Antwerp, Belgium -based death/thrash metallers Schizophrenia are gearing up for the release of the band’s upcoming new tribute EP “Chants Of The Abyss”, which will see the light of day on February 10th. “Chants Of The Abyss” features six cover songs and personal interpretations of timeless classics by cult acts such as Slayer, Judas Priest, Mistfits, Exodus, GBH and Morbid Angel and with the music video for GBH’s “Race Against Time” Schizophrenia have just released the fourth and last single before the EP will be out.

Drummer Lorenzo Vissol comments:
“The whole concept behind doing our cover EP ‘Chants of the Abyss’ was of course to have fun recording and playing songs we love, but it was also to shine a light on what we think are the essential roots of the music we play now and extreme metal in general. We believe one of those elements to be Punk and more precisely the Hardcore Punk influences. For instance, giving a certain idea of how they managed to separate themselves from the contemporary Hair Metal scene and be one of the originators of Thrash Metal, Dave Lombardo and Jeff Hanneman have explained several times how they were constantly exchanging Punk and Hardcore Punk bands they discovered during the inception of Slayer. (It is hence no surprise that Dave Lombardo now plays for the Misfits and Suicidal Tendencies). Metallica was also seen wearing GBH and Misfits shirts repeatedly during the 80s and early 90s. Furthermore, within Schizophrenia we often ponder as to what makes modern or actual Metal different than the old school Metal, musical judgment aside. I believe personally that, arguably, one of the most important elements is the progressive lack of Punk and Rock’n’Roll influences throughout the decades. All of this is why we decided to include two Punk songs out of the total 6 songs included in this EP.“

He continues:
“GBH is possibly the most influential Hardcore Punk band and has been my personal favorite band since my teenage years. Covering a song by them seemed not only crucial but almost mandatory. We chose to cover ‘Race Against Time’ as this song had the perfect energy we were looking for and the lyrics could be reinterpreted as a testimony to their legacy explained above “Time is immortal, and we’re forever”. It is also the opening track of their first record released in 1981 ‘Leather, Bristle, Studs and Acne’ quite surely being a direct influence to the following Thrash Metal originator albums. The song was extremely interesting for us to work on and adapt to our own style. I took quite some liberty when composing the drums and for the story was highly influenced by Exciter, another band with explicit Punk influences, for which I had drum-teched on their European tour just a couple of weeks before recording. We tried making the song overall more brutal and simply better fitted for a Death/Thrash Metal band.
We can only hope you will enjoy our own version but also feel the need to spin all those classic influential Punk records again!“

“Chants Of The Abyss” is available for purchase at THIS LOCATION

Tracklist:

1. Necrophiliac (Slayer cover)
2. Maze Of Torment (Morbid Angel cover)
3. Metal Meltdown (Judas Priest cover)
4. Bullet (Misfits cover)
5. Strike Of The Beast (Exodus cover)
6. Race Against Time (GBH cover)

Schizophrenia live w/Warbringer and Evil Invaders:

24/03/2023 BE Aalst – Oilsjt Omploft
25/03/2023 DE Essen – Turock
26/03/2023 FR Colmar – Le Grillen
28/03/2023 DE Kassel – Goldgrube
29/03/2023 DE Mannheim – 7er Club
30/03/2023 DE Leipzig – Hellraiser
31/03/2023 DE Hamburg – BHF Pauli
01/04/2023 DK Copenhagen- BETA
02/04/2023 DE Berlin – Cassiopeia
03/04/2023 PL Warsaw – Hydrozagadka
04/04/2023 PL Krakow – Kamienna12
05/04/2023 DE Munich – Backstage Halle
06/04/2023 CZ Prague – Modra Vopice
07/04/2023 HU Budapest – Barba Negra
08/04/2023 CH Sursee – Kulturwerk 118
09/04/2023 AT Dornbirn – Schlachthaus
10/04/2023 AT Vienna – Viper Room
11/04/2023 CH Martigny – Cave Du Manoir
13/04/2023 FR Lyon – Rock n Eat
14/04/2023 FR Pau – L’Ampli
15/04/2023 ES Barcelona – La Nau
16/04/2023 ES Madrid – Nazca
17/04/2023 ES Mos Pontreveda – Sala Rebullón
18/04/2023 ES Granada – Sala El Tren
19/04/2023 ES Zaragoza – Sala Lo Intento
20/04/2023 FR Nantes – Le Ferrailleur
21/04/2023 FR Paris – Backstage By The Mill
22/04/2023 NL Arnhem – Willemeen
23/04/2023 NL Helmond – Cacaofabriek
24/04/2023 DE Hannover – Cafe Glocksee
30/04/2023 NL Rotterdam – Baroeg

