The Norwegian psychedelic black metal band IN THE WOODS... released their latest wonderful album "Cease The Day", in 2018.
With “Cease the Day”, IN THE WOODS… continue to prove themselves as masters of whatever craft they choose to pursue.
IN THE WOODS... has always been one of those truly thrilling bands. I guess it's their unique way to take on black metal, well-aged and refined into something really thrilling, it's like a whiskey in a barrel that over time just gets better. Continuing to perfect their sound while ever expanding it in new directions, "Cease The Day" is a powerful and kaleidoscopic effort. A thunderous undercurrent of melodic riffing drives these songs forward, elements of doom, death, and progressive metal all coming together to form a cohesive whole.
Chilling ambiance, psychedelia, avant-garde, and deep soaring vocals ebb and flow to craft a unique sound that truly must be heard to be believed, all before crushing the listener with the band’s most extreme moments since their debut "Heart Of The Ages".
"Cease The Day" was recorded in Kristiansand, Norway and Brighton, England Sept 2017 - May 2018. Mixed and mastered at Studio Henosis, France by Frédéric Gervais. Artwork and layout by Dr.Winter / Teratogen
Today's tune "Empty Streets" is the sprawling opener of "Cease The Day", enjoy!
Hailing from Finland, CVLT OV THE SVN exposes you to Occult Murder Pop, music almost lethal. It keeps the listener in a tight grip of anxiety while embracing one with dark and twisted romantics.
The members of the band remain incognito, for they are musicians of renown in Finland. COTS combines black metal, pop and stoner rock with an aggressive touch.
That the style CVLT OV THE SVN obtain seems on paper to be completely unworkable, but the music on the new debut EP speaks for itself.
Take today's tune for example "Luna In The Sky Forever", heavy popish synth-infused beat sound, wheezy voice takes us through a journey about Luna. It's catchy and very melodic. A great balance between all the styles to create something unique.
Enjoy today's title tune from the new EP "Luna In The Sky Forever".
MANES is a bold, atmospheric and assertive Norweigan avantgarde metal band. Their latest album "Slow Motion Death Sequence" is a hybrid of genres and influences with a real sense of urgency to push the boundaries of progressive metal. It has elements of electronica, trip-hop and alternative rock/metal delivered with a tasteful subtle pop sensibility in places. Listen closely and you can also find sprinkles of jazz, confirming that MANES isn’t afraid to experiment and take risks. "Slow Motion Death Sequence" is layered in detail and sometimes cinematic in scope, with a pretentious and unhealthy portion of nihilism and darkness with its theme and concept.
MANES was formed in Trondheim, Norway, in 1992. Their music has gone through many stages of transformation and mutation up until today, but the core of the band has remained unchanged for over 16 years. The band has had a mantra of exploration and experimentation in their approach to songwriting, and is hard to define by limiting genres. Overall it can best be described as a bastardization of rock and electronica with influences from jazz, metal and more. Still, the focus lies on what goes in the ear. The music has been called both atmospheric and cinematic, often with climactic builds and layers of detail. It can be both emotional and oppressive, and more often than not; cloaked in discomforting darkness.
MANES can in many ways be called somewhat of an artistic collective, not adhering to the traditional band-concept, as collaborations have become a staple of their sound. Often resembling a borderless playground for its members, Manes seek to find some glimpse of magic in what they create outside of their more normal band ambitions.
The album also features guest vocals by Ana Carolina Ojeda (MOURNING SUN) and Anna Murphy(CELLAR DARLING).
The members of MANES has been, or is, a part of bands like ATROX, THE THIRD AND THE MORTAL, LETHE, DRONTHEIM, CHTON, CALCORDER among others.
MANES has chosen to first and foremost focus on studio work and the creative aspects of music and is selective and eclectic regarding live appearances. Nevertheless, up through the years MANES has played a few concerts with bands like ISIS, KATATONIA, THEATER OF TRAGEDY and more, and has played festivals like Brutal Assault, Inferno, Quart, Dark Bombastic Evening, Blastfest and Pstereo. MANES has also played alternative shows like a semi-acoustic show at an art vernissage and a live collaboration with the noise artists B Revolution, and appreciate the possibility to experiment in a concert setting.
On "Slow Motion Death Sequence", the avant-garde crew (Tor-Helge Cern Skei, viNd, Rune Hoemsnes, Torstein Parelius, and Asgeir Hatlen) teamed up with ATROX / DRONTHEIM collaborators Tom Engelsøy, Rune Folgerø and Tor Arne Helgesen.
Today's tune "Endetidstegn" (is Norwegian and translates as sign or signs of the end times) is their first-ever music video, and the first visual companion to their new record, “Slow Motion Death Sequence”. Directed by Guilherme Henriques, "Endetidstegn" presents a bleak window into a personal form of apocalypse, the inevitable demise handed down by the vengeful Gods of modern man, vice, alcohol, drugs… Elements of psychedelic electronica and trip-hop converge over crunching guitars and haunting male/female vocal harmonies to evoke one's own Slow Motion Death Sequence.
