Brazilian death-thrash metal powerhouse 4BanneD is set to bring their critically acclaimed album Sanatorium to stages across Europe for the first time with the “Sanatorium European Tour 2025”.
From November 6th to 27th, 4BanneD will perform in Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Germany, and the Netherlands, delivering a relentless onslaught of crushing riffs, neck-breaking thrash, and uncompromising death metal. This tour promises more than a concert—it’s a battlefield.
Tour Dates:
06/11 – AVAILABLE – Portugal 07/11 – Viseu Death Fest – Viseu/PT 08/11 – Neverlate – Covilhã/PT 09/11 – Soma – Braga/PT 12/11 – AVAILABLE – Spain 13/11 – Buril – Sarria/ES 14/11 – Los Bancos de Atrás – Unquera/ES 15/11 – Lleida Metal Fest – Lleida/ES 16/11 – Sala Creedence – Zaragoza/ES 19/11 – B16 – Bessèges/FR 20/11 – KJBI – Montpellier/FR 21/11 – MK Bar – Belval/LUX 22/11 – Tudo Foda Fest – Brackenheim/DE 23/11 – The Cave – Amsterdam/NL 27/11 – Bier Professor – Eindhoven/NL
Formed in 2015, the metal band 4BanneD features Alex Maramaldo (vocals, guitar), Icaro Cavalcante (guitar, backing vocals), Hewerson Freitas (bass, backing vocals), and Bosco Larcerda (drums). Drawing inspiration from Death and Thrash Metal pioneers like Sepultura, Testament, and Vader, their music blends aggression with thought-provoking, English-language lyrics.
Their debut album, “Sanatorium,” explores dark themes such as depression, schizophrenia, war, and oppression. Produced by Rafael Augusto Lopes (Crypta, Torture Squad) and Andre Zaza Hernandes (Angra, Andre Matos), the album was recorded at Casanegra studio in São Paulo, Brazil.
Ever since they formed in 2007, Hooded Menace have commanded hordes of underground metalheads with creepily, crushing tempos. Their upcoming seventh album is still grounded in classic horrors. But on Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, the Finnish stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.
Today, Hooded Menace are releasing the second advanced single from Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. “Pale Masquerade” unveils a scene that’s chillingly familiar for cult followers. But by leaning heavier on classic influences, the band cast their age-old muse in a ghostly new light.
Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration comes out October 3, 2025 on Season of Mist. Pre-order& Pre-save
Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration still honors the undead spirit that spawned Hooded Menace’s accursed two-track demo. On the album’s cover, Wes Benscoter summons the titular ghouls from the ’70s Spanish horror film series The Blind Dead in all of their haunting glory. “Pale Masquerade” officially opens the proceedings at a doomy march that summons Amando de Ossorio’s vengeful muse back amongst the living. “The dead army grows“, vocalist Harri Kuokkannen commands with growls that reek of the crypt.
Founding member Lasse Pyykkö still stands as the main supportive pillar for Hooded Menace. His riffs tear through the band’s new single like flesh from bone. But Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration hammers home the ’80s heavy metal influence that the band rung in on The Tritonus Bell. Misty keys drape “Pale Masquerade” in an eerie, neon glow. “A clandestine, sinister daze / In the Knights Templar way“. As the drums push the pace to a rotten rumble, a guitar solo cracks across the darkened sky like a flash from the past.
Tracklist 1. Twilight Passages (1:04) 2. Pale Masquerade (7:50) [LISTEN] 3. Portrait Without a Face (7:15) [WATCH] 4. Daughters of Lingering Pain (7:25) 5. Lugubrious Dance (7:20) 6. Save a Prayer (6:12) 7. Into Haunted Oblivion (9:47)
For closing in on two decades, Hooded Menace have stood not as a bridge but the pillar between two underground realms. The band’s upcoming seventh album still paves the way for metal legions who prefer headbanging to more creepily, crushing tempos. However, while Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration is still rooted in a cultish obsession with the classics, these stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.
Starting as a teenager in the late ’80s, founding member Lasse Pyykkö got his start in Joensuu, Finland with the band Phlegethon. But the undead spirit that’s guided Hooded Menace since its 2007 conception first appeared back when he was just a young hesher. Dracula, Poltergeist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and other horrors piqued his morbid curiosity. Though later on, it was feasting on the cult classic Tombs of the Blind Dead that spawned the band’s accursed two-track demo.
“It’s the dark element”, Lasse recalls when asked what Hooded Menace draws from its source material five albums removed from the band’s terrifying breakthrough Never Cross the Dead.