SCHIZOPHRENIA is:
Ricky Mandozzi: Bass & vocals
Romeo Promos Promopoulos: Lead & rhythm guitar
Marty Van Kerckhoven: Lead & rhythm guitar
Lorenzo Vissol: Drums

Antwerp, Belgium based death/thrash metallers SCHIZOPHRENIA just recently announced the release of their upcoming tribute EP “Chants Of The Abyss”, which will see the light of day on February 10, 2023. “Chants Of The Abyss” features six cover songs and personal interpretations of timeless classics by cult acts such as Slayer, Judas Priest, Mistfits, Exodus, GBH and Morbid Angel, bands that paved the way for many out there and shaped an entire scene. Following the previously released cover of Morbid Angel’s “Maze Of Torment“, Schizophrenia follows up today with their very own take on “Bullet” by punk rock icons Misfits. 

Vocalist & bassist Ricky Mandozzi on “Bullet”:

“Extreme Metal in its early conception has been deeply rooted in punk, giving to metal its rawness and shock value. Misfits and especially the song ‘Bullet’ is both shocking and very raw, a perfect example of punk influences in metal. Personally when I first listened to Bullet as a teenager it was like being struck by lightning. I always thought the music had a sort of eerie vibe and the lyrics were so gruesome they would perfectly fit in a death metal song. Perfect match for me! This is why when we eventually came up with the idea of recording a cover EP, ‘Bullet’ was one of the first that came to mind. By recording it I was finally able to give my own interpretation with vocals to a song that I never got tired of listening over the years. I tried to do it  my way, how I always felt it.

I hope you’ll have fun listening to this one as much as we did going back to some of our deepest roots“

Tracklist:

1. Necrophiliac (Slayer cover)
2. Maze Of Torment (Morbid Angel cover)
3. Metal Meltdown (Judas Priest cover)
4. Bullet (Misfits cover)
5. Strike Of The Beast (Exodus cover)
6. Race Against Time (GBH cover)

“Chants Of The Abyss” will be coming out on February 10th and is available for pre-order at THIS LOCATION

Schizophrenia live w/Warbringer and Evil Invaders:

24/03/2023 BE Aalst – Oilsjt Omploft
25/03/2023 DE Essen – Turock
26/03/2023 FR Colmar – Le Grillen
28/03/2023 DE Kassel – Goldgrube
29/03/2023 DE Mannheim – 7er Club
30/03/2023 DE Leipzig – Hellraiser
31/03/2023 DE Hamburg – BHF Pauli
01/04/2023 DK Copenhagen- BETA
02/04/2023 DE Berlin – Cassiopeia
03/04/2023 PL Warsaw – Hydrozagadka
04/04/2023 PL Krakow – Kamienna12
05/04/2023 DE Munich – Backstage Halle
06/04/2023 CZ Prague – Modra Vopice
07/04/2023 HU Budapest – Barba Negra
08/04/2023 CH Sursee – Kulturwerk 118
09/04/2023 AT Dornbirn – Schlachthaus
10/04/2023 AT Vienna – Viper Room
11/04/2023 CH Martigny – Cave Du Manoir
13/04/2023 FR Lyon – Rock n Eat
14/04/2023 FR Pau – L’Ampli
15/04/2023 ES Barcelona – La Nau
16/04/2023 ES Madrid – Nazca
17/04/2023 ES Mos Pontreveda – Sala Rebullón
18/04/2023 ES Granada – Sala El Tren
19/04/2023 ES Zaragoza – Sala Lo Intento
20/04/2023 FR Nantes – Le Ferrailleur
21/04/2023 FR Paris – Backstage By The Mill
22/04/2023 NL Arnhem – Willemeen
23/04/2023 NL Helmond – Cacaofabriek
24/04/2023 DE Hannover – Cafe Glocksee
30/04/2023 NL Rotterdam – Baroeg

SCHIZOPHRENIA is:
Ricky Mandozzi: Bass & vocals
Romeo Promos Promopoulos: Lead & rhythm guitar
Marty Van Kerckhoven: Lead & rhythm guitar
Lorenzo Vissol: Drums

Following their much-acclaimed debut album, Recollections Of The Insane (February 2022), Belgium’s deaththrash frontrunners SCHIZOPHRENIA have announced the release of a very special tribute EP! Chants Of The Abyss will be out on February 10, 2023, and features six blistering cover songs – from Slayer, Judas Priest, Mistfits to Exodus, GBH and Morbid Angel  – in SCHIZOPHRENIA manner.