The Norweigan oddballs VULTURE INDUSTRIES is an excellent band to continue the little far-out choice we had yesterday.
A band that plays a surrealist brand of dark metal cabaret, heavy rock vistas bent and twisted into living entities embodying the width and breadth of human emotion.
The single "Deeper" 7″ features the new VULTURE INDUSTRIES single paired up with a live recording of "The Benevolent Pawn" from the venerable concert venue USF in Bergen. This exclusive single, released for the Strange Rain Tour, is strictly limited to 500 copies on green Danish vinyl, released via Dark Essence Records.
The tune has a spaghetti western vibe of Ennio Morricone and with a touch of Nick Cave. "Deeper" tells the story of man's insatiable greed for more, as symbolized by the miners digging all the way to Hell.
The front man Bjørnar says this about the formation of the track: “It was one of those scorching summer days of 2018. The grass in the fields had all turned the colour of old paper, and the sun, at its zenith, was mercilessly searing our skin. Thirsty, hungry, and with tongues swelling, we had just missed the ferry crossing and could taste our hopes turn to ashes in our mouths. Trying to remain calm, but steadily feeling the building pressure of desperation, as a boiler ready to blow, we waited in line. Then suddenly the one year old in the back seat broke the silence chanting AHUM, AHUM, AHUM, AHUM! Overcome by what felt like divine inspiration but might very well have been sent from the depths of Hell, I started drumming on the dashboard. DUM, DADADUM, DADADUM, DADADUMDADUMDADUM.”
Members:
Bjørnar Erevik Nilsen – vocals and keys
Eivind Huse – guitars and vocals
Øyvind Madsen – guitars
Kyrre Teigen – bass and vocals
Tor Helge Gjengedal – drums
Today's tune "Deeper", is taken from the 7" single, released April 23, 2019.
"Naiv" is another spectacular musical album release by the Hungarian eccentrics THY CATAFALQUE, the brainchild of Hungarian Tamás Kátai. "Naiv" is inspired by the “Naïve Art” movement.
One thing I love about Tamás Kátai, it's his ability to create innovative, interesting and very irresistible music. From his newly gained bag of lego, where the blocks contain diversion of genres like gothic rock, ambient, electronica, folklore, jazz, and funk amongst others, where all the pieces have wisely assembled together to create the musical landscape of well-working crossovers.
"Naiv" is just as unpredictable as his earlier works and demands to be listened to with full attention. That it can then be a sprawling story for someone who is unfamiliar with wilder textures, I can buy that, but I can almost promise that one can easily be sucked into the magical madness of the flow of rhythms with unknown and quite tricky instruments. It's a playful and very easily accessible record and still delivers on some good, old fashioned heavy riffs.
That album is a real adventure with many guests on various positions, like the vocalist Zoltán Kónya (GIRE) the progressive death metal band who appears on the album opener murderous blasting "A Bolyongás Ideje" spiced up with some psychedelia, like the unpredictable "Tsitsushka", that have many shifts from gothic metal to funk but still keep the focus also contains some fretless bass by Badó Réti (GIRE). The electronic intro in "A Valóság Kazamatái" takes one of the radar, until the heavy riffages take place in the middle eastern theme that this tune takes its path. The chamber rock piece "Számtalan Színek" where the guest musicians take the center with cello and creates a classical atmosphere. "Embersólyom" has a folkish touch with proggy flutes and some beautiful vocals from Martina Veronika Horváth (ex-NIBURTA, SALLYANNE, NULAH). She can also be heard on rocker "Napút" where she does an excellent job. "Vető" is eight minutes of old school avant-death metal, a heavy piece with some odd but pretty well-executed shifts. The extra bonus on the album is that all the lyrics are in the native Hungarian language. The album can feel complex and confusing but with some time and patience it will grow and the enjoyment will be much richer.
"Naiv" was released January 24 through Season Of Mist. Recorded, mixed and mastered in 2018-2019 in Edinburgh (United Kingdom) Makó, Budapest, Debrecen, Szentendre, Szombathely (Hungary) and Athens (Greece). Cover art: Irene Saíz Guerrero
Sum: "Naiv" is a magical album, requires some time with full attention, but with a little patience comes the rewarded.
Today's tune "Embersólyom" is taken from the ninth full-length album "Naiv", enjoy!
"Humble Stance" is a tune by the Canadian progressive rock band SAGA. Taken from the first studio album and was originally released 8 April 1978.
SAGA was are from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Jim Crichton and Welsh-born vocalist Michael Sadler were the principal songwriters. The band had numerous line-up changes over the years. Ian and Jim Crichton were the only two original members who appeared on every album. Sadler appeared on every release, apart from the 2009 album "The Human Condition". Keyboardist Jim Gilmour was with the band from 1979, making his debut on the album "Silent Knight". Drummer Steve Negus performed with SAGA until 1986. The lineup was supplemented by many session musicians and live performers from the late 1980s to the late 2000s.
