

While Songs of Unspeakable Terror doesn’t stray too dangerously far from the sound listeners have grown to infectiously adore, the full-length explores yet uncharted territory: retro-ized horror punk in all its gritty glory. This beastly record shouldn’t be confused as an all new direction for the band – these songs are a temporary foray into the unknown while still remaining true to the BLOODY HAMMERS sonic trademark.

Kicking off with first single and album opener “A Night To Dismember”, the album careens the listener down a dark, winding auditory road of melodic punk (in a jet-black classic car, of course). Trudging, metallic terrors like “Hands Of The Ripper” and “Witchfinder General” ensnare the listener, while seductive, unrelentingly heavy tracks such as “Not Of This Earth” will have them screaming for more, and head-bobbers like “The Ones Who Own The Dark” prove this offering isn’t short on melody. Laced with spine-tingling vocal lines, bathed in an occult cocktail of granular guitars and accented by a peppering of vintage Mellotron, each track on Songs Of Unspeakable Terror is a bonafide horror punk pillar. 

Pre-Order Songs Of Unspeakable Terror HERE

Anders Manga says about the album:
“When the pandemic hit and I realized I’d be stuck at home for a while, I started thinking I needed to dig into a music project. I was oddly inspired by the unknown, and fear that this plague was gonna wipe us all out. I needed a creative escape. We’d just released the BLOODY HAMMERS album, ‘The Summoning’ a few months earlier, so I didn’t think about doing another Hammers album at all. When COVID was really hitting NYC hard, that got me thinking about my favorite bands from that whole NY/NJ area… Misfits, Wendy O. Williams, Ramones, Dead Boys, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Twisted Sister and such. That’s where I found inspiration to do a horror punk-ish record.”
 
Songs Of Unspeakable Terror tracklisting:
1) A Night To Dismember
2) Hands Of The Ripper
3) Witchfinder General
4) Not Of This Earth
5) The Ones Who Own The Dark
6) Waking The Dead
7) Night Of The Witch
8) We Are The Damned
9) The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
10) Lucifer’s Light
11) I Spit On Your Corpse