The dark season is here – but with Nuclear Blast’s brand-new merch lamps, you can bring light into the darkness! Featuring designs of your favorite bands, these lamps don’t just create the perfect atmosphere but also make a stylish statement for your home.
Choose from six designs by six legendary bands, including Slayer, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Ghost, Electric Callboy, and Thy Art Is Murder. These lamps offer customizable colors so you can always match the lighting to your mood.
These exclusive lamps are now available to pre-order – get the design that best suits your taste in music now and turn your home into a stage.
The new year starts with a blast for all metalheads, tech nerds and everyone yearning to dive headfirst into 2024 with a virtual adventure: today, Nuclear Blast Records is thrilled to announce an exciting collaboration with The Sandbox.
Both die-hards and newcomers are invited to embark on a journey into a virtual world dedicated to metal culture and gaming: Blast Valley. This land hosted within The Sandbox is the ultimate realm for metalheads, including a giant scene at the heart of a volcano, a vinyl factory, secret crypts and (of course) a bar.
Players from all around the world are invited to unite and participate in the most important quest of their lives: to revive the power of metal within Blast Valley.
Guided by the keeper of the land and guardian of the metal spirit, “The Reaper”, the main quest, once accepted, is to explore every corner of the land to complete a series of tasks to bring the metal energy back.
Following its launch today, Blast Valley will evolve through time and welcome in new events such as virtual gigs, avatar collection launch and release parties.
Nuclear Blast states: “Blast Valley is a place where unforgettable experiences are crafted and where bonds with newfound friends are forged. Join us as we celebrate the power of metal and revel in the camaraderie it fosters. Prepare for some upcoming surprises with partners from the scene.”
About Nuclear Blast For 35 years and counting, Nuclear Blast Records has been synonymous with the worldwide advancement of heavy music. Founded in Donzdorf, Germany in 1987, Nuclear Blast is part of Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies. Nuclear Blast boasts a roster of over 150 bands. Their offices in Los Angeles, London, Hamburg, and Paris have helped build the label’s trusted global reputation with numerous album chart entries, high-profile tours, and continual signings of new and heritage acts. The label has additional representatives in Australia, Brazil and Sweden, amongst others.
About The Sandbox: The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that has been fueling the recent growth of virtual real estate demand, having partnered with major brands including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, The Rabbids, Cut the Rope, Tony Hawk, Gucci Vault, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Snoop Dogg, Adidas, Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, SM Entertainment, The Smurfs, Care Bears, and Atari. Building on the existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox metaverse offers players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize their creations. For more information, please visit www.sandbox.game and follow the regular updates on Twitter, Medium, and Discord
Nuclear Blast is proud to announce that the complete TESTAMENT catalog has been acquired and the band signed for an additional 3 albums in the future! The signing took place before the band’s fiery performance at Hellfest this past weekend. Fans will now be able to listen to the band’s seminal albums The Legacy and The New Order on the DSP of their choice!
Chuck Billy states, “After a long history of making music and TESTAMENT teaming up with Nuclear Blast in 2008 with The Formation of Damnation to the current release Titans of Creation, we have taken it to the next level and have reclaimed our 6 albums from Atlantic Records and have delivered them to Nuclear Blast to be re-released. Along with the Atlantic catalog, TESTAMENT will sign a new 3-album deal with NB worldwide. We are so grateful to be with the Best Heavy Metal label in the world that will spread TESTAMENT’s Legacy.”
Eric Peterson comments, “We signed with NB back in 2008 and it’d been a perfect fit for us ever since then. Incidentally, our older catalog with Atlantic Records – The Legacy,The New Order,Practice What You Preach, Souls of Black, The Ritual, and Low – have returned to us and we feel it’s a great new start to have NB Release these albums again with some new unreleased artwork, photos, etc. Also, we will be signing a new three-album deal with them! So the future for Metal is looking very, very bright! Cheers!”
Tommy Jones Nuclear Blast U.S. Label Manager adds: “One of my favorite guitars as a kid was my dark red Ibanez Saber (540S) with the wizard neck. I purchased that guitar to sound like Alex Skolnick who played that model and color back in the day. So all these years later to be signing those OG, genre-defining TESTAMENT albums that were such an early influence like The New Order, Practice What You Preach, and Souls of Black, as well as new TESTAMENT albums to Nuclear Blast, is completing a full circle for me. Truly an ‘If the 15-year-old me could see this’ type of moment. It’s time to continue ‘The Legacy’ with Nuclear Blast!”