SAGA have been awarded gold and platinum albums worldwide and have sold more than eight million albums.
"Humble Stance" is one of only few songs on which Michael Sadler plays bass guitar, while Jim Crichton plays keyboard chords. As it is a regular part of the live setlis - unlike "It's Time" or "No Stranger", which also feature the same constellation - fans usually know that SAGA are going to start playing "Humble Stance" as soon as Sadler takes over Jim's bass guitar.
2017 marked SAGA's 40th anniversary. The band that has combined hard rock, progressive rock and pop like no other celebrated their anniversary with a tour around the globe, saying thank you and farewell to the fans… for now. Now, one year later, the exciting live recording "So Good So Far - Live At Rock Of Ages" sees its release. SAGA's performance video for the song "Humble Stance" can be seen below.
Featuring the most iconic of songs that SAGA has been known and loved for by fans for more than 40 years, "So Good So Far" delivers the epitome of the band's long and proud history — all recorded at the Rock Of Ages festival in Seebronn, Germany in 2017 on both audio and video. SAGA, the headliner of the evening played, an energetic one-and-a-half-hour set in front of thousands of festival goers, featuring the best of 21 SAGA studio albums with classics such as "On The Loose", "Humble Stance", "Wind Him Up" and "Don't Be Late".
SAGA has a very special history with the legendary Rock Of Ages festival in Seebronn, Germany. Founder Horst Franz invited us to perform for the very first one in 2006! Fast forward to 2017 — SAGA returns to the coveted Saturday night stage by special request, celebrating the band's 40th anniversary with our 'Final Chapter' tour".
Today's tune "Humble Stance" taken from the first self titled studio album. But I have picked the live version from "In Transit" for today. This clip is filmed live at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany, December, 1981.
This clip is taken from the live album "So Good So Far - Live At Rock Of Ages", filmed live at ROCK OF AGES festival in Seebronn, Germany 2017.
Upcoming Tourdates:
Feb 18, 2020 - Copenhagen - Denmark - Amager Bio
Feb 19, 2020 - Aarhus - Denmark - Train
Feb 20, 2020 - Copenhagen - Denmark - Amager Bio SOLD OUT
Feb 21, 2020 - Gothenburg - Tradgarn
Feb 23, 2020 - Oslo - Norway - Rockefeller Feb 24, 2020 - Stockholm - Sweden - Bern's
Feb 25, 2020 - Hamburg - Germany - Grosse Freiheit36
Feb 26, 2020 - Berlin - Germany - Metropol
Feb 27, 2020 - Karlsruhe - Germany - Tollhaus
Feb 29, 2020 - Pratteln - Switzerland - Z7
March 1, 2020 - Stuttgart - Germany - Im Wizemann (Halle)
March 3, 2020 - Oberhausen - Germany - Turbinenhalle T2
March 5, 2020 - Suhl - Germany - Congress Centrum Suhl
March 6, 2020 - Neuruppin - Germany - Kulterhaus Stadtgarten Neuruppin
March 7, 2020 - BitBurg - Germany - Stadhalle
March 8, 2020 - Hannover - Germany - Capitol
March 9, 2020 - Neu-Isenbur - Germany - Hugenottenhalle
March 11, 2020 - Saarbrucken - Germany - E Werk
March 13, 2020 - Zoetermeer - Netherlands - Boerderij SOLD OUT
March 14, 2020 - Enschede - Netherlands - Metropool
March 15, 2020 - Wetzlar - Germany - Event Werkstatt SOLD OUT
March 27 - April 1, 2020 - Cruise to the Edge - Pearl, Miami, Florida USA
June 5, 2020 - Sölvesborg, Sweden Rock Festival
June 7, 2020 - Bassum - Germany - Open Air
June 20, 2020 - Ulm - Germany - Ulmer Zelt
June 21, 2020 - Munich - Germany - Olympiahalle - with FOREIGNER & The New Roses
June 23, 2020 - Würzburg - Germany - Posthalle
Jun 26, 2020 - Neuleiningen - Germany - Burgensommer
June 27, 2020 - Mönchengladbach - Germany - Red Box
July 17, 2020 - Bronnoysund - Norway - Rootsfestivalen
July 18, 2020 - Spalt - Germany - Lieder Am See (with Deep Purple & The Hooters)
July 20, 2020 - Freiburg -Germany Zelt Musik Festival
July 21, 2020 - Tuttlingen -Germany - Honbergsommer
July 22, 2020. - Koblenz - Germany - Festung Ehrenbreitstein
PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS is a progressive/art-rock band based in Los Angeles group featuring the talents of the current & former SPOCK'S BEARD members Ted Leonard, Jimmy Keegan & Dave Meros as well as long-time contributing songwriter-producer John Boegehold. The band recently signed to InsideOut Music for the release of their self-titled debut album on July 5th, 2019.