The blind dead still stand watch over Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. Returning cover artist Wes Benscoter recreates the Knights Templar in all their glowingly ghoulish glory. “Pale Masquerade” paints a familiar scene, summoning Amando de Ossorio’s flesh-eating muse with a fresh heap of Lasse’s bone-crunching chugs. “The dead army grows“, Harri Kuokkanen commands with growls that reek of the crypt. Lifelong converts will quickly fall in line behind steadfast drummer Pekka Koskelo, who dips “Daughters of Lingering Pain” into the same dripping vat of wax as the band’s 2010s effigies for Relapse Records. The lasting influence of Candlemass and Paradise Lost hasn’t vanished without a trace. But Hooded Menace continue to break the mold they helped set for death-doom right from the album’s opening jump scare. Neon keys beam through “Twilight Passages” as if firing up a time machine.
Reinvention isn’t new to Hooded Menace. While a menacing vocalist in his own right, Lasse passed the proverbial mic torch to Kuokkanen for the gloomier melodies that haunted the band’s initial offering after signing with Season of Mist late in 2016. Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed was also pulled more from the shadows of their imagination as opposed to the silver screen. Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration trends further in that direction; the lyric sheet unfurls like a house of psychological horrors, where the hallways are hung with shattered mirrors and faceless portraits. Only this time around, the trio really hammered home the influence of ’80s heavy metal that was rung in by previous long-player The Tritonus Bell. “Lugubrious Dance” twists between the hallucinogenic spires of Cathedral in conspiracy with King Diamond before cranking into a chorus that’s classic Hooded Menace.
MicroPitching and other effects aren’t the only tricks of the trade that are pulled out from under Hooded Menace’s cloak. Traditional death-doomers might have been pleasantly surprised by the band covering W.A.S.P., so imagine the delighted screams upon hearing a Top of the Pops’ gem like “Save a Prayer” splattered in their signature blood-soaked dread. Lasse’s riffs still cement the rock-solid foundation beneath Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, but even he was surprised when sculpting its lead single. What should appear from the double bass swirling amidst “Portrait Without a Face” but the moan of a cello. Like an echo from beyond the grave, the cry of strings reappears during the album’s grand finale. Former live bassist Antti Poutanen sorrowfully saws as the band marches, gallops then sinks back “Into Haunted Oblivion”.
On Lachyrmose Monuments of Obscuration, Hooded Menace cast death-doom in a ghostly new light.
Line-up Harri Kuokkanen — Vocals Lasse Pyykkö — Guitar, Bass, Keyboards Pekka Koskelo — Drums
Guest Musicians Antti Poutanen — Cello John McNulty — Spoken Word
Production Credits Recorded by Heikki Marttila at Guru Studio, Joensuu, Finland. Mixed by Heikki Marttila. Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios, Portugal.
Starting this week, Anciients are kicking off their first U.S. tour in 8 years. The heavy, heady and heartfelt Canucks are performing their latest Canadian Grammy-winning opus throughout the American North and Southwest. Along the way, the band will make a few stops down south around their appearance at ProgPower USA. After this month-long run is over, it won’t be long before they return to the road.
Today, Anciients are announcing the next leg of their North American tour in support of Beyond the Reach of the Sun. In October and November, the band will bring their new album to Eastern Canada for the first time as well as major cities across the East Coast and Midwest. Joining them for the bulk of these dates are Music City heavy jamming psych-wizards Howling Giant.
“It’s been a long time coming”, Anciients’ frontman Kenny Cook says. “We’re ready to hit the road hard!”