“Playing covers has always been deeply rooted in Schizophrenia. Since the start of the band, we have always included one in our live set list to the point where we felt, time passing, that our adaptations were becoming more and more personal and original. At first, we wanted to include one in our full length, but it didn’t feel exactly right. That’s when slowly the idea of recording “Chants of the Abyss”, an entire cover EP, came about. Separating all originals and all covers.” The band states.

“However, doing covers yes, but simply copying them no. We wanted to emulate the feeling we had with those covers we did live. They had to feel personal and Schizophrenia in a way. There was no point in doing it if they couldn’t feel like our own also. It is exactly that way that we approach the whole EP and which we hope comes out from the recording. Have you ever heard a typical Morbid Angel like beatdown on a Judas Priest song? You might just now!”

Today, SCHIZOPHRENIA have premiered a first single and music video, as the band reveals:

“There shouldn’t be an introduction for this one. Nevertheless we present you, our take on one of the MOST influential death metal bands ever to be unleashed upon the masses. Maze Of Torment by Morbid Angel. The way they kept reinventing themselves is truly something we are aspiring to do so. Their sound was so different then any other death metal band out there.. so distinctive in the best way possible. This is our Homage To one of the greatest, ever. “

“The other important reason we decided to do an entire cover EP was to pay homage to the heritage and history of extreme metal. We wanted to shine light on the bands and songs that made history and created thrash metal. This is why we included songs from death and thrash metal pioneers like Slayer, Morbid Angel and Exodus, but it is also why we decided to record two punk songs from Misfits and GBH as well as a NWOBHM song, Judas Priest. Punk, hardcore punk and Heavy Metal are the essence of the music we play now.

We hope you will like the concept as a small treat we did to ourselves, as music fans above all, but also a small treat we did to the schizo fans! Dive into the different Chants from the Abyss of metal history!”

The pre-sale of Chants Of The Abyss has just started at THIS LOCATION!

Chants Of The Abyss track listing:

1. Necrophiliac (Slayer cover)
2. Maze Of Torment (Morbid Angel cover)
3. Metal Meltdown (Judas Priest cover)
4. Bullet (Misfits cover)
5. Strike Of The Beast (Exodus cover)
6. Race Against Time (GBH cover)

In support of their upcoming EP, the band will be playing an exclusive release show at Kavka in their hometown Antwerp, Belgium, on February 10, 2023, followed by an extensive European tour with WARBRINGER and EVIL INVADERS! Make sure to catch them live at the following dates:

24/03/2023 BE Aalst – Oilsjt Omploft
25/03/2023 DE Essen – Turock
26/03/2023 FR Colmar – Le Grillen
28/03/2023 DE Kassel – Goldgrube
29/03/2023 DE Mannheim – 7er Club
30/03/2023 DE Leipzig – Hellraiser
31/03/2023 DE Hamburg – BHF Pauli
01/04/2023 DK Copenhagen- BETA
02/04/2023 DE Berlin – Cassiopeia
03/04/2023 PL Warsaw – Hydrozagadka
04/04/2023 PL Krakow – Kamienna12
05/04/2023 DE Munich – Backstage Halle
06/04/2023 CZ Prague – Modra Vopice
07/04/2023 HU Budapest – Barba Negra
08/04/2023 CH Sursee – Kulturwerk 118
09/04/2023 AT Dornbirn – Schlachthaus
10/04/2023 AT Vienna – Viper Room
11/04/2023 CH Martigny – Cave Du Manoir
13/04/2023 FR Lyon – Rock n Eat
14/04/2023 FR Pau – L’Ampli
15/04/2023 ES Barcelona – La Nau
16/04/2023 ES Madrid – Nazca
17/04/2023 ES Mos Pontreveda – Sala Rebullón
18/04/2023 ES Granada – Sala El Tren
19/04/2023 ES Zaragoza – Sala Lo Intento
20/04/2023 FR Nantes – Le Ferrailleur
21/04/2023 FR Paris – Backstage By The Mill
22/04/2023 NL Arnhem – Willemeen
23/04/2023 NL Helmond – Cacaofabriek
24/04/2023 DE Hannover – Cafe Glocksee
30/04/2023 NL Rotterdam – Baroeg

