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ALLY VENABLE Upgrades Manchester Concert to Night & Day Cafe Due to Popular Demand

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 5, 2025
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: ALLY VENABLE. Leave a comment
Photo by Denis Carpentier

Due to demand, critically acclaimed Texas based blues rock guitarist and vocalist Ally Venable has upgraded her Manchester show on October 14th from Gulliver’s to the Night & Day Cafe.

Ally’s October UK tour also include shows at Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms (Oct 15), Nottingham, The Bodega (Oct 16), London, The Garage (Oct 17), and Sittingbourne, The Bourne Music Club (Oct 18).

Tickets for the Manchester, Nottingham and London show are available from alltickets.com. Tickets for the Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms show are available HERE. Tickets for The Bourne Music Club in Sittingbourne are available from Gigantic.com.

Ally’s October 2025 UK tour follows hot on the heels of her sixth studio album Money & Power released by Ruf Records on April 18th. The album is available on vinyl, CD and digital HERE.

Watch the official music video for the title track single “Money & Power.”

“Money & Power is such a strong statement, especially for women,” says the award-winning Texas gunslinger of her Nashville-recorded album, on which Ally’s crack-squad band is joined by A-list guests Shemekia Copeland and Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram.

“All the songs on this album showcase the theme of what it truly means to be a force to be reckoned with. I want this record to wake people up,” continues Ally. 

Money and power make the world go round. But in the right hands, music can be every bit as potent. Right now, on the heels of 2023’s acclaimed Real Gone – an album that hit #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and was still in contention a year later – Ally is rated amongst the best young singer-songwriters in American roots, saluted by Total Guitar magazine in its poll of Top 100 Blues Guitarists. 

“With her heels, sequins and Les Paul growling on a leash, she’s one of Ruf’s most head-turning young artists,” wrote Classic Rock, “and while the instrumental prowess can be taken as read, Real Gone marks a growing maturity in the Texan’s songcraft.”

In February 2024, with the dust still settling from Real Gone, the Money & Power sessions saw Ally and producer/drummer Tom Hambridge push through the doors of Nashville’s famous Soundstage Studios. And while the studio band was strictly A-list, as always, Ally’s new songs are the real stars. That attitude is palpable on opener “Brown Liquor,” Ally’s battlecry decorated by a stinging guest guitar solo from the Mississippi hotshot Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram.

“Money & Power shouts to the masses,” she explains, “that women are not to be doubted in their ability to thrive in the world.”

Vital right to the end, Money & Power plays out with “Stepping Stone’s” earthy roar of empowerment, the shuddering, spooky, tremolo-soaked groove of “Feel That Sting,” and the dust-blown rocker “Unbreakable,” where Ally goes toe-to-toe with New York powerhouse Shemekia Copeland.

“That song spreads a message of women that have been oppressed,” she says, “to rise to the occasion and break above it all.”

Money & Power is a modern roots record that plays by its own rules and marches to the beat of its own drum. The same could be said for Ally herself. “I’m thrilled to release this album,” she says. “For me, it’s a sonic embodiment of a woman’s unstoppable ambition, and showcases my musicality on all fronts. I’m looking forward to seeing where this one will take me.”

DHP and Friends in association with The Main Thing 

ALLY VENABLE OCTOBER 2025 UK TOUR

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM ALTTICKETSGIGANTIC AND VOODOO ROOMS

*MANCHESTER, NIGHT & DAY CAFÉ

*venue upgraded due to demand
TUESDAY 14 OCTOBER 2025

BUY TICKETS

EDINBURGH, VOODOO ROOMS
WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER 2025

BUY TICKETS

NOTTINGHAM, THE BODEGA
THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER 2025

BUY TICKETS

LONDON, THE GARAGE
FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER 2025

BUY TICKETS

SITTINGBOURNE, THE BOURNE MUSIC CLUB
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 2025

BUY TICKETS

More information: Website | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | X | TikTok | YouTube

POWERWOLF to Release Monumental Live Album “Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle)” in March 2026

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 5, 2025
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: POWERWOLF. Leave a comment
[Photo Credit: VD Pictures]

Chart-topping German metal titans POWERWOLF will release their brand-new live release, Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle), on March 6, 2026 via Napalm Records! This tremendous offering captures the magic, energy and theatrical brilliance of POWERWOLF’s biggest headline tour to date. Recorded during the breathtaking sold out show of their Wolfsnächte Tour 2024 in Munich’s Olympiahalle, Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) is not just a live release – it is a grandiose cinematic experience and a sacred celebration of metal, filled with fire, emotion, and boundless creativity.

