TRIBULATION Announce Line-Up Change

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment

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
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
[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

BLACK RIVER – Feat. BEHEMOTH Bass Player ORION & DIMMU BORGIR Drummer DARAY – Sign With Golden Robot/Crusader Records

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 5, 2020
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BLACK RIVER, the Polish blackened rock ‘n’ roll band have signed a world-wide (Ex. Poland) deal with Crusader Records (Part of the Golden Robot Global Entertainment Group):

“We are pleased to announce that BLACK RIVER has just joined the Golden Robot Records / Crusader family“

BLACK RIVER features Tomasz ‘Orion’ Wróblewski (Behemoth) and Dariusz ‘Daray’ Brzozowski (Dimmu Borgir) and they are joined by Piotr ‘Kay’ Wtulich and Artur ‘Art’ Kempa (Guitars) and vocalist Maciej Taff. BLACK RIVER are set to release their new album ‘Generation aXe’ in early 2021.

“This is a very important moment for us because we will have a chance to reach listeners all over the world with our music. This opens up a lot of new opportunities and we are already looking forward to giving you the first details about our future cooperation. We’ve been working hard over the years to finally have this chance, and we’ll do our best not to screw it up. Times are difficult not only for our industry, but moments like this give us strength and confirm our conviction about the right course. Signing with Mark Alexander-Erber, CEO of Robot Records / Crusader in the US and Michał Wardzała, head of Mystic Production in Poland, guarantees the quality and professionalism we were looking for. Flying under the wings of these 2 labels gives us the piece of mind and Black River can fully focus on creating new sounds Look forward to new material soon.” – BLACK RIVER

More information at
https://goldenrobotrecords.com/crusader-records/black-river/
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBlackRiver

ABOUT BLACK RIVER
BLACK RIVER is another music band export product from Poland. The band consists of musicians from bands such as BEHEMOTH, DIMMU BORGIR, VESANIA, ROOTWATER and NEOLITHIC. Playing mean Rock / Metal with each new release the band gains a lot of new fans. They debuted in 2008 with the album Black River, which gained a lot of positive reviews and firmly established the band’s position on the market, and not just in Poland.

After the success with their first album, they entered the studio once again in 2009 and the world saw another album entitled Black ‘N’ Roll. The album was released all over the world and received only positive reviews that brought the band to ever wider waters. Unfortunately, at that moment, the singer’s health problems stopped BLACK RIVER’s activities for several years. They came back with a big bang in 2019 with their new album Humanoid and proved that they still know how one should use instruments to play Metal, the music that flows in their veins. Their music is a true and unbridled tribute to the tradition of heavy playing, on which BLACK RIVER musicians grew up. Playing live concerts is their true strength where the band’s professionalism and skills puts them at the top of the performers in its genre.2020 brings their new product Generation aXe that will get to know the world thanks to cooperation with Golden Robot Records.

Vocalist Maciej Taff about Generation aXe: “… one night I woke up very F***ing angry and couldn’t sleep anymore, I realised that the level of this absurdity that surrounds us has exceeded all boundaries, that it is already unbearable, that this is not a world where we, our families and friends want to live. Half the world is starving, 70% of the population of known species have died out in the last 50 years, in many places there is nothing to breathe and the so-called civilisation does not deal with anything other than earning money at all costs. We met together and it was clear we all had the same anger, the same disagreement, the same fucking anger. We decided to express it in our music, to record a 3-4-track EP, vomit all this venom. We met for the first time during the rehearsal, we started talking, playing and … after 2 weeks we were already in the studio, instead of 3 songs we wrote 11 without calculation, in full anger. I thought when we recorded it, it would “pass”…. it hasn’t passed…!”

BLACK RIVER are: Dariusz ‘Daray’ Brzozowski (drums), Tomasz ‘Orion’ Wróblewski (bass), Artur ‘Art’ Kempa (guitar), Piotr ‘Kay’ Wtulich (guitar), and Maciej Taff (vocals).