Nuclear Blast is proud to announce the release of The Aggression Sessions featuring THY ART IS MURDER, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, and MALEVOLENCE which will be available digitally on April 7th and on CD + Vinyl on July 21st, 2023 via Nuclear Blast.
Today, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY releases the first single from the EP entitled, “Hellions”. Check out the visualizer here:
FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY states, “‘Hellions’ was a fun look back at some of our more brutal and fast-paced roots more akin to our earlier material. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Hellbound, the record which we all collectively feel really started things in motion for the band. It was a blast to channel the energy and excitement we had at that time back into our music in 2023. It’s only natural for bands to evolve and expand their sound over time, but we never forgot where we came from, so this one is for those who were here from day one!”
The Aggression Sessions is the follow-up to 2016’s The Depression Sessionsand follows the same 6-song mini album where each band offers an original single and a cover song.For this session, THY ART IS MURDER is covering Cannibal Corpse and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY is covering At The Gates whereas MALEVOLENCEis handling a song by American singer Anastacia.
THY ART IS MURDER and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY make the following joint statement: “Before we had even completed work on ‘The Depressions Sessions’ we knew a lifelong friendship had been forged between THY ART IS MURDER and FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, and that we would have to do another variation of the project. ‘The Aggression Sessions’ concept was born almost immediately following the completion of the first iteration but has taken many years to finally find the time to record and release it amidst the chaotic touring and music release schedules of both bands. We wanted to take things back to some of our favorite inspirations for writing and performing heavy and aggressive music this time, encapsulating the tone of the EP title. We hope everyone enjoys!
Joining us for round 2, please welcome MALEVOLENCE into the series. Much love to The Acacia Strain, and thank you to them for being a part of this lineage. Check out their new forthcoming record as well!
Working with friends and peers and avoiding the pitfalls of competitiveness has always been the most rewarding part of being in a band, so as always thank you for the support and opportunity to have this platform. See you all on the road soon!” MALEVOLENCE’s Wilkie Robinson adds, “New Jersey to Australia to Sheffield! it was an absolute pleasure to be involved in this big international metal link-up and a great opportunity for us to have fun creatively outside of the usual expectations. Shout out to Eliran Kantor for killing the artwork and Nuclear Blast for making it all happen.”
Below is the tracklisting for The Aggression Sessions: 1. Hellions – FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY 2. Until There Is No Longer – THY ART IS MURDER 3. Waste Of Myself – MALEVOLENCE 4. Under A Serpent Sun (At The Gates Cover) – FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY 5. Hammer Smashed Face(Cannibal Corpse Cover) – THY ART IS MURDER 6. Left Outside Alone (Anastacia Cover) – MALEVOLENCE
ABOUT THY ART IS MURDER
THY ART IS MURDER, one of Australia’s top-heavy exports, is currently on their 10-year anniversary of the seminal album, Hate. Tomorrow the band will perform the last date of their US leg in Patchogue, NY. The next stop on their “Decade Of Hate” world tour is Europe where they will share the stage with labelmates FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY.
Confirmed dates for THY ART IS MURDER “Decade Of Hate” European tour with FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY are: 4/06/2023 Germany Karlsruhe @ Substage 4/07/2023 Austria Vienna @ Impericon Festival *SOLD OUT* 4/08/2023 Germany Leipzig @ Impericon Festival 4/09/2023 Belgium Sint-Niklaas @ De Casino 4/10/2023 UK London @ The Dome *SOLD OUT* 4/11/2023 UK London @ The Dome *SOLD OUT* 4/13/2023 France Nancy @ L’Autre Canal 4/14/2023 Switzerland Zurich @ Impericon Festival 4/15/2023 Germany Oberhausen @ Impericon Festival 4/16/2023 Germany München @ Impericon Festival *SOLD OUT*
ABOUT FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY
New Jersey six-piece FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY released their sixth album Oh What The Future Holds inJanuary of 2022.
