SACREDEATH MURDER KILLER SINGLE

After presenting the Ep Guardians of Death “Which was among the best releases of 2023”, Sacredeath releases, through the partnership between Metal invasion, Europe, the single “Murder Killer”. The mixing and mastering was carried out by the production company Necro Music (Rio De Janiero) by the producers Gustavo Fernandes and A-lexx Martins, while the cover illustration was done by A=LEXX Martins. The band Sacredeath returns to its origins with influences from great bands such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Saxon, Blind Guardians, Iced Earth. The new single will be released on World Rock Day, July 12th, on all digital platforms. Check out the band's social media.. support the

 underground!!!! 

https://linktr.ee/sacredeath.metal

EMPEROR - PRO-SHOT VIDEO OF ENTIRE HELLFEST 2024 SHOW STREAMING

On June 28th, Emperor performed at Hellfest 2024 in Clisson, France. Pro-shot livestream video of the entire show, courtesy of ARTE Concert, can be viewed below.

Setlist:

"Into the Infinity of Thoughts"
"In the Wordless Chamber"
"Thus Spake the Nightspirit"
"The Loss and Curse of Reverence"
"With Strength I Burn"
"The Burning Shadows of Silence"
"I Am the Black Wizards"
"Inno A Satana"
"Ye Entrancemperium"




Earlier this year, Emperor legend Ihsahn released his new eponymous full-length studio offering via Candlelight Records. Daring to push the realms of creative expressionism even further with his eighth studio offering, Ihsahn's latest release comprises two melodically interlinked versions of the same album: one prog metal, one fully symphonic, both creating a cinematically influenced masterpiece.

Whilst his musical journey has been frequently revelatory, the masterful control of rhythm and movement displayed throughout 'Ihsahn' shows his work as a songwriter and composer at its most focused and self-assured. A gargantuan endeavour and one that Ihsahn professes to be one of the most complex projects he has ever undertaken, is a labyrinthine rabbit-hole of his own design, the scale of ambition immediately apparent. Wholly self-produced and scored over the course of three years, the metal version has been mixed by Jens Bogren, the orchestral version mixed by Joel Dollié and both versions were mastered by Tony Lindgren. Ihsahn freely admits that the process pushed him to his limits. It began, simply, with a piano.

Comments Ihsahn, “On average, I've been releasing a full-length album every second year since I was 16. And, you know, that has given me some opportunity to explore different options, so for my eighth full-length solo record, I thought, ‘okay, how can I do what I do best, but also raise the bar tenfold? At the heart of what I do is black metal, extreme distorted guitars and screaming, but since the earliest Emperor recordings you’ll hear the keyboard parts influenced by classic soundtracks by the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, John Carpenter and so on. So, I approached the writing with the intent to present the material in its full-blown metal expression, but also to arrange the orchestral parts in such a way that they would work independently. Somehow an attempt to write a soundtrack within the structures of the full production, allowing me to explore different, and sometimes contrasting, variations of essentially the same music. In the end I wrote all the music as a piano short-score and arranged it for a typical band ensemble and orchestra, accordingly, making sure everything interlocked.”

It’s that compositional core that allowed Ihsahn to build the two records from the ground up – a Herculean feat for the self-professed, self-taught musician, but it is perhaps that very absence of formal training that allowed him to throw out the rulebook and simply follow his instincts, and the time afforded by the pandemic created the natural gap required to so heavily invest himself in the project. As Ihsahn explains, that self-induced pressure came from a desire to keep his loyal fanbase and himself interested, which is not only the defining feature of his latest record, but it’s also the central characteristic of his entire solo career.

Order the new album here.



Tracklisting:

"Cervus Venator"
"The Promethean Spark"
"Pilgrimage To Oblivion"
"Twice Born"
"A Taste Of The Ambrosia"
"Anima Extraneae"
"Blood Trails To Love"
"Hubris And Blue Devils"
"The Distance Between Us"
"At The Heart Of All Things Broken"
"Sonata Profana"

"The Distance Between Us" video:

WOLFHEART SHARE OFFICIAL GUITAR AND DRUM PLAYTHROUGH VIDEOS FOR NEW "GRAVE" SINGLE

WOLFHEART SHARE OFFICIAL GUITAR AND DRUM PLAYTHROUGH VIDEOS FOR NEW "GRAVE" SINGLE





Finnish masters of melancholic brutality, Wolfheart, are gearing up for the release of their forthcoming seventh studio album, Draconian Darkness, which is due out on September 6 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM). They recently released the official music video for the first digital single, "Grave", which can be viewed below.








Mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen comments, "'Grave' was the first song that was written for the album and became the beacon that was leading the whole production of the album. Push the dark elements even further from the light to give maximum contrast to the melodies and huge choruses. From every album we have clear favourites for live songs and 'Grave' stands on the podium unchallenged!"

Pre-order Draconian Darkness in the physical format of your choice (CD-digipak, coloured vinyl), pre-save it on your favourite DSP or pre-order it digitally now, here.

The opus was recorded at Deep Noise Studios and produced, mixed and mastered by the band's long-time collaborator Saku Moilanen; its artwork was crafted by Nikos Stavridakis (VisionBlack).