RICKY WARWICK Releases New Single “You Don’t Love Me”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 4, 2020
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Today sees RICKY WARWICK release the second single from his first studio album in five years, “When Life Was Hard And Fast” (out February 19, 2021, via NUCLEAR BLAST). The new single is titled “You Don’t Love Me“ and features a guest guitar solo from the inimitable Luke Morley of Thunder who also makes an appearance in the video. It’s a direct song with a direct meaning that tackles the all too familiar feeling of realising someone doesn’t feel the same about you as you do about them.

In relation to the new single Ricky says “‘When the flavor of the month starts to leave a bitter taste’. Luke Morley from Thunder demonstrating why the invention of the electric guitar was the turning point in the history of western civilization!!!”

Luke comments: “When Ricky asked me to play on “You Don’t Love Me” I was only too happy to oblige! We’ve known each other for 30 years and it was a pleasure to play on such a fine tune by an old mate and fellow rock’n’roll survivor.”

Pre-order the album on various formats, including a 2CD Digipack which includes the bonus covers album “Stairwell Troubadour”, now from: https://www.musicglue.com/ricky-warwick/ AND http://nblast.de/RickyWarwick-WLWHAF

For the process of recording the album, Ricky was joined by Robert Crane (Bass), Xavier Muriel (Drums) and Keith Nelson (Guitar) as well as a number of special guests including Def Leppard‘s Joe Elliott, Andy Taylor formerly of Duran Duran, Thunder‘s Luke Morley, Dizzy Reed of the mighty Guns ‘N Roses and even Ricky‘s daughter Pepper. Keith also produced the new album, having previously worked with  Buckcherry, Blackberry Smoke and Alice Cooper. Keith noted that “Ricky is a true Rock-n-Roll soul… he’s got incredible stories to tell and a unique way of telling them. It’s been an honor to be asked to partner and contribute to this record.”

WHEN LIFE WAS HARD AND FAST

1. When Life Was Hard And Fast
2. You Don’t Love Me
3. I’d Rather Be Hit
4. Gunslinger
5. Never Corner A Rat
6. Time Don’t Seem To Matter
7. Fighting Heart
8. I Don’t Feel At Home
9. Still Alive
10. Clown Of Misery
11. You’re My Rock N Roll

PRE-ORDER your physical copy of the album “When Life Was Hard And Fast” now:
http://nblast.de/RickyWarwick-WLWHAF

PRE-SAVE the album on a digital platform of your choice:
http://nblast.de/RickyWarwickPreSave

‘Stairwell Troubadour’ Tracklist
1. You Spin Me round (Like A Record) (Dead Or Alive cover)
2. Ooops!…I Did It Again (Britney Spears cover)
3. Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran cover)
4. 1000 Dollar Car (Bottle Rockets cover)
5. Cocaine Blues (Johnny Cash cover)
6. I Don’t Want To Grow Up (Ramones cover)
7. I Fought The Law (The Clash cover)
8. Burning Love (Elvis Presley cover)
9. Jesus Loves You…But I Don’t (The Almighty cover)
10. Wrathchild (Iron Maiden cover)

Ricky with his band The Fighting Hearts have announced the following UK tour for April/May 2021 with full date schedule below.

28 April 2021: Cambridge Junction*
29 April 2021: Norwich The Waterfront*
30 April 2021: Bedford Esquires*
1 May 2021: Swansea Patti Pavilion – Sound Bay Festival*^
2 May 2021: London O2 Academy Islington*
4 May 2021: Newcastle University Students Union^
5 May 2021: Glasgow The Garage G2^
6 May 2021: Belfast Limelight 2
7 May 2021: Manchester Club Academy^
8 May 2021: Carlisle The Brickyard^
9 May 2021: Buckley The Tivoli^
12 May 2021: Reading Sub 89*
13 May 2021: Wolverhampton KK’s Steel Mill*
14 May 2021: Blackpool The Waterloo – Massive Weekend (Ricky Solo Acoustic)
15 May 2021: Blackpool The Waterloo – Massive Weekend *^
16 May 2021: Leeds Warehouse^
19 May 2021: Bournemouth Madding Crowd^
20 May 2021: Nottingham Rescue Rooms^
21 May 2021: Lincoln Call Of The Wild Festival

Special Guests on all dates (except Belfast, Blackpool & Lincoln) are THE VIRGINMARYS
Plus THE HOWLING TIDES on all shows marked* and ANCHOR LANE on all shows marked^

Tickets are available from all venue box offices, websites and usual outlets now!