SCHIZOPHRENIA is:
Ricky Mandozzi: Bass & vocals
Romeo Promos Promopoulos: Lead & rhythm guitar
Marty Van Kerckhoven: Lead & rhythm guitar
Lorenzo Vissol: Drums

Today, February 17th sees the release of “Recollections Of The Insane“, the highly anticipated debut album by Belgium’s up and coming Deathrashers SCHIZOPHRENIA. Featuring nine blistering tracks spanning over 43 minutes, the band’s first full-length is a relentless and highly energetic cocktail, blending the finest ingredients from the worlds of Death Metal and Thrash. Morbid Angel, Demolition Hammer, Slayer, early Sepultura, Dissection, Death, At The Gates, Obituary, Bolt Thrower, Pestilence…if any of these bands already gets you going, then imagine the best mixture of all of them combined with SCHIZOPHRENIA’s unique and fresh interpretation of Extreme Metal! In support of their upcoming album, the four-piece from Antwerp has released a brand new video clip for the track “Divine Immolation”.

Just exclusively premiered via Metal Injection, you can now watch the video here:

Ricky Mandozzi (vocals & bass) comments:
“It’s finally time to release the opening track of the album with a brand new video and yes, that’s a real burning man! The song tells a story of someone setting himself on fire so we wanted to represent this in the best possible way. It’s been really exciting to work with real fire and a stuntman who helped us to achieve this strong visuals, I hope our fans will enjoy this burning hot video clip!”

Guitarist Romeo Promos Promopoulos on “Divine Immolation”:

“This is one of the first songs where we started to incorporate the melodic side of Schizophrenia. With voices we rather suppressed that side. On Recollections of the Insane we wrote songs with elements we truly crave inside of us, and can’t ignore any longer. This just happens to be the perfect blend between melody and heaviness. Divine Immolation starts off slow and epic, but then drags you down to the darkest pits of lunacy. Do not mistake this for a breather in the first seconds. You’ll be surprised!“

“Recollections Of The Insane” drops this Thursday as an independent, DIY-release by SCHIZOPHRENIA, offering the perfect reflection of a band that is not afraid to take the harsh route. Despite various offers from worldwide, renowned record labels, it seems to be the right way for SCHIZOPHRENIA at this current moment and therefore offers the opportunity to present the most authentic version of themselves.

Furthermore, the band has not only released a new music video, but also the matching playthrough videos. Get into the full SCHIZOPHRENIA madness and watch the playthroughs below!

“Recollections Of The Insane” was produced by Francesco Paoli of Fleshgod Apocalypse and mixed/mastered at Y-PRODUCTION by Yarne Heylen and is available to purchase at THIS LOCATION

Romeo Promos Promopoulos (Guitar):
“Divine immolation is a good blend between melody and heavy riffing, starting off slow and epic but then dragging you to the darkest depths of lunacy.”

Marty Van Kerckhoven (Guitar):
“The guitar playthrough of Divine Immolation – recorded at Project Zero Studio – offers a unique chance to directly get a closer look at the riffs and composition. It showcases a more intimate view of the identity of the song and the way the harmonies and solos are divided between Romeo and myself. In addition the playthrough shows how the diverse stylistic influences and different intricacies spread throughout the song. I was very pleased we decided to do a playthrough of Divine Immolation, since it’s definitely one of those songs that get me pumped up to play. I’ll always remember the melody of the chorus being stuck in my head for over a week after recording the playthrough.“

Lorenzo Vissol (Drums):
“Burning at 230 bpms, Divine Immolation is one of the fast tracks in the album. As such it allowed to integrate the technicity of Death Metal drumming to a rather Thrash Metal song. Opening up with a blast beat, it features lots of fast double bass and tricky fast rolls jumping from cymbals to toms and snare. The middle section however, leaves space for some air before bouncing back full force. When composing the drums my main focus was to serve the music and leave space for the vocal line without ever overshowing the other instruments! Hope everyone will enjoy the song as much as the song is fun to play.“