What began as an unconventional project in 2004 has since evolved into one of the most successful metal phenomena worldwide. Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) documents POWERWOLF’s unrelenting rise to the top, showcasing a performance that goes far beyond a metal concert. From a fire-breathing church organ and thunderous pyro spectacles to dark, operetta-like storytelling and rousing crowd interaction, this show is pure heavy metal theater at its finest. Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) is an absolute must-have for every music lover. It will be available in multiple formats including Blu-Ray, DVD, CD and Vinyl as well as a Deluxe Boxset, Earbook, Mediabook, and several other Collectors Editions, featuring exclusive bonus content.    

Fans who pre-order the Earbook or BOX-VINYL edition of the new album through the Napalm Records mailorder until July 31 will have the unique chance to have their name printed in the booklet of both editions. All you need to do is enter your name (up to 20 characters) in a special field on the product page when placing your order HERE.

POWERWOLF states:
“We always knew that no words or short recap videos could truly capture what we experienced together during the Wolfsnächte 2024 tour. Every night was its own kind of magic – still, we wanted to find a way to hold on to those memories and share them in the most powerful way possible. That’s why we decided to record the full, massive, sold-out show at the Olympiahalle in Munich – to preserve just a piece of what we all felt on this tour. Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) is more than a live release. It’s a tribute and manifestation to the moments we created together.”

Pre-Order Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) HERE

On Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle), each song is visually reimagined with a changing digital stage set, timed effects, and theatrical elements: monks with torches, falling snow on a burning piano, and a fiery execution scene that rivals shock rock’s greatest icons. Classics like “Army Of The Night”, “Amen & Attack”, “Armata Strigoi”, and “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend” come alive in larger-than-life arrangements, while emotional highlights like “Alive or Undead” bring the audience to tears. The interplay between frontman Attila Dorn and organist Falk Maria Schlegel turns every moment into an unforgettable ritual.

Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) is more than just a celebration of past triumphs – it marks the beginning of a powerful new chapter in the band’s unstoppable journey. POWERWOLF have long transcended genre boundaries – their shows are cult-like celebrations of metal, emotion, and art. With Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle), they once again prove that what they create is beyond music – it is religion.

POWERWOLF LIVE 2025

The wolves are ready to conquer the biggest stages worldwide once again! POWERWOLF’s Summer Of The Wicked 2025 European headline tour will see the band bringing their mighty metal mass to some of the continent’s biggest festivals and venues. Kicking off just one month after their 2025 Latin American Crusade headline run, the summer tour sets the stage for another triumphant chapter in the band’s legacy. But the crusade doesn’t stop there – later this year, POWERWOLF will return to North America for a massive headline tour across the USA and Canada, starting September 17, 2025 in Toronto, ON. Joining them as special guests are none other than label mates and power metal legends DragonForce.

And still, there’s no rest for the wicked! Just one day after the release of their spectacular new live album Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle), POWERWOLF will raise the banners high once more and for the very first time at the legendary OVO Arena Wembley for an exclusive United Kingdom show, a night destined to go down in metal history!