TEMPERANCE Reveal Special “Start Another Round“ Acoustic Version, Announce New Acoustic EP

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 4, 2020
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
[Photo Credit: Ermes Buttolo]

Maestros of modern melodic/symphonic metal TEMPERANCE are back one year after the release of their vibrant album, Viridian, with an acoustic gift to their fans! After many years of band history and tours with genre giants like NIGHTWISH, Luca Turilli’s RHAPSODY, and TARJA, TEMPERANCE will release their acoustic EP, Melodies Of Green And Blue, on February 19, 2021 – including two brand new songs,  “Evelyn”  and “Paint The World”. On top, TEMPERANCE presents six songs off Viridian in a new acoustic style, showing the versatile facets of the symphonic metal band. Today, the band gives the fans a first taste of what’s to come on Melodies Of Green And Blue by releasing an acoustic rendition of their hit single “Start Another Round“!

Just as this acoustic version of “Start Another Round” kicks off, TEMPERANCE makes their unparalleled energy undeniably apparent! With a chorus that makes you want to sing along at the top of your lungs, “Start Another Round” proves once again that TEMPERANCE can deliver powerful musical compositions, even within an acoustic setting! 

Watch the Music Video for “Start Another Round” (Acoustic) HERE:

Singer Alessia Scolletti about “Start Another Round”:
“Spending time together has never been so difficult as much as this year, that’s why shooting this video has been funnier than ever and you’ll notice it! ‘Start Another Round’ has now become an anthem: our hope for better days to come. A song that carries such a strong message deserved a new alternative version: five people surrounded by a warm atmosphere that reminds you of ‘home’ singing and playing about finding your inner strength to keep going on and succeed, no matter what life puts you through… Are you ready to start another round with us?”

Singer Michele Guaitoli comments on the Melodies Of Green And Blue EP:
“We’ve been talking about recording some acoustic versions of our tracks for a long time, as we all love the intimate and emotional feeling that this particular style can offer to any tracks. If you think of it, this is how most of our songs are composed: it’s Marco on his guitar or me on the piano. Everything for us begins in acoustic before going metal. This EP is a little dream come true, as we can finally show the heart of our music in its purest version.”

TEMPERANCE will host a live stream on Napalm Records’ official Instagram channel on December 18, answering questions from fans and talking about Melodies Of Green And Blue, as well as playing songs off the EP live – make sure to tune in!

Pre-Order Melodies Of Green And Blue HERE

Melodies Of Green And Blue Tracklist:
1. Paint the World
2. Evelyn
3. Let It Beat
4. I Am the Fire
5. Nanook
6. Start Another Round
7. My Demons Can’t Sleep
8. Gaia

MIMI BARKS Releases New Single And Video “GUESS WHAT”

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 4, 2020
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: . Leave a comment
(Photo: Bella Santucci)

After turning heads with the releases of her singles “BACK OFF” and “11.PLAGUE/666” London based Trap Metal artist MIMI BARKS is releasing her new single and video “GUESS WHAT”:

The song was recorded when MIMI BARKS moved from Berlin to London in 2019, it was recorded in a mouldy basement with the ceiling crumbling during takes.

MIMI BARKS kicked off her career in Berlin, where she started experimenting with a unique mix of Trap and Metal, adding her trademark ferocious and raspy vocals. After relocating to London in 2019, she finalized her debut-solo EP “Enter the Void” bursting through a male-dominated scene with female force.

Also watch:
“BACK OFF”: https://youtu.be/7r3nIgOJc38

“11.PLAGUE/666”: https://youtu.be/x__L88a5KgM