“Another Face” is the third single taken from “Curse Of Autumn”, the upcoming album from Los Angeles-based dark melodic metallers WITHERFALL. Helmed by vocalist/keyboardist Joseph Michael (Sanctuary), guitarist Jake Dreyer (Iced Earth), bassist Anthony Crawford (Chon), and drummer Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats), WITHERFALL’s new configuration aligns the brightest stars.
WITHERFALL enlisted Bradley Cook (Slash) to track the drums at Doghouse Studios and Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth/ Demons & Wizards) to produce (with Michael/Dreyer) at Independence Hall. Jim Morris (Savatage) engineered and mixed, while Tom Morris (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) mastered at Morrisound Recording. Adorned by a striking Kristian Wåhlin cover and supported by a visually stunning Zev Deans (Ghost, BEHEMOTH!…) video for “As I Lie Awake,” the “Curse of Autumn” is peak WITHERFALL.
EYEHATEGOD have set a March 12 release date for the band’s first new full-length album in seven years, A History of Nomadic Behavior.
The album news arrives with a visualizer for “High Risk Trigger” a taste of what’s to come on the 12-song album. Lyrically, the song is cryptic and abstract, but it touches on the all-pervasive fears bred by an invisible germ storm sweeping through the nation and a society sickened by police brutality: “Infection is the way, disruptive crowd takes aim/Burn down the rail yard house, destroy the U.S.A.”
Singer Mike IX Williams said of the songs on the album, “We’re not a political band, but it was hard not to be affected by the news from the past year. During this recording, I thought a lot about how stupid humanity has become and how America is now completely divided with these people who don’t believe in science and blindly follow liars and nonsensical ideologies. Some of those feelings may have found their way into these songs, but it is mostly subliminal.”
A History of Nomadic Behavior follows a period that saw the New Orleans based band on the road for three years, preceded by Williams suffering liver failure and a transplant. “We toured our asses off for three years and that’s where A History of Nomadic Behavior basically comes from,” adds Williams before touching on his health challenge: “Death is a part of life, it’s a roll of the dice. Sometimes you take life as it comes, other times you fight to stay alive.” The album was produced by Eyehategod, Sanford Parker (Yob, Voivod) and James Whitten (Thou, High on Fire), with mixing by Whitten. The band recorded at HighTower Recording and Hypercube studios.
The album is available in various formats and can be pre – ordered HERE!
A History of Nomadic Behavior track list:
Built Beneath the Lies
The Outer Banks
Fake What’s Yours
Three Black Eyes
Current Situation
High Risk Trigger
Anemic Robotic
The Day Felt Wrong
The Trial of Johnny Cancer
Smoker’s Place
Circle of Nerves
Every Thing, Every Day
A History of Nomadic Behavior album cover, artwork by Gary Mader and Mike IX Williams
French death metal innovators of AGRESSOR are now releasing three new live videos in celebration of the ‘The Order of Chaos’ box set, which will be released tomorrow, December 4. The live performances of ‘When Darkness,’ ‘Deathreat,’ and ‘Warrior Heart’ were filmed at Le Splendid in Lile in 2007 and can now be viewed HERE.
AGRESSOR were founded in 1986 and immediately presented their first demo, ‘The Merciless Onslaught’ in the same year. The Southern French band’s second demo, ‘Satan Sodomy’ (1987) caused some scandal due to its sexually implicit cover and black metal undertones. At the time of the release of their split with LOUDBLAST entitled ‘Licensed to Thrash” (1988), AGRESSOR had begun touring in French speaking territories alongside such soon to be renowned bands as SAMAEL, SODOM, MESSIAH, and LIVING DEATH.
AGRESSOR became the first French metal act to be signed by an international label after recording the demo, ‘Orbital Distortion’ in 1989. A year later, the band began cooperating with Philippe Druillet for the visuals of their debut album, ‘Neverending Destiny’, which received a warm welcome with its combination of brutal thrash riffing and what would now be considered an early form of technical death metal.
Their sophomore full-length, ‘Towards Beyond’ (1992) was produced by Börje “Boss” Forsberg of BATHORY and Black Mark fame and came with ultra-heavy passages on top of their trademark technical riffing. AGRESSOR continued to spearhead the French extreme metal scene with their following release as well as through touring with such renowned acts as MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY, PESTILENCE, BIOHAZARD, SINISTER, and WARGASM.