With the band obviously being closely associated with SPOCK'S BEARD, John was conscious of exploring different avenues with PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS, whether it was song structures, vocal arrangements, synth sounds or emotional textures.
“Pattern-Seeking Animals was a clean slate so I found myself drawing on a few different musical influences and using some contemporary production ideas and sounds that I probably wouldn’t use with SB for various reasons.”
As the project came together it quickly became apparent that they would want to take this material out live: “Originally it was intended to be a recording project but as it was coming together we started talking seriously about doing it as a live band. Because of the complexity of a lot of the material, it’ll require an additional musician or two to pull it off live. The plan is to tour as much as possible and to come out with a new album at least once a year. In fact, work on the second album is already well under way.”
Today's tune "No Burden Left To Carry" taken from the album PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS self-titled album, released July 5th, 2019.
When THE NEAL MORSE BAND released their acclaimed "The Similitude Of A Dream" album (a progressive rock retelling of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress) back in 2016, it began a journey of epic proportions, with the companion piece The Great Adventure arriving in 2019. The band embarked on a worldwide tour in early 2019 & it was in Brno, Czech Republic that the band chose to film "The Great Adventour" 2019 - LIVE IN BRNO, the definitive record of the tour, as George explains:
“This was our first time playing there and this venue had a different look and vibe: the audience also turned out to be very energetic. They loved it!”
As Randy George explains: “After the Similitude tour, expectations were really high, and we had more people coming to these shows than ever before. People were really excited to see it, so we had to make sure that we delivered.”
Performing "The Great Adventure" flawlessly and in its entirety 47 times in 2019, Neal Morse (vocals, keyboards and guitars), Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals and audience cheerleading), Randy George (bass), Bill Hubauer (keyboards and vocals) and Eric Gillette (guitars and vocals) brought audiences to their feet night after exhilarating night: “The tour delivered every night. We never got tired of playing it, and it always paid off”, says George.
"The Great Adventour 2019 - LIVE IN BRNO" shows THE NEAL MORSE BAND at the very height of their powers: extraordinary, passionate, intense and intricate rock music played to perfection by five masters of their craft, backed by dramatic video illustrations by Christian Rios. Available as a 2BluRay+2CD sets, the first disc contains the show and the encore, while the second features exclusive bonus material, including two documentaries that track the US and European legs of the tour, as well as four official videos from the album release. No Vinyl is planned yet, set to release on 06.03.2020
Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Bill Hubauer & Eric Gillette
Neal Morse (born August 2, 1960) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and progressive rock composer based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1992, he formed the progressive rock band SPOCKS BEARD with his brother Alan and released an album which was moderately successful. In 1999, he joined former DREAM THEATER co-founder Mike Portnoy, FLOWER KINGS Roine Stolt and MARILLIONs Pete Trewavas to form the super-group TRANSATLANTIC. In 2002, Neal Morse became a born again Christian, left SPOCKS BEARD and began a Christian rock solo career, releasing many progressive rock concept albums about his new religious faith. In the meantime, he continued to play with TRANSATLANTIC and formed three new bands with Portnoy, YELLOW MATTER CUSTARD, FLYING COLORS, and THE NEAL MORSE BAND.
Today's tune "Dark Melody" is taken from the upcoming album, enjoy!
Yesterday did the American country rock man Sturgill Simpson visit Stockholm and Sweden for a show at Vasateatern. A friend and I were there at this small and cozy place with an audience of 900 souls (sold out), he entertained us for approx 130 minutes and played 21 tunes, check the setlist below.
The 41-year-old from Kentucky has certainly never known himself as a traditionalist, on the contrary. His as wide-eyed as the intrinsic view of what is usually called Americana is a big part of the point of what he does, and the reason why he now has such a large audience. I really like that he dear to take out some wideness in his creation around the typical Americana that most artists work around these days. When he released his fourth studio album "Sound & Fury" on September 27th, 2019 he got very mixed reviews from good to bad. Yes, it's different, it's very distorted, guitar-wise but the tunes are pretty cool. Check out today's tune and you get the drift.
So about the show. The first part of the concert was dedicated to the material of his latest release, from the first to the last tune. It sounded really good live, got a bit more of everything, the sound was really good next to FOH (Sound Guy position). The second part, as he referred it to the old shit! Were the older tunes, taken from his previous three albums, all tunes rocked marvelous live. Sturgill Simpson is a brilliant songwriter, an excellent guitar player, and a very sensitive singer. Some great tunes were played along with some well-made covers of WHEN IN ROME and Willie Nelson.
The only bad thing I can say about this show is the light on the stage. It was red, all the time, I mean, nothing else besides the color RED. Pretty boring to hear good music in red. The lighting guy on the tour has to have the most boring, non-creative tour ever, haha.