POWERWOLF Summer Of The Wicked Tour 2025
06.06.25 FR – Nancy / Heavy Week-End
07.06.25 DE – Nuremberg / Rock im Park
08.06.25 DE – Nurburg / Rock am Ring
10.06.25 FR – Toulouse / Zenith (+ DragonForce)
11.06.25 FR – Lyon / Halle Tony Garnier (+ DragonForce)
13.06.25 AT – Nickelsdorf / Nova Rock
15.06.25 NL – Leeuwarden / Into The Grave
17.06.25 FR – Lille / Zenith (+ DragonForce)
20.06.25 DE – Rostock / Stadthalle (+DragonForce)
21.06.25 DK – Copenhagen / Copenhell
22.06.25 SE – Huskvarna / Folkets Park (+ Amaranthe & DragonForce)
24.06.25 SE – Uppsala / Fyrishov (+ Amaranthe & DragonForce)
25.06.25 NO – Oslo / Tons Of Rock
27.06.25 EE – Tallinn / Tallinn Rock Festival
28.06.25 FI – Helsinki / Tuska Festival
30.06.25 PL – Lodz / Atlas Arena (+ Epica & DragonForce)
01.07.25 SK – Bratislava / Peugeot Arena
02.07.25 HU – Dunaujvaros / Rockmaraton
04.07.25 DE – Ballenstedt / Rockharz Festival
11.07.25 DE – Saarbrücken / E-Werk Open Air (+ Warkings)
13.07.25 CZ – Vizovice / Masters Of Rock
02.08.25 RO – Rasnov / Rockstadt Extreme Fest
09.08.25 ES – Villena / Leyendas Del Rock

POWERWOLF 2025 North American Tour w/ DragonForce:
17.09.25 CA – Toronto, ON / Rebel
18.09.25 US – Detroit, MI / Masonic Cathedral 
19.09.25 US – Louisville, KY / Louder Than Life 
20.09.25 US – St. Louis, MO / The Pageant 
22.09.25 US – Grand Rapids, MI / GLC Live  
23.09.25 US – Milwaukee, WI / The Eagles Ballroom
24.09.25 US – St. Paul, MN / Myth Live
26.09.25 CA – Edmonton, AB / Edmonton Convention Center 
27.09.25 CA – Calgary, AB / Grey Eagle  
29.09.25 CA – Vancouver, BC / Queen Elizabeth Theatre  
30.09.25 US – Seattle, WA / Paramount Theatre
01.10.25 US – Portland, OR / The Keller Auditorium
04.10.25 US – Sacramento, CA / Aftershock Festival

Exclusive United Kingdom Show 2026 w/ HammerFall + Wind Rose    
07.03.26 UK – London / OVO Arena Wembley

POWERWOLF are:
Attila Dorn – vocals
Falk Maria Schlegel – organ
Charles Greywolf – guitar
Matthew Greywolf – guitar
Roel van Helden – drums

POWERWOLF online:
HOMEPAGE
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
NAPALM RECORDS

ZATOKREV Announce New Album “Bring Mirrors To The Surface” + Stream First Single ‘Blood’

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 5, 2025
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: ZATOKREV. Leave a comment
Photo Credit: Matthias Willi

Swiss doom/sludge outfit Zatokrev announce their return with their immense and immersive new album. Bring Mirrors To The Surface will be released 29th August via Pelagic Records – a record that obliterates the past and conjures a previously unimagined future. In celebration, the quartet has revealed the first single from the album; ‘Blood’ featuring vocals of the Swiss band Inezona. This collaboration is not the only guest appearance on the new album, as vocal contributions from Schammasch, Zeal&Ardor, Minsk, and Bölzer elevate this release to masterpiece status.

Pre-order the album here: https://orcd.co/zatokrev

The band comment on the new album:  “Our new album, completed in 2022, reflects a time of profound change and resilience. It’s a testament to how challenges were overcome and new beginnings were embraced, both personally and creatively. The fact that the new album is only released three years later is due in no small part to the overcoming of serious life challenges and profound changes. The new album is the follow-up to the previous album, Silk Spiders Underwater, where the story began. Now, Bring Mirrors To The Surface tells the story to its conclusion.”

After all the detritus of pain, time, and letting go has been slogged through, 2025 sees Zatokrev return with an immense and immersive new (double LP) album: Bring Mirrors To The Surface obliterates the past and conjures a future previously unimagined, pleading with humanity to remember the power of the will and the imagination.

An album in which to truly lose oneself, these songs provide a candle in the dark, an arcane map, providing directions to the tearing down, and the painful realizing, as a means to metaphysical freedom. A beauty unmatched in any previous Zatokrev material has become entrenched in every aspect of this record. Moments of comfort fow freely into the deafening sounds: Bring Mirrors To The Surface encourages one and all to stare into the abyss of the self. Zatokrev have given us a musical grimoire. Sounds heard through the ages have congregated in a unique moment in time. 