Anciients’ 2025 North American Tour with Dawn of Ouroboros, Armed for Apocalypse, Nott, Exist and Howling Giant
August 27 – Seattle, WA @ Substation [TICKETS]* August 28 – Portland, OR @ Dante’s [TICKETS]* August 29 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder [TICKETS]** August 30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon [TICKETS]** August 31 – Colorado Springs, CO @ What’s Left Records [TICKETS]** September 2 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street [TICKETS]** September 4 – Atlanta, GA @ ProgPower USA [TICKETS] September 5 – Gastonia, NC @ The Rooster [TICKETS]*** September 6 – New Orleans, LA @ No Dice [TICKETS]*** September 7 – Austin, TX @ Come And Take It [TICKETS]*** September 8 – Houston, TX @ Pub 529 [TICKETS]**** September 9 – Dallas, TX @ TX Tea Room [TICKETS]**** September 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Nile Underground [TICKETS]***** September 12 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick [TICKETS]***** September 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Knucklehead [TICKETS]***** September 14 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside [TICKETS]***** September 16 – Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonel [TICKETS]***** September 17 – Reno, NV @ The Cellar***** September 18 – Eugene, OR @ John Henry’s [TICKETS]****** September 19 – Richland, WA @ Ray’s Golden Lion [TICKETS]****** September 20 – Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown [TICKETS]****** October 29 – Saskatoon, SK @ Black Cat [TICKETS] October 30 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange [TICKETS] October 31 – Winnipeg, ON @ Sidestage [TICKETS] November 1 – Sioux Falls, ND @ Bigs Bar [TICKETS] November 2 – Des Moines, IA @ Lefty’s Live Music [TICKETS] November 3 – Cudahy, WI @ X-Ray Arcade [TICKETS] November 4 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups [TICKETS]^ November 5 – Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle [TICKETS]^ November 6 – Chicago, IL @ Live Wire Lounge [TICKETS]^ November 7 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace [TICKETS]^ November 8 – Montreal, QC @ Piranha Bar [TICKETS]^ November 9 – Ottawa, ON @ Dominion Tavern [TICKETS]^ November 11 – Boston, MA @ O’Briens [TICKETS]^ November 12 – Portland, OR @ Geno’s [TICKETS]^ November 13 – Providence, RI @ The Parlour [TICKETS]^ November 14 – New York City, NY @ Woodshop [TICKETS]^ November 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie [TICKETS]^ November 16 – Baltimore, MD @ Mobtown Ballroom [TICKETS]^ November 19 – Chattanooga, TN @ JJ’s Bohemia [TICKETS]^ November 20 – Huntsville, AL @ Mad Malts [TICKETS]^ November 21 – Jacksonville, FL @ The Albatross [TICKETS]^ November 22 – Bradenton, FL @ Obscura [TICKETS]^ November 25 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar [TICKETS] November 26 – Denver, CO @ The Black Buzzard [TICKETS] November 28 – Missoula, MT @ Zacc [TICKETS] * w/ Dawn of Ouroboros + Nott ** w/ Dawn of Ouroboros *** w/ Dawn of Ouroboros + Exist **** w/ Armed for Apocalypse + Exist ***** w/ Armed for Apocalyspe ****** w/ Armed for Apocalyspe + Nott ^w/ Howling Giant
Beyond the Reach of the Sun is available now on Season of Mist. Order & Stream
Tracklist 1. Forbidden Sanctuary (8:16) 2. Despoiled (5:19) 3. Is It Your God (7:07) [WATCH] 4. Melt the Crown (7:08) [WATCH] 5. Cloak of the Vast and Black (6:20) [WATCH] 6. Celestial Tyrant (5:52) 7.Beyond Our Minds (4:12) 8. The Torch (4:13) 9. Candescence (4:10) 10. In the Absence of Wisdom (6:35) [WATCH]
It’s been a rough handful of years for British Columbia-based extremity-laced progressive rockers, Anciients. When the quartet unleashed their Voice of the Void album in 2016, the world appeared to be their oyster and things seemed ripe for the picking. They were coming off the success of their Heart of Oak debut from 2013, its ascendancy due in large part to a collective uptick in interest for involved, forward-thinking music. The public had moved beyond toe-dipping and tire-kicking, and were instead doing headfirst dives into exploring the likes of Opeth, Mastodon, Baroness, The Ocean, Intronaut and others who originally hailed from the extreme music underground, but had since grown, matured and scrubbed behind their ears to include heaping and healthy chunks from the outskirts of their record collections and influence pools.
The Band That Auto-Correct Loves to Fuck With™ shared stages with everyone from High on Fire and Goatwhore to Boris and Lamb of God, were in the midst of a European tour when they discovered they were JUNO Award (Canadian Grammy equivalent) winners in the heavy metal/hard rock category. The world was ready to accept Anciients into its welcoming arms. Anciients was gearing up to employ takeover methods, specifically their brand of thunderous rhythms and labyrinthine riffing bolstered by a road warrior mentality. And then, the momentum petered out and the band seemingly fell off the face of the earth.
Today, Anciients are ready and poised to resume their spirited quest for heavy metal paramountcy. There’s no doubt the band is back and with a stunning and beautiful collection of ten songs on offer in the form of new and third album, Beyond the Reach of the Sun, they are positioning to reestablish themselves as a dominant force for those who love windmilling their tresses around thoughtful tempo changes, complex harmonic layers and driving power chord shifting. But what the hell happened and where did they disappear to?
“Basically,” explains guitarist/vocalist Kenny Cook, “right before Voice of the Void was recorded, my wife had our first kid. She ended up having heart complications and almost passed away from it. We recorded the last record and once it came out, I was kind of just focusing on her, dealing with her health issues and keeping that in check. I wasn’t at the stage where I could be gone for half a year, especially with a new kid. Long story short, she’s happy and healthy now, but dealing with family issues was the main priority. It was a bit of a road.”