Sturgill Simpson still have a few European dates, go and see it if you can. Later on, he and Tyler Childers are teaming up for the US leg of the "A Good Look’n Tour". The tour begins February 21 in Birmingham, AL and concludes May 24 in Louisville, KY, see all the dates below.
A picture from the show at Vasateatern.
Setlist from the evening.
1. Ronin
2. Remember to breathe
3. Sing along
4. A good look
5. Make art not friends
6. Best clockmaker on Mars
7. All said and done
8. Last man standing
9. Mercury in Retrograde
10. Fastest horse in town
11. The promise (When In Rome-cover)
12. Brace for impact (live a little)
13. Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)
14. It Ain’t all flowers
15. Breakers roar
16. I’d have to be crazy (Willie Nelson-cover)
17. Some days
18. Turtles all the way down
19. Oh Sarah
20. Just let go
21. Call to arms
Today's tune "Sing Along" taken from the latest album "Sound & Fury".
The video clip is an animated one, written and directed by Jumpei Mizusaki. Character Designer Takashi Okazaki.
Upcoming Tour:
A GOOD LOOK'N TOUR
JAN 24, 2020 COLUMBIA THEATER BERLIN, GERMANY
JAN 25, 2020 MELKWEG AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
JAN 26, 2020 GRUENSPAN HAMBURG, GERMANY
JAN 28, 2020 O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
JAN 29, 2020 O2 RITZ MANCHESTER MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM
JAN 31, 2020 OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM
FEB 1, 2020 VICAR STREET DUBLIN, IRELAND
FEB 21, 2020 LEGACY ARENA AT THE BJCC BIRMINGHAM, AL
FEB 22, 2020 U.S. CELLULAR CENTER ASHEVILLE, NC
FEB 23, 2020 U.S. CELLULAR CENTER ASHEVILLE, NC
FEB 25, 2020 KNOXVILLE CIVIC COLISEUM KNOXVILLE, TN
FEB 26, 2020 KNOXVILLE CIVIC COLISEUM KNOXVILLE, TN
FEB 28, 2020 RUPP ARENA LEXINGTON, KY
FEB 29, 2020 MASONIC TEMPLE DETROIT, MI
MAR 1, 2020 MASONIC TEMPLE DETROIT, MI
MAR 4, 2020 PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER PITTSBURGH, PA
MAR 6, 2020 SPECTRUM CENTER CHARLOTTE, NC
MAR 7, 2020 INFINITE ENERGY CENTER ATLANTA, GA
MAR 10, 2020 NORTH CHARLESTON COLISEUM NORTH CHARLESTON, SC
MAR 13, 2020 HAMPTON COLISEUM HAMPTON, VA
MAR 14, 2020 THE MET PHILADELPHIA, PA
MAR 15, 2020 THE ANTHEM WASHINGTON, DC
MAR 16, 2020 THE ANTHEM WASHINGTON, DC
MAR 18, 2020 COCA-COLA COLISEUM TORONTO, ON
MAR 20, 2020 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH
MAR 21, 2020 CHAIFETZ ARENA ST. LOUIS, MO
MAR 22, 2020 LANDERS CENTER SOUTHAVEN, MS
MAR 27, 2020 AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER DALLAS, TX
MAR 28, 2020 FRANK ERWIN CENTER AUSTIN, TX
MAR 29, 2020 SMART FINANCIAL CENTRE SUGAR LAND, TX
APR 1, 2020 SILVERSTEIN EYE CENTERS ARENA INDEPENDENCE, MO
APR 3, 2020 UNITED CENTER CHICAGO, IL
APR 4, 2020 THE ARMORY MINNEAPOLIS, MN
APR 5, 2020 THE ARMORY MINNEAPOLIS, MN
APR 9, 2020 BAXTER ARENA OMAHA, NE
APR 10, 2020 ALLIANT ENERGY CENTER MADISON, WI
APR 23, 2020 BOK CENTER TULSA, OK
APR 25, 2020 PEPSI CENTER DENVER, CO
APR 28, 2020 MAVERIK CENTER SALT LAKE CITY, UT
APR 29, 2020 ADAMS CENTER MISSOULA, MT
MAY 1, 2020 VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM PORTLAND, OR
MAY 2, 2020 THE GORGE AMPHITHEATRE GEORGE, WA
MAY 5, 2020 BILL GRAHAM CIVIC AUDITORIUM SAN FRANCISCO, CA
MAY 6, 2020 BILL GRAHAM CIVIC AUDITORIUM SAN FRANCISCO, CA
MAY 8, 2020 THE FORUM INGLEWOOD, CA
MAY 15, 2020 TD GARDEN BOSTON, MA
MAY 16, 2020 MADISON SQUARE GARDEN NEW YORK, NY
MAY 21, 2020 BRIDGESTONE ARENA NASHVILLE, TN
TICKETS
MAY 22, 2020 BRIDGESTONE ARENA NASHVILLE, TN
MAY 24, 2020 KFC YUM! CENTER LOUISVILLE, KY
Melbourne psych-rock trio BURIED FEATHER did release their highly anticipated third studio album "Cloudberry Dreamshake" at the end of last year.