“Changes, recognize, release. A black fame splitting the ground in two, opens the gate to where we lose ourselves” 

Track-list
1. Red Storm (ft. Bölzer & Schammasch)
2. Blood (ft. Inezona)
3. The Only Voice
4. Unwinding Spirits (ft. Manuel Gagneux/Zeal & Ardor)
5. Faint
6. Changes (ft. Schammasch)
7. Pearl Eyes
8. Deep Dark Turns Green (ft. Minsk)

Line-up: 
Frédéric Hug: Drums
Frederyk Rotter: Guitar, Vocals
Lucas Löw: Bass, Vocals
Matthieu Hardouin: Guitar, Vocals

For more info: INSTAGRAM • FACEBOOK • FULL BIO

REFUSAL Stream New Album “Venomous Human Concept” Ahead of Release

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 5, 2025
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: REFUSAL. Leave a comment

Ahead of its release this Friday on the twisted Time To Kill Records roster, Decibel Magazine today presents an exclusive stream of “Venomous Human Concept”, the merciless new album from Finnish death metal crew REFUSAL.

Stream “Venomous Human Concept” HERE.

Tracklist:

​1. Scholar of Perversion
2. Venomous Human Concept
3. The Grip Tightens
4. Insatiable God
5. War of Nothing
6. Dehumanize
7. We Are the Undead
8. Sleeping Leviathan
9. Congregation of the Eyeless
10. Eternal Refrain

Preorders:

  • https://timetokillrecords.com/collections/refusal-venomous-human-concept
  • https://refusal.bandcamp.com/album/venomous-human-concept

REFUSAL is a Finnish death metal band formed in Helsinki, Finland, in early 2008. Over its 17-year history, the band has evolved its sound, incorporating grindcore elements into its death metal foundation. In its early years, REFUSAL released seven demos, paving the way for their debut album. In 2016, the band unleashed “We Rot Within”, marking their first full-length record. Following its release, the band toured extensively across Finland and embarked on a brief European tour.

In 2019, REFUSAL released their second album, “Epitome of Void”, followed by an extensive European tour, during which they performed in nine countries.

Their latest release has been in development since the release of their second album. After enduring the pandemic years and undergoing line-up changes, REFUSAL is now set to return with their evolved sonic chaos on “Venomous Human Concept”.

For fans of: Napalm Death, Misery Index, Entombed, Rotten Sound

Line-up:

Juhani Paasipohja – Vocals
Tero Pirhonen – Guitars
Kalle Kuosmanen – Guitars
Timo Pirhonen – Backing vocals and bass
Aleksi Roitto – Drums

https://www.refusalband.com/
https://refusal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/refusal.band
https://www.facebook.com/refusalband

THE BRAINS ‘Feel No Pain’ as “Crazy Monster” Draws Closer

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 5, 2025
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: THE BRAINS. Leave a comment

Psychosonic gothapunkabilly freakoid noise merchants The Brains are on their way back from beyond with what might be their wildest album yet – their ninth altogether, and their second for Cleopatra Records… unless you wanna count last year’s Friends & Zombified Antics remix collection. Which, of course, you should.  

Because the only thing better than listening to primal Lemmy, Dead Boys and the mighty Mitch Ryder is listening to what happens when the Brains get behind the remix desk.

But that was then and this is now, and if Crazy Monster isn’t set to become the most scarifying soundstorm you’ve been chased round the house by this year, then you probably need new ears.  

Storming the streets on July 4, Crazy Monster is Rene De La Muerte, Colin the Dead and Gui Kitty hitting what even they agree are fresh extremes, classic Brains meet modern horrors, all incendiary guitar riffs, heart attack rhythm and ghoulish punk rock attitude!

You’ve already heard “Evil,” the first single from the album… you’re already primed for  “Darkness,” “Candy Apple Red,” and the rest of this 12 song horror show.  

Just to get you even more in the mood, though, here’s “Feel The Pain,” the band’s new single and their latest, breathless, video as well.  And if you want to know what to expect, here’s Rene’s take on it.