Adding to that bit of Anciients camp turmoil, guitarist/co-vocalist/co-founding member, Chris Dyck and the band parted ways in January of 2017. This left a gaping lineup hole at an inopportune juncture in the band’s timeline. Not only did Cook have to deal with the absence of his long-term song and lyric writing partner, but Dyck was also someone he had been splitting vocal duties with since the pair formed the band in 2009. And then, while helping his wife with her recovery, raising their new born and “because we wanted to raise our son in a small town environment,” the Cook family uprooted to Columbia-Shuswap four hours east of the Vancouver area, where drummer Mike Hannay, Brock MacInnes (Dyck’s replacement) and brand spanking new bassist Rory O’Brien still reside.
“We knew Brock from other bands he’d been in and we knew he’d be a great fit,” explains Cook. “He actually filled in for Chris on a tour we did back in 2015. As far as the vocals, I just found myself picking up the slack on both ends. It felt somewhat natural, it was definitely different. Doing the lyrics myself for the first time was somewhat daunting, but it was also something done out of necessity. But even when Chris was in the band I handled 80-90% of the vocals anyway, so it didn’t change all that much.”
Then, that whole COVID-19 thing you probably heard about once or twice hit in 2020 and put another restraining bolt on Anciients’ activity, especially touring as the Canadians found themselves dealing with stricter travel restrictions and mandates than many other countries; most notably, not being able to cross the border for almost two years. Once the dust settled, Cook had to adjust to being the lone vocalist and how that impacted the material he was writing while navigating being creative with distance between Anciients’ members for the first time. Not a biggie, as in-person writing sessions are more of a rarity these days, but because of the time elapsed since Voices of the Void, things/interests/influences changed and the band ended up scrapping half of an album’s worth of material and starting fresh. When they put their heads down at the end of 2021 with the focus being Beyond the Reach of the Sun, what was revealed a year later was more streamlined and slithery, more chest-thumpingly direct, more epic and triumphant sounding. Riffs come in explosive layered packets. Leads, harmonies and melodies are more on par with wind-tussled mountain tops instead of sweaty bar shows and the band moves with finely honed, martial accuracy as conducted by Hannay’s rocket-in-the-pocket staccato swing and accents.
Songs like “The Torch” blaze with the shirtless glisten of ‘70s stadium rock power. “Cloak of the Vast and Black” swirls and whirls with a combination of hardcore intensity, grunge groove and expansive six-string parries. “In the Absence of Wisdom” is a hurricane-sized maelstrom of classic and prog rock elevated to grandiosity by a return to their growling sludge/death early years as the song/album concludes. The album’s first single, “Melt the Crown” mixes cues from legendary fellow hosers Rush and Harlequin, turn-of-the-millennium post-metal and the most psychedelic corners of the Rise Above Records roster.
“The new record has a lot more of our rock side,” Cook offers, “and leans towards those elements of our sound and personalities, whereas Voice of the Void was pretty crushing all the way through. With the new material we’ve tried to add more dynamics to the music and give the songs more room to breathe.”
Album opener “Forbidden Sanctuary” is the soundtrack to exploration, of new worlds and sonic arrangement as sine-wave guitars pull from vintage Mercyful Fate covens and Krautrock communes with synths opening up novel textural avenues, as they do on the ethereal wispiness and space rock/sci-fi soundscapes of the instrumental “Candescence.” Beyond the Reach of the Sun sees synths and keyboards making their first appearance on an Anciients record and were played by producer/mixer Jesse Gander and Justin Hagberg at the former’s Rain City Recorders studio. In addition to augmenting the album with his skill on the black and whites, Hagberg — a member of the recently reunited 3 Inches of Blood — also helped Anciients navigate a significant last-minute hurdle, one that threatened to pull the reins back on their comeback roar.
“We lost our bass player literally a month before we were going in to record and were kind of up shit’s creek. Justin also plays in a band called Ritual Dictates with Rory and is the one who brought his name up.”
O’Brien, a former member of Vancouver’s Bushwhacker, was absolutely interested when approached by Anciients.
“We got lucky and he saved our asses at the last minute.”
Cook stepped up to the challenge of being the sole lyricist to drape Beyond the Reach of the Sun in deeply personal expressions of the inner turmoil, fear and isolation he’d experienced in himself and saw in others over the past few years. There were moments where he didn’t know whether loved ones were going to pull through and what life was going to look like were tragedy come to pass. Mental health and people living life without being able to see any light at the end of the tunnel became a very prevalent theme to tracks like “Despoiled” and “Beyond Our Minds.” And while the line that became the album’s title is taken from a David Attenborough-narrated Planet Earth documentary, it speaks more to the coming and going of despondency when one doesn’t know how dark the darkness is going to get, as in “Is It Your God,” which pulls from the manifestation of grief and how it can shatter belief systems.