After a busy 2018 which saw the band reissue their self-titled debut album and tour Europe for the first time, BURIED FEATHER latest album is drawing on a love of late 60s British psychedelia. The album is the follow up to 2017's fuzz-rocking "Mind Of The Swarm", which saw the band sign with German stoner label Kozmik Artifactz.
With a sound built on a fuzzy drone and swirling keyboards, turbulent psychedelia with walking basslines and ear-worming hooks.
Look at that beauty! Plated & pressed on heavy high performance vinyl by Pallas Group in Germany
- deluxe 300gsm gatefold cover
- special vinyl mastering
Today's tune "Nuclear Suzi" taken from "Cloudberry Dreamshake".
The heavy metal/Nwobhm SEVEN SISTER arrived 2016 with big steps and a thunderous debut, an album that I did like a lot, got many hrs of playtime until it ended up in the record shelf. A little now and then it gets aired and gets a lap on the turntable. Their self-titled debut album sold out of the first pressing of physical copies in just three weeks. With the all-important second album brewing, SEVEN SISTERs promises not to just copy the template laid down by the fathers of heavy metal, but to mold their own and usher in a new era.
With their sophomore effort "The Cauldron And The Cross" released in 2018 a release that I somehow totally missed, could be that they changed record label to Dissonance Productions that it just passed by unseen in the flood of new records. They have pretty recently released a split single together with the US heavy metal band HAUNT and when I tuned in to check it out I notice, got damn, they released an album 2018 that I haven't heard ...whoah so cool and in the same time, I feel a little ashamed that I missed this one, but hey I'm just human.
"The Cauldron And The Cross" is much like their 2016 debut, SEVEN SISTERS’ second album offers a grandiose take on traditional metal with ambitious songwriting. Just take today's tune "Once And Future King" where the tempo is high and energy scintillates, galloping twin guitars metal in the best possible way, really addictive.
Members:
Kyle McNeill – Vocals/Guitar
Graeme Farmer – Guitar
Javi Rute – Bass
Steve Loftin – Drums
Today's tune "Once And Future King" taken the second album "The Cauldron And The Cross".
Monday new week, time to introduce "Record Of The Week".
Then it was time for a record that has been on my shopping list for about half a year, a brave attempt was made last fall but unfortunately got the answer after a long wait, it was out of stock. But now it is finally on its way and hopes it rolls in nicely next week. I'm talking about the Portland, Oregon based five-piece Goth rockers IDLE HANDS latest release "Mana", I record that I have been played on Spotify a lot during a long time and have been starting to write a review, but you know how things can be, easily left aside for something else that's hot in mind.
IDLE HANDS was formed 2017 by the main man Gabriel Franco (vocals), after leaving his former band SPELLCASTER, IDLE HANDS plays an interesting mix of Goth Rock and Heavy Metal, It's like a lovely mix of THE MISSION, THE CURE, and IRON MAIDEN. The Gothic aesthetics have been enjoying a glorious comeback in the world of rock music and metal.
"Mana" is a very well made album, catchy tunes that get stuck right on the forehead like a piece of Gaffa tape. The album contains many excellent tunes, like the killer opening track "Nightfall" which sets the barrier for the rest of the album already after a few winks. The tune is a catchy piece about the ghouls lurking in the night during the Devils time. Gabriel Franco's vocals are just brilliant and very charming, resolute and leading throughout the record. The musicians Sebastian Silva doing a great job on the guitar together with Franco. Brandon Hill on the bass keeps a steady and well-executed bassline and works well with the drummer Colin Vranizan who plays catchy and tight. Thundering guitars open up "Cosmic Overdrive", another upbeat piece with exciting fills a little here and there that makes this tune a remembered one. Same goes with the upbeat tune "Give Me To The Night", heavy guitars and a catchy chorus. Regarding the catchy tunes, there is serval like "Blade And The Will", the suicide piece "Double Negative" or the dreamy "Dragon, Why Do You Cry", what do you dream about? I dream about Dragons! "Don’t Waste Your Time" is a downtempo tune with a nice harmony with an accelerating end. "It’ll Be Over Before You Know It" its a slow and stripped down piece that shows the emotional side of the band, beautiful guitar work. "A Single Solemn Rose" is another great tune that flows forward in a great tempo and states that you should be careful what you wish for, you never know if it will come true. The album closes with title tune "Mana", a personal piece rounds this superb debut. Excellent compositions that feel very natural and partly really epic at times and if I would have own the psychical album when the year was summarized this would be the best debut of 2019. The future looks really bright for this band and I'm really looking forward to the next release.
Sum: "Mana" is a really exciting and impressive debut.