“An undead nation with my favorite ghouls, this song was a blast to write!!! Getting back to old school Brains songs… I feel no pain!”

There’s really not much to be added to that!

SINGLE: https://orcd.co/thebrains_feelnopain

  • CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=the+brains+crazy+monster
  • DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/thebrains_crazymonster

“Crazy Monster” Track listing:

  1. Evil
  2. One More Time
  3. Feel No Pain
  4. Crazy Monster
  5. Candy Apple Red
  6. Darkness
  7. Let’s Go
  8. Shakey Queen
  9. Never More
  10. Skeleton Kiss
  11. Hollywood
  12. The Blood Is Warm

CRYPTOPSY Announce U.S. Tour with NILE

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 5, 2025
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: CRYPTOPSY. Leave a comment
Photo by Maciej Pieloch

After giving fans in Europe an early taste of their upcoming new album, today, Cryptopsy are announcing the band’s first U.S. tour in support of An Insatiable Violence. This fall, they will join fellow brutal technical death metal pharaohs NILE on a 25-date tour of the East Coast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Joining them on this run are The Last Ten Seconds of Life and Cognitive. 

“We are so excited to bring An Insatiable Violence to the United States It’s a pleasure to tour amongst friends and this lineup is incredibly stacked!”, Cryptopsy says. “Our new album was written for a live setting. The songs are more brutal and grooving so that people can really latch on and bang their heads”. 

Cryptopsy’s setlist for this tour will pull from the band’s latest albums while mixing in their revered classics.

Pre-sale for this tour is available now at https://bnds.us/m6ptoe. Use the password UNDERWORLD.

General ticket sale starts tomorrow Friday, June 6, at 10 am local time here: https://nile-official.com/tour-dates.

The Underworld Awaits Tour USA 2025 
September 12 – Raleigh, NC @ Chapel of Bones [TICKETS]
September 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts [TICKETS]
September 14 – Leesburg, VA @ Tally Ho [TICKETS]
September 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch [TICKETS]
September 17 – Hampton, NH @ Wally’s [TICKETS]
September 18 – Hartford, CT @ Webster Hall [TICKETS]
September 19 – Lititz, PA @ Mickey’s Black Box [TICKETS]
September 20 – Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz [TICKETS]
September 21 – Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall [TICKETS]
September 22 – Cleveland, OH @ Mercury [TICKETS]
September 24 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary [TICKETS]
September 25 – Hobart, IN @ Hobart Art Theatre [TICKETS]
September 26 – Madison, WI @ The Annex [TICKETS]
September 27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Studio B Skyway [TICKETS]
September 28 – Belvidere, IL @ Apollo Theater [TICKETS]
September 29 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Bigs Bar [TICKETS]
October 1 – Billings, MT @ Pub Station [TICKETS]
October 3 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon [TICKETS]
October 4 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory [TICKETS]
October 5 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory [TICKETS]
October 6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge [TICKETS]
October 7 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater [TICKETS]
October 9 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s* [TICKETS]
October 10 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s* [TICKETS]
October 11 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Annex* [TICKETS]
*Nile, Cryptopsy and Cognitive only

An Insatiable Violence comes out June 20 on Season of Mist.

  • Pre-order Pre-save: https://orcd.co/cryptopsyaninsatiableviolence
  • Pre-save on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/68bFcUq3E7rilegbUCwexu

Tracklist
1. The Nimis Adoration (4:10)
2. Until There’s Nothing Left (3:59) [WATCH]
3. Dead Eyes Replete (3:57)
4. Fools Last Acclaim (3:26)
5. The Art of Emptiness (4:16)
6. Our Great Deception (4:21)
7. Embrace the Nihility (3:50)
8. Malicious Needs (5:52) [WATCH]
Total runtime 32:04

A person spends all day building a machine, only for it to torture them through the night. As if that wasn’t twisted enough, they like it. In fact, they like being tortured so much that, come morning, they wake up rejuvenated, eager to tweak the machine until it runs perfectly in their mind.   