Draconian Darkness tracklisting:

"Ancient Cold"
"Evenfall"
"Burning Sky"
"Death Leads The Way"
"Scion Of The Flame"
"Grave"
"Throne Of Bones"
"Trail By Fire"
"The Gale"

"Grave" video:



(Photo - Valtteri Hirvonen)

ALBUM REVIEW: Schizophrenia – Cavalera

The name Cavelera is royalty in extreme music circles. The brothers of Max and Iggor have been synonymous with extreme music from their frenetic early years as SEPULTURA, which put Brazil on the map for metal, and through their many subsequent projects over the decades. After rolling back the clocks to give 1985’s Bestial Devastation and 1986’s Morbid Visions a facelift with re-recordings and new artwork to boot under their CAVALERA moniker, now, with momentum on their side, the same job has been applied to SEPULTURA‘s second full-length album: 1987’s Schizophrenia.



1987’s original release marked a turning point for the development of thrash metal as Schizophrenia saw SEPULTURA fuse the frenetic energy of their European thrash counterparts with a death metal bite that would be replicated by bands in their droves in the decades ahead. And despite the vast development of death/thrash, championed by numerous bands from all four corners of the globe, Schizophrenia remains a timeless classic and that is clear as day on this re-recorded effort.


The likes of Escape To The Void wails and divebombs whilst Iggor beats his drumkit to within an inch of its life, the instrumental driven epic Inquisition Symphony benefits massively from the re-recording with extra emphasis added to the bass to make the track hit even harder, and From The Past Comes The Storms has a swagger and snarl that just begs for your head to bang. And it’s not just a simple case of remastering 1987’s classic, the 2024 re-recording features album closer Nightmares Of Delirium, a previously unheard track and the way in which it embeds itself into the record is remarkable, closing Schizophrenia with a thunderous bang.


Re-recordings of beloved classics can be a risky affair as the end product can not only tarnish the chosen record’s legacy but shake the hornet’s nest of a band’s loyal fanbase. Just like last year’s re-recordings, the production job applied to Schizophrenia is incredibly well done, helping the record enhance its thumping metal ferocity, especially with Max‘s vocals that sound immense from start to finish. The likes of To The Wall, with its hefty chugs, or the manically charged Septic Schizo sound absolutely phenomenal here and it showcases that the Cavalera brothers know exactly how to keep legacy fans happy whilst engaging the next generation of extreme metal fans.

At this point, there are not enough superlatives in the universe to describe just how influential the Cavalera brothers have been for extreme music. And with the re-recorded Schizophrenia, not only do the brothers pay homage to a record that helped put SEPULTURA on the map, but they have breathed new life into the record and it still sounds as viciously wicked as it first did 37 years ago.

Rating: 9/10



Schizophrenia is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

Like CAVALERA on Facebook.

INTRODUCING: Floya

FLOYA are the perfect band to open us all up to the spring and summer sounds. Lush and nostalgic synths, with bouncing rhythms and gorgeous vocals, they’re fast turning heads with their debut album Yume. An album stacked with athematic songs; we caught up with vocalist Phil Bayer about the record, playing live and continuing to explore their sound.



“What’s most important to us when we’re writing a song is, how does it make us feel? We’re trying to not look for anything intentionally, a lot of what we do just happens or it doesn’t, whatever feels right in that particular moment,” Phil explains about the songwriting process. “Speaking from a lyrical perspective, Wonders was the first track that changed my outlook on myself writing songs a lot. It was that massive shift in my mind that happened; I wanted to write about positivity and love while also trying to weave a certain consciousness of passing time in there. What I mean by that is; everyday life makes it hard to recognise that our days are ultimately numbered, so a lot of what we write about is conscious living, taking action now.”

Yume has found an instant audience, with the album feeling coherent and fluid, while each song stands proud in its own right. “We’re trying to control the outcome of what we write as much as possible, but we’re trying not to limit ourselves during these processes, so it’s always a bit of ‘expect the unexpected’,” Phil clarifies about the process of honing the album. “That notion is what keeps things interesting for us. Sometimes you want a song to go into a certain direction only to then see that your monkey brain thought of something entirely different,” he laughs. “Sometimes the results of that can be astounding.”


Avid listeners will note that while this is FLOYA’s debut album, the duo have been working towards the record for a while, dropping singles for several months. While it’s been a long time in the making, it’s allowed the vision of the band to really solidify. “It’s a lot like getting older, with every passing day, you can kind of condense what it is you want a little more. So, I’d say the vision of this project is still very much on par with how it felt to us right at the beginning, we just fleshed it out more as time passes.”

The live shows are another huge draw to FLOYA, with energetic performances that really enhance their music. “We love playing live so much, it’s priceless to feel people’s emotions and our own in these moments. It’s also always interesting to find out how much we change a given song in a live environment, that’s always an adventure,” Phil happily agrees. “We’re very happy about how the album turned out, it’s been a long and, at times, painful process, there’s so much of our personalities in there. We can’t wait to take this to the stage!”

As a band with a lively, bright sound, the synth element is a vital part of bringing in the vibe. However, what makes FLOYA stand apart from a purely synthwave or progressive band is that they can blend and break expectations. “Sometimes it might be nostalgic when we’re talking about analogue synth emulations, but sometimes our synths tend to be fully intentionally digital too,” he laughs. “I think what adds to that nostalgic feeling sometimes is Marv’s playing as its deeply rooted in the 80s and 90s with a modern twist to it.” The pull of old school sounds coupled with a contemporary approach and application has rooted FLOYA as a fresh sound in the music scene. Experimenting with sounds without being constricted means that FLOYA can play around with genre’s without feeling stuck. “What keeps