Line-up
Gabriel Franco – Vocals/Guitar
Sebastian Silva – Guitar
Brandon Hill – Bass
Colin Vranizan – Drums
Today's tune "A Single Solemn Rose" is taken from "Mana", enjoy!
"Queen Of The Masquerade" is a tune taken from the eponymous debut studio album by Florida heavy metal band CRIMSON GLORY, released in 1986 via Par Records. Later licensed by Roadrunner Records.
CRIMSON GLORY was formed in 1979 under the name PIERCED ARROW (later changed to BEOWULF). Their current line-up features long-time guitarists Jon Drenning and Ben Jackson, bassist Jeff Lords, and drummer Dana Burnell. The band formed in Sarasota, Florida. As a pioneer of the American progressive metal movement, CRIMSON GLORY rose to international fame in the 1980s and was ranked as one of the early "flagship bands of progressive metal" along with QUEENSRYCHE, DREAM THEATER, FATES WARNING, and WATCHTOWER, who were responsible for creating and developing that genre. CRIMSON GLORY has released four studio albums and one EP. They broke up in 1992, but reunited six years later. For a short period before they parted way again.
Midnight - lead vocals
Jon Drenning - lead guitar
Ben Jackson - rhythm guitar
Jeff Lords - bass guitar
Dana Burnell - drums
Sadly the former singer Midnight passed away on July 8, 2009. In memory of their fallen friend and bandmate, Midnight, the band played a tribute show, headlining 2009's ProgPower in Atlanta, Georgia. The show featured many special guest vocalists, including Lance King from PYRAMAZE, Nils K. Rue from PAGANs MIND, Chris Salinas from ZERO HOUR, Ronny Monroe from METAL CHURCH, Andy Franck from BRAINSTORM, Sean Peck from CAGE, Danilo Herbert from MINDFLOW, Joakim Brodén from SABATON, Michael Eriksen from CIRCUS MAXIMUS, Rob Rock, Mark Boals from ROYAL HUNT, Clay Barton from SUSPYRE, Kelly Sundown from BEYOND TWILIGHT and their former vocalist, David Van Landing. A few weeks prior to the show, JON OLIVAS PAIN guitarist, Matt LaPorte, introduced Todd La Torre to the band and he was added as a guest vocalist at ProgPower X. In May 2010, the band formally announced Todd La Torre as their new singer until May 2012, when La Torre joined four members of QUEENSRYCHE as the singer for two shows under the moniker Rising West. La Torre has since joined QUEENSRYCHE as a full-time member and CRIMSON GLORY in hiatus.
Today's tune is filmed live in Bradenton, Florida, USA, 02.09.1989, enjoy!
RIOT CITY from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one of those young bands that represent the new face of Canadian metal. RIOT CITY's debut album "Burn The Night" is an amalgam of ripping and hot heavy metal, created in pure and youthful madness.
Leather, steel, and spikes are the signum for these guys and yes JUDAS PRIEST is the main influence. "Burn The Night" was released May 2019 on the classic Greek Heavy Metal label No Remorse Records. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Canada these rippers have been around since about 2011.
Music is pure traditional heavy metal from the early 80s. Dual guitars, screaming "Rob" vocals, intense drumming and cool bass licks that cover 40-minute ride of delicious heavy metal. Even the cover of the album has a "Screaming For Vengeance" inspired artwork.
Riot and fire by:
Cale Savy : Guitars & Vocals
Roldan Reimer : Guitars
Dustin Smith : Bass
Chad Vallier : Drums
Today's tune "In The Dark" is taken from the album "Burn The Night", enjoy!
The IRON GRIFFINs "Curse Of The Sky" is a really interesting Finish release in the old school and traditional heavy metal world of 2019.
MAUSOLEUM GATE drummer & multi-instrumentalist Oskari Räsänen goes on a throwback metal trip through time with the first IRON GRIFFIN classic metal project. He steps out and exploring the vast terrain of proto-metal with an added twist together with vocalist Maija Tiljander who really can sing, wailing her heart out on the tunes.
IRON GRIFFIN picks up some vibes of Pagan Altar and Black Sabbath with an obscure and choppy element of the traditional heavy metal. The sound is really old and the riffs are pretty basic, but I guess it is meant to be this way and I believe it won't play for everyone, but somehow I do like it.
Hailing from Germany, five-piece heavy metal outfit PULVER pretty recently released their first full-length album "Kings Under The Sand" via Gate Of Hell Records.
PULVER is a young and hungry bunch of guys that play freaking good metal. Even if the record is brand new, it immediately takes me back in time, I would say around the beginning of the '80s. The album "Kings Under The Sand" could easily enter the "Record Of The Week", dunno why it ended in the shadows, I guess I'm starting to get old and senile.
Anyway, the bombastic classic metal opener with "Phantom Hawk" is a real killer and the tunes that follow keeps the same quality even if they change the appearance and takes a different path during the run time of "Kings Under The Sand". You will get some JUDAS PRIEST style with galloping IRON MAIDEN harmonies a bit here and there and you get my drift about how good this is. I do recommend that you get this record asap. The album was released on May 10, 2019.