Following a UK tour with CRADLE OF FILTH in 1996, the sole remaining founding member, vocalist and guitarist Alex Colin-Tocquaine put the band on a short hiatus, but AGRESSOR returned with ‘Medieval Rites’ in 1999 and more live activities. Their latest album under the programmatic title, ‘Deathreat’ was released in 2006 and since then the French have occasionally played rare shows.
Extreme Belarusian Avant Garde duo MORA PROKAZA are now premiering a brand new music video for the song “Madonna,” which is taken from the band’s 2020 release, ‘By Chance.’ The new video, which was created by MORA PROKAZA, can be seen at THIS LOCATION.
The up and coming experimental duo combine the ferocious sounds of black metal with the street vibes of trap, tinges of industrial, and out-of-the-box instrumentation, creating a sound that is wholly unique and groundbreaking that you must hear it for yourself to truly grasp the artistic genius behind the Belarusian outfit.
‘By Chance’ is out now and can be streamed, downloaded, and purchased HERE.
The quintet from Dallas, FROZEN SOUL have released the grim video to “Wraith Of Death”, the third single from their up – coming album “Crypt Of Ice” (out January 8th, 2020).
Follow this link to watch the video:
The band comments: “Wraith of death is one of our favorite songs off of Crypt of Ice. We filmed this video with our good friend Brendan McGowen (Ghost, Imperial Triumphant, Vitriol), together we brought our song life!”
“Crypt Of Ice” will be available in the following formats and can be pre – ordered HERE
ALLEGAEON have released a new digital single, Concerto in Dm – featuring the title track and B-side “In Flanders Fields”. Greg Burgess (guitars) comments: “What can we say about J.S. Bach that hasn’t already been said? Musical genius? Greatest composer to ever walk the earth? It’s all been written before, so I’ll go to what he means to Allegaeon. I first heard this piece back in 2000, and it has been a dream of mine to arrange this piece for a metal band; it only took 20 years to make it a reality. For anyone who has never worked on Bach before, the learning process is painstaking. Just when you think it’s a repeat of a section you’ve already learned, you’re suddenly in a new key, or there is a variation that totally throws a wrench in your muscle memory. In short, recording this piece was the most challenging thing I’ve ever attempted in this band. And I’m insanely proud of it. Crank it loud and get lost in it.”
Riley McShane (vocals) adds: “Originally, these songs were part of the first draft track-listing of ‘Apoptosis‘. In fact, this alternate track-listing – including these two songs – ended up being the running order for the ‘Apoptosis‘ LP. However, over a year after the initial release, we decided to put the songs out in a digital format for everyone to enjoy, just in time for the holiday season. Who needs Trans-Siberian Orchestra when you have Allegaeon covering Bach?”
Additionally, a play-through and documentary for Concerto in Dm can also be viewed here:
Concerto in Dm track-listing 1. Concerto in Dm 2. In Flanders Fields
Allegaeon‘s latest album, Apoptosis, was released last year to critical acclaim. Tracked at Flatline Audio in Denver with long-serving producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage), Apoptosis is Allegaeon‘s fifth full-length, and the first to feature bassist Brandon Michael. “Musically, Brandon brings a huge new dimension,” vocalist Riley McShane enthuses. “He has this wide breadth of music knowledge and stylistic proficiency that he draws from with excellent taste, and this makes a lot of the songs on ‘Apoptosis‘ come to life.” The record also features a guest appearance by classical guitarist Christina Sandsengen, who duets with guitarist Greg Burgess on “Colors of the Currents”. “On this record, I was more open to new ideas that we might not have used in past,” states guitarist Michael Stancel. “Rather than deleting something because ‘it’s not Allegaeon-y enough’, I would take a step back and see if that idea fit the song and decide if it was worth keeping. With that mentality came some of my favorite songs, because I was less worried about if it fit into our old sound.” This statement is borne out across the whole album, which while very much embodying the core Allegaeon sound that has drawn fans in over the course of their impressive career, it pushes into new territory, and does so with unerring confidence. “Thematically, this record is all about contrast, and the music reflects that perfectly,” says McShane. “The vocals are heavier than ever, but there are also more clean sections. The drums are faster than ever but also more dynamic, and the guitar playing is lower and slower than on most previous albums, but also provides long, melodic and beautiful sections throughout.”
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 