This is the nocturnal vision that inspired Cryptopsy’s ninth full-length nightmare. An Insatiable Violence mirrors our toxic relationship with social media, but while eerily prescient, the album is influenced by the many mutations that have defined the band’s Hall of Fame discography. The album’s lead single bumps and grinds with gruesome bass slaps – and yet, at its core “Until There’s Nothing Left” stakes its claim as their biggest earworm.

Cryptopsy recognize that not every brutal technical death metal band sticks around long enough to win a Canadian Grammy 30 years into their career. The cover for An Insatiable Violence was created by the band’s late, great vocalist Martin Lacroix, who would growl with unholy delight over the freshly fetid depths of Matt McGachy’s false chord scream.

But despite having claimed the crown as the most vile band in death metal on only their second stab in the studio, Cryptopsy are still pushing the limits of extremity on An Insatiable Violence. Even Flo Mounier – who literally wrote the book on extreme metal drumming – has honed new techniques to keep their blasphemy fresh. For its finishing move, album closer “Malicious Needs” slithers to a crawl before ascending like a bat into a blackened cloud of smoke.   

Bow to the new vileness from extreme metal royalty.           

Metalheads who are chomping at the bit for An Insatiable Violence can further their appetite by revisiting Cryptopsy’s hallowed catalogue. Since signing with Season of Mist in 2024, the band have reissued their 1993 demo Ungentle Exhumation, revered debut Blasphemy Made Flesh, the widely-worshiped None So Vile, their triumphant self-titled and The Book of Suffering Tome I + II, which is now available for the first time on one combined LP.   

Order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/CryptopsyReissues

More than 30 years into their storied career, Montreal death metal innovators Cryptopsy return with their ninth studio album, An Insatiable Violence, set for release on June 20, 2025 on Season of Mist.

Revered in extreme metal circles for such groundbreaking classics as 1994’s Blasphemy Made Flesh and the 1996 magnum opus None So Vile, Cryptopsy find yet another gear on An Insatiable Violence, which further solidifies the band’s place in the upper echelon of death metal. Coming out of the pandemic, the band dedicated themselves to staying on top of their game more than ever before, with the intention of consistently putting out a new record every two years. That started with 2023’s acclaimed As Gomorrah Burns, and continues 21 months later with An Insatiable Violence.

“We had to write the majority of An Insatiable Violence while on the Death to All tour, which was something we’d never done before”, vocalist Matt McGachy says. “Flo [Mounier, drums] and Chris [Donaldson, guitar] really put their hats on. It was a feat”.  

“Ever since COVID our focus is clearer, a lot of work gets done faster, and we push each other to get it done.”, Mounier says.  

In addition to featuring some of the fastest passages Cryptopsy has ever recorded – keen listeners will even hear the odd gravity blast from Mounier, a rarity from the virtuoso drummer – the controlled chaos of their signature sound is offset by well-timed passages that ease off the gas pedal enough to allow listeners to come up for some air. That dynamic rage on An Insatiable Violence in turn makes the more aggressive moments hit even harder, which is immediately noticeable on the harrowing “Until There’s Nothing Left” and the chugging closing track “Malicious Needs”. Olivier Pinard anchors “Fools Last Acclaim” with stunning authority (keeping pace with Mounier is an unenviable task) while Donaldson offsets gnarly, atonal riffs with melodic passages throughout the record. “It’s a continuation of As Gomorrah Burns,” McGachy says, “We really wanted to make a groovy record, and we think we’ve done it.”

It seems as though nothing is scarier than real life right now, and An Insatiable Violence is a commentary on today’s society as though filtered through the transgressive, countercultural perspectives of J.G. Ballard and David Cronenberg.  

“It all came to me in a dream in August 2023,” elaborates McGachy. “I woke up, I took my phone, and I wrote down the title of the record. It’s about a person that wakes up every day and fixes a machine. Tinkers with it, tries to make it better all day long, sweating in the sun, and then at night, they strap themself into this machine and the machine tortures them, and they love it. Then they wake up the next day and fix it again to make it more efficient, to keep harnessing it, and then just keep doing it over and over again.  