Confirmed dates for FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY with THE ACACIA STRAIN, PRIMITIVE MAN, and FULL OF HELL are: 3/8 Brooklyn NY – The Monarch *SOLD OUT* 3/9 Philadelphia PA – Union Transfer *SOLD OUT* 3/10 Columbus OH – The King Of Clubs *SOLD OUT* 3/11 Detroit MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall *SOLD OUT* 3/12 Chicago IL – Metro 3/14 Englewood CO – Gothic Theatre *SOLD OUT* 3/15 Salt Lake City UT – The Complex 3/17 Seattle WA – El Corazon *SOLD OUT* 3/18 Portland OR – Hawthorne Theatre *SOLD OUT* 3/19 Sacramento CA – Ace Of Spades 3/20 Santa Ana CA – The Observatory 3/21 Los Angeles CA – 1720 3/22 Mesa AZ – The Nile Theatre 3/24 Dallas TX – Amplified Live 3/25 Austin TX – Come and Take It Live *SOLD OUT* 3/26 Houston TX – Warehouse Live 3/28 Tampa FL – The Orpheum 3/29 Atlanta GA – Heaven at The Masquerade 3/30 Greensboro NC – Arizona Pete’s *SOLD OUT* 3/31 Baltimore MD – Baltimore Soundstage *SOLD OUT* 4/1 Worcester MA – The Palladium
“Decade Of Hate” European tour W/ THY ART IS MURDER 4/06/2023 Germany Karlsruhe @ Substage 4/07/2023 Austria Vienna @ Impericon Festival – SOLD OUT 4/08/2023 Germany Leipzig @ Impericon Festival 4/09/2023 Belgium Sint-Niklaas @ De Casino 4/10/2023 UK London @ The Dome – SOLD OUT 4/11/2023 UK London @ The Dome – SOLD OUT 4/13/2023 France Nancy @ L’Autre Canal 4/14/2023 Switzerland Zurich @ Impericon Festival 4/15/2023 Germany Oberhausen @ Impericon Festival 4/16/2023 Germany München @ Impericon Festival – SOLD OUT
ABOUT MALEVOLENCE
With their critically acclaimed new studio album Malicious Intent,MALEVOLENCE has staked out their place as one of contemporary metal’s heavyweight acts. The rising UK stars are now out to conquer the world, and have already blown away audiences at the likes of Download Festival, Bloodstock Festival, Knotfest Germany, and the Bring Me The Horizon Malta Weekender, not forgetting to mention a huge UK arena tour with ARCHITECTS and SLEEP TOKEN, and mainland EU dates with LAMB OF GOD.
MALEVOLENCE live: 3/17/2023 LDB Fest (Triple Crown Pavilion) – Jeffersontown, KY 4/28/2023 Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO 5/04/2023 Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center – Mankato, MN 5/10/2023 The Paramount – Huntington, NY 5/12/2023 Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom – Hampton Beach, NH 5/13/2023 College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT 5/14/2023 State Theatre – Portland, ME 5/16/2023 The National – Richmond, VA 5/23/2023 Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA 5/31/2023 Horizon Events Center – Clive, IA 6/02/2023 The Rust Belt – East Moline, IL 6/03/2023 Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO 6/06/2023 Emo’s Austin – Austin, TX 6/07/2023 The Factory In Deep Ellum – Dallas, TX 6/09/2023 Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ 6/12/2023 The Warfield – San Francisco, CA 6/15/2023 Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
Nuclear Blast are proud to welcome back the Swedish powerhouse HammerFall who started their career in 1997 on the label with their debut album Glory to the Brave.
Their entire Nuclear Blast catalogue from Glory to the Brave to the 2014 album (r)Evolution was recently certified with a Diamond Award for over 1,5 million worldwide sales.
And there´s been even more to celebrate: following on from Renegade (2000), Crimson Thunder (2002) and No Sacrifice, No Victory (2009),their fifth studio album Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken from 2005 is now their fourth album that has gone Gold in Sweden, whilst Crimson Thunder even went Platinum, celebrating over 60,000 sales in their home country.
The band comments on the signing:”We were part of building the label back in the day, starting with our first album. For a long time, we were along for the ride as Nuclear Blast evolved into the immense powerhouse it is today. Although we did leave for three studio albums, and we are pleased with those albums and thank everyone who worked with us on them, we are very excited to be back where we belong: with Nuclear Blast. It truly feels like we’ve come home.”
Marcus Hammer, Managing Director at Nuclear Blast comments: “In the darkest days of the 90s of death and black metal HammerFall spearheaded a glorious revival of classic melodic metal and they are now bigger than ever before. It’s an impressive career of creative power and we are more than happy to welcome them back at the label where they started. Over the past few years, we always stayed in good contact working on their massive back catalogue and it’s a pleasure to continue the relationship for new albums in the near future. Thanks to HammerFall, their management and amazing crew!”
Photo credit: Dirk Behlau
In 2023 HammerFall will release a special Platinum Edition of Crimson Thunder with tons of bonus material and will continue their worldwide live crusade.