PULVER are:
Dave Fröhlich - Vocals
Lukas Kunkel - Guitar
Alex Oster- Guitar
Gabor Eichstätter - Bass
Danny Oster - Drums
Today's tune "Kings Under The Sand" is the title tune of PULVERs latest album, no official video, but you get the music so enjoy!
MIRROR is the musical brainchild of bassist and die-hard metal connoisseur Tas Danazoglou (ELECTRIC WIZARD, SATAN's WRATH).
The wild, hard-rocking heavy metal of the ‘70s and early ‘80s has been enjoying a resurgence of sorts in recent years as more and more bands yearn for musical days long gone. Most of that revival focuses on the more mystical side of that coin, with occult rock, love letters to BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and the ethereal leads of PAGAN ALTAR enjoying some success. There are some sparkling from the mighty ‘70s and particularly groups like SCORPIONS, RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE.
This Cyprus-based metal warrior MIRROR released its second album "Pyramid Of Terror" in June 28, 2019 on Bad Omen Records. The album is great, it’s not perfect, but enough fun during the time it gets loose for a spin. Utterly devoid of irony or nostalgia, "Pyramid Of Terror" is no less than a transmission straight from the heavy metal motherlode, and a glorious testimony to a spirit that will doubtless outlive us all.
MIRROR are:
Jimmy Mavromatis - Vocals
Tas Danazoglou - Bass (ELECTRIC WIZARD, SATAN's WRATH)
With yesterday's post, I got a taste of traditional heavy metal in the present time and simply decided that I will continue on the same track for the rest of the week and offer some new discoveries and maybe have something that interests you as a reader.
So first out is one of the finest in Heavy Metal / Hard Rock from Helsinki, FINLAND!
ANGEL SWORD worships the heavy metal gods of old, fallen into slumber decades ago and now angered by the polished plastic sound of modern metal. Prepare for a skull-crushing, vomit-inducing dose of real heavy metal!
Hard and heavy rockers of the finest caliber, is what to expect on their second full-length album titled "Neon City". Further honing their expert songcraft shown on their sold-out first album, "Rebels Beyond The Pale", the new album is packed to the brim with catchy as sin riffs and melodies, powerful and sincere vocals, and 8 songs telling woefully triumphant tales of surviving in this cold, "Neon City". The album was released on November 16, 2019, on green cassettes, limited to 100 copies, and 500 copies on CD. Hopefully, a Vinyl version will be released soon.
ANGEL SWORD are:
Jerry Razors - Vocals, Guitars
Lightning Mike - Guitars, backing vocals
Eviltaker - Bass
St. Peter - Drums, backing vocals
Today's tune "Hardliner" is taken from "Neon City", enjoy!
Monday, a new week and it's time for "Record Of The Week".
Through mists of time, and beyond the dungeons deep, Legendry has sought the secrets of steel. With swords raised, honoring such heroes as MANILLA ROAD, CIRITH UNGOL and WARLORD and delving into the progressive wizardry of KING CRIMSON, URIAH HEEP and JETHRO TULL, LEGENDRY doth heed the call to heavy metal adventure.
The Heavy Metal outfit LEGENDRY was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2015 by Mastermind Vidarr on Guitars (electric, 6 and 12 string acoustic), Vocals, Mandolin, Mellotron, Swords ;), Evil St. Clair - Bass, Backing Vocals, Battle Axes ;) and Kicker on Drums, Percussion, Necromancy haha, just wonderful.
The third full-length concept album "The Wizard And The Tower Keep", telling the tale of the Warrior with No Name as he battles the evil wizard, Vael, atop the Tower Keep in a dimension of arcane magick and great savagery. The album is based on the novelette, The Wizard and the Tower Keep, by D. R. Lackner. The excellent cover is a painting by Vidarr.
LEGENDRYs traditional 80s metal and classic prog influences make "The Wizard And The Tower Keep" a very enjoyable and fun record to play and if I would have own this before the new year I could say that this one could have reached pretty high on the best album list 2019 as it is easily one of the best heavy metal albums 2019. The album was released on November 1, 2019.
"The Wizard And The Tower Keep" is an album that wavering among their influences from the folkish intro in the opening tune "The Bard’s Tale" to the proggish "Sorcery’s Bane", NWOBHM influenced "Vindicator" is a fun blast of American power metal, to the harder, faster tunes like the shredding "The Lost Road" and the speed metal piece "Behind The Summoner’s Seal" to the epic eleven-minute closer "Earthwarrior", a tune that you for sure will get lost in. I suggest that you seek this up and let it enjoy you for 47 minutes, it will be worth every single minute.
Sum: An excellent heavy metal album released in 2019.
Today's tune "Vindicator" is taken from "The Wizard And The Tower Keep", enjoy!