Tracklist:

1. Divine Immolation
2. Cranial Disintegration
3. Sea of Sorrow
4. Monolith
5. Onwards to Fire
6. Souls of Retribution
7. Inside the Walls of Madness
8. Fall of the Damned
9. Stratified Realities

SCHIZOPHRENIA are:

Ricky Mandozzi: Bass & vocals
Romeo Promos Promopoulos: Lead & rhythm guitar
Marty Van Kerckhoven: Lead & rhythm guitar
Lorenzo Vissol: Drums

SCHIZOPHRENIA on tour w/ EVIL INVADERS:
02.04.2022 BE Antwerp – Trix
08.04.2022 NL Groningen – Simplon
09.04.2022 NL Haarlem – Patronaat
15.04.2022 NL Oss – Groene Engel
16.04.2022 NL Rotterdam – Baroeg

Almost two years after the successful and critically debut EP, Voices, that took the underground scene by storm with its relentless blend of high-adrenaline Death Metal and groovy mid-tempo elements, Belgium’s Deathrashers SCHIZOPHRENIA are gearing up for the release of the band’s highly anticipated debut album. Set for release on February 17th and with nine brand new tracks spanning over 43 minutes, “Recollections Of The Insane” picks up where its predecessor left off, with going even further in every aspect. In support of the new album, SCHIZOPHRENIA just unleashed a brand new visualizer video for the track “Inside The Walls of Madness”, streaming here:

Vocalist and bassist Ricky Mandozzi comments: 

“Inside the Walls of Madness is definitely one of my top 3 favorite songs on this record. It has all the elements Schizophrenia is all about. Chunky riffs, crushing drum beats and tempo changes that explode into a melodic chorus supported by relentless blast beats. This song is a journey throughout the mind of someone who’s believed to be insane and the atmosphere shifts from raging moments into more dramatic sides. I hope our fans will enjoy this brand new track!“

“Recollections Of The Insane” was produced by Francesco Paoli of Fleshgod Apocalypse and mixed/mastered at Y-PRODUCTION by Yarne Heylen and is available for pre-order at THIS LOCATION

Tracklist:

1. Divine Immolation
2. Cranial Disintegration
3. Sea of Sorrow
4. Monolith
5. Onwards to Fire
6. Souls of Retribution
7. Inside the Walls of Madness
8. Fall of the Damned
9. Stratified Realities

SCHIZOPHRENIA on tour w/ EVIL INVADERS:

24.02.2022 DE Frankfurt – Nachtleben
25.02.2022 DE Bochum – Rockpalast
26.02.2022 DE Hamburg – Headcrash
27.02.2022 DE Hannover – Café Glocksee
28.02.2022 CZ Prague – Modra Vopice
01.03.2022 HU Budapest – Dürer Kert
03.03.2022 AT TBA
04.03.2022 CH Sursee – Kulturwerk 118
05.03.2022 CH Martigny – Les Caves Du Manoir
06.03.2022 IT Mantova – Arcitom
07.03.2022 FR Lyon – Rock ‘n’ Eat
09.03.2022 ES Barcelona – Sala Wolf
10.03.2022 ES Madrid – Sala Rockville
11.03.2022 ES Oviedo – Sala Gong
12.03.2022 ES Vigo – Sala Master
13.03.2022 ES Vitoria-Gasteiz, Urban Rock Concept
14.03.2022 FR Nantes – Ferrailleur
16.03.2022 FR Paris – Backstage
17.03.2022 FR Colmar – Le Grillen
18.03.2022 DE Cologne – MTC
19.03.2022 DE Berlin – Cassiopeia
20.03.2022 PL Danzig – Drizzly Grizzly
21.03.2022 PL Warsaw – Hydrozagadka
22.03.2022 PL Krakow – Klub Z
23.03.2022 DE Dresden – Chemiefabrik
24.03.2022 DE Munich – Backstage
25.03.2022 AT Vienna – Escape
26.03.2022 DE Stuttgart – Club Zentral
02.04.2022 BE Antwerp – Trix
08.04.2022 NL Groningen – Simplon
09.04.2022 NL Haarlem – Patronaat
15.04.2022 NL Oss – Groene Engel
16.04.2022 NL Rotterdam – Baroeg