Europe:
31.01.23 FR Strasbourg – La Laiterie 01.02.23 FR Paris – Le Trabendo 02.02.23 FR Lyon – Ninkasi Kao 03.02.23 ES Barcelona – Palau Sant Jordi *with Helloween 04.02.23 ES Madrid – WiZink Center *with Helloween 24.03.23 SE Örebro – Frimis Salonger 25.03.23 SE Karlstad – Nöjesfabriken 31.03.23 SE Skövde – Skövde Kulturhus 01.04.23 SE Huskvarna – Folkets Park 14.04.23 SE Sundsvall – Club Deströyer 15.04.23 SE Umeå – Nolia 20.04.23 SE Malmö – Kulturbolaget 21.04.23 SE Kalmar – Kalmar Salen 22.04.23 SE Sälen – Högfjällshotellet 27.04.23 SE Stockholm – Cirkus 05.05.23 DE Bochum – RuhrCongress *with Helloween 06.05.23 DE Hamburg – Sporthalle *with Helloween
US Tour
12.05.23 US Houston, TX – Wharehouse Live 13.05.23 US Dallas, TX – The Factory 15.05.23 US Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade 16.05.23 US St Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live 18.0523 US Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore 19.05.23 US Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts 20.05.23 US New York City, NY – Terminal 5 21.05.23 US Worcester, MA – Palladium 22.05.23 CAN Montreal, QC – Théâtre Fairmount 23.05.23 CAN Toronto, ON – History 24.05.23 US Royal Oak, MI – Music Theatre 25.05.23 US Columbus, OH – The King of Clubs 26.05.23 US Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre 27.05.23 US Minneapolis, MN – Fillmore 28.05.23 US Lawrence, KS – The Granada 30.05.23 US Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre 31.05.23 US Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall 01.06.23 US Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl 02.06.23 US Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theater 03.06.23 US San Francisco, CA – The Warfield 04.06.23 US Roseville, CA – Goldfield Trading Post
Festivals:
24.06.23 NO Oslo – Tons Of Rock 15.07.23 AU Leoben – Area 53 Festival 12.08.23 ES Villena – Leyendas Del Rock 16.-19.08.23 DE Dinkelsbuehl – SummerBreeze 17.-19.08.23 CZ -Moravsky Krumlov-Castle Garden – Rock Castle
Line-up: Joacim Cans – vocals Oscar Dronjak – guitar Fredrik Larsson – bass Pontus Norgen – guitar David Wallin – drums
Father Christmas has visited early this year: Today, NUCLEAR BLAST and SUMMER BREEZE Open Air are happy to announce the eleventh NUCLEAR BLAST label night in Dinkelsbühl on Wednesday, August 16th, featuring SEPULTURA, SOILWORK, BLEED FROM WITHIN, MALEVOLENCE and GATECREEPER.
Day passes are not sold for the Wednesday event, the NUCLEAR BLAST label night can be attended with a regular festival ticket. You can purchase tickets for SUMMER BREEZE OPEN AIR 2023 here: https://www.sbtix.de/home
The joy in the NUCLEAR BLAST headquarters is palpable. CEO Marcus Hammer states: “I am more than happy that in 2023, we are able to herald our partnership with Summer Breeze with a NUCLEAR BLAST label night. Once again, we managed to put together a strong line-up giving the fans a fantastic start to the festival.”
About Nuclear Blast
For 35 years and counting, Nuclear Blast Records is synonymous with the worldwide advancement of heavy metal, extreme music, and hard rock. Founded in Donzdorf, Germany in 1987, Nuclear Blast boasts a roster of over 150 bands representing eighteen countries. Their satellite offices in Donzdorf, Los Angeles, London, Hamburg and Paris have helped build the label’s trusted global reputation with numerous Billboard album chart entries, high-profile tours, and continual signings of new and heritage acts. The label has additional representatives in Australia, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, amongst others.
About Summer Breeze
SUMMER BREEZE Open Air is a German metal music festival which takes place in Dinkelsbuehl, Bavaria annually. The first edition was in 1997. The festival had been held in Abtsgmuend until 2006 when it was moved to its new location of Dinkelsbuehl. The festival draws around 40,000 attendees annually. In 2017 a new main stage was introduced and the 20th Anniversary was celebrated extensively. SUMMER BREEZE pays special attention to a balanced line-up of bands from different heavy metal genres. Each year the festival attaches major importance to how the line-up is put together. From bands that are deeply rooted in the underground to genre representatives with the highest standing in the worldwide music scene SUMMER BREEZE Open Air is trying to present a diversified billing each year. Being aware of the significance of supporting younger bands the festival has began to lay emphasis on a growing (social) media coverage of the prospective heroes of tomorrow. With over 1000 different bands in the last two decades from around 20 different countries, there is a lot to experience at each edition of SUMMER BREEZE, and that´s a recurring promise and an honoured pledge.
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