While fantastically twisted, An Insatiable Violence mirrors our toxic relationship with social media.  “We’re continuously trying to feed this algorithm of the machine while it’s totally tearing us apart socially and psychologically”, McGachy continues. “’The Nimis Adoration’ is about mukbang, these Korean people that eat too much food on the Internet. Piles and piles of food. A poor girl died on a live cam”.  

At the center of the album is the mind-boggling percussion skill of Mounier, arguably the most imposing Canadian drummer not named Peart, who dominates such standout tracks as “Dead Eyes Replete”, “Fools Last Acclaim”, and “Embrace the Nihility”. “I look at Flo as an Olympic athlete,” says McGachy. “I want to push this guy to go a lot faster than Cryptopsy’s previous releases. We have so much more to give, and I wanted just drain it all out of him while he’s still at the top of his game, because he is. He’s crushing.”

“I mix up a lot of a physical activity, like resistance training into the drumming,” Mounier says. “I recently developed new techniques that make it easier to go even faster, so I tried to push that on this album. My focus is now more on dynamics and the touch of the snare, a certain snap of the snare, a rim shot on the snare, the toms, a light touch or a hard touch. Live, I can really let go, you know, give the sound guy a hard time,” he adds with a laugh.

For McGachy, who has always boasted a powerful, guttural death growl, the rigors of touring have enabled him to evolve as a vocalist, and he turns in a revelatory performance on An Insatiable Violence. In addition to ear-scraping screams that rival George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, McGachy unleashes the deepest, filthiest death growls of his career. “Gomorrah was the first album that I recorded with my full false chord scream, which is something that I’d only just touched on The Book of Suffering: Tome II in little sections,” he says. “We did at least 140 shows since Gomorrah. I exclusively did my false chords during all the songs that we performed on None So Vile and Blasphemy Made Flesh. And then, when we did go into the studio for An Insatiable Violence, Chris would be like, ‘Deeper, you must go deeper!’”

Another fearsome vocalist from Cryptopsy’s lore pops back into the booth on An Insatiable Violence. “When we were recording the vocals for ‘Embrace the Nihility’, Chris had the idea of ending the song with the same vocal pattern as the end of ‘…and Then It Passes’”, McGachy remembers. “We figured if we were going to rip ourselves off, then we may as well get the real thing. We were honored that Mike DiSalvo accepted. We are all huge fans of Cryptopsy’s DiSalvo era. His vocals on this album are an ultra Easter egg for our fans”.       

In addition to the effusive praise As Gomorrah Burns received from within the metal scene, the 2023 album achieved a first for Cryptopsy: earning them their first ever JUNO Award in 2024 for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year. “We had little-to-no expectations of winning” says McGachy. ”We didn’t even go to the ceremonies because we were on tour in Europe with Atheist. On the day we found out that we won, we had a crazy 18-hour drive from Derby to Germany, plus a ferry ride. But we still partied for 48 hours. Flo bought an expensive bottle of champagne”.  

Cryptopsy recognize that not every death metal band sticks around long enough to win a Canadian Grammy 30 years into their career. The cover art for An Insatiable Violence was created by the late, great vocalist Martin Lacroix.  “The album artwork has got to be one of the most important things to us!”, the band says. “Martin Lacroix was one of our vocalists, one of our great friends and one of the nicest people that anyone could have the privilege to meet. We really wish he was here with us to share this moment. His perfect smile would say it all! Rest in peace brother”.

With Cryptopsy’s latest career renaissance showing no signs of slowing down, the recent accolades are only the beginning. An Insatiable Violence reaches a new peak in a career loaded with them.

Lineup 
Flo Mounier – Drums
Matt McGachy – Vocals
Christian Donaldson – Guitar
Oli Pinard – Bass

Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studio
Christian Donaldson’s Studio

Production, Sound & Mixing Engineer
Christian Donaldson

Guest Musicians
Mike DiSalvo performs vocals on “Embrace the Nihility”

Cover Art
Martin Lacroix

Photography
Maciej Pieloch

Biography
Adrien Begrand

Follow Cryptopsy
Bandcamp: https://cryptopsyofficial.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cryptopsyofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cryptopsyofficial/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/29PgYwTelpNl6370XLqFtN
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CryptopsyDeathMetal
BandsInTown: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/2941-cryptopsy

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