“That one is a little more personal to me and my situation,” Cook says somberly. “I had a good friend of mine from when I was younger pass away from cancer. His mother was super-religious and there were ideas taken from her questioning how could something like that happen to her when she had such a strong faith.”
The title and themes of stripped away hope and piled on anguish and tumult were parlayed into the album’s spectacular cover art. Created by Adam Burke (Nightjar Illustrations), the drawing is part-pulp novel cover, part-Franzetta landscape, part-sci-fi movie poster and all a vast illustration one can easily lose themselves in while the record spins in the background.
“We gave him the concept and basic outline of how we wanted the cover to look and he took it to a whole new dimension. It turned out pretty wild!”
With all being said and done, Anciients have returned! They stand ready to ascend the prog metal ladder and get back to doing what they do best with a weighty and dense, but wholly accessible, album. It’s a collection of ten songs that possesses the ability to have those furiously banging heads also tapping into their power of self-reflection and contemplation to ponder the finality of existence, the value of life and their place in the universe.
“Totally! We’re going to take as many of the opportunities that come to us. The hiatus is over and I think with the new members and everyone being on the same page we’re ready to get out there as soon as possible. We missed out on a huge block after the last record, so we’ve got to make up for lost time. Now that everyone is happy and healthy, we plan to hit it hard.”
CLAYMORDS vocalist has ambitions for his solo project, and are also doing vocals on Alf Wold’s. GF:U MARTILA project was started by Nils back in 2017. and put on ice during the pandemic.
In 2020 Nils moved from Oslo and back to his hometown, Bergen. After looking for members for MARTILA, he got back together with co-founder of Claymords, Bjarne Olsen. To complete the lineup, his cousins joined in, whom also named MARTILA,
During this process, Nils also hooked up with Alf Wold (GF:U)and joined in on vocals on a few of his songs The song released this month is the third with GF:U and the title is DEATH, AND I.
This is the second release of the MARTILA collaboration is named FROM THE LOST AND THE FAILED. Coverpicture from the sour of Kyiv.
The first one with MARTILA was DEAD BIRDS FLYING. Photo taken from the pool in Chernobyl.
Both releases are with photos taken David Montalvo, who is currently defending his country against Russia.
Songs are on all streaming services.
Single Art Photos by David Montalvo
MARTILA: Nils Ivar Martila – vocals/lyrics Bjarne Olsen – guitars Emil Martila – drums/guitar Niklas Martila – bass
SWALLOW THE SUN celebrate their first Finnish Grammy win with a brand-new video for “Velvet Chains”, taken from their acclaimed album The Shining (produced by Dan Lancaster). The video, created by Dronicon Films, mirrors the album’s stunning contrasts—melancholic beauty colliding with crushing heaviness.
This milestone comes as the band prepares for a special 25th-anniversary performance: “Between Two Worlds – 25th Anniversary Show” on August 28th at Helsinki Festival, a one-night event where SWALLOW THE SUN will unite their darkest and brightest moments on stage.
The celebrations continue worldwide with upcoming shows in Japan (supporting My Dying Bride), a full UK headline run in December, and their first-ever Australian tour starting January 2026.
With over two decades of heartache and atmospheric mastery, SWALLOW THE SUN remain Finland’s ambassadors of melancholy—now Grammy winners, global headliners, and still exploring new depths of beauty and despair.
SARCATOR unleash a ferocious new version of Anti Cimex’s punk classic “Dogfight” . Originally appearing as a bonus track on their latest album Swarming Angels & Flies (out now via Century Media Records), the cover pays tribute to Scandinavian punk roots while delivering the band’s signature mix of raw aggression and melodic blackened thrash intensity.
The track cements Sarcator’s status as one of the most promising names in the new wave of Scandinavian extreme metal, honoring a classic while showcasing their own uncompromising sound.
Following their album release earlier this year, Sarcator are storming stages across Europe with upcoming festival and club dates, including Party.San Open Air 2026 and Close-Up Båten.
With a history that began as teenagers and a catalog spanning three crushing full-lengths, the band—Mateo Tervonen, Felix Lindkvist, Leo Buchalle, and Jesper Rosén—is leading the next generation of blackened thrash innovators.
Prepare for Sarcator’s reign of chaos—the best is yet to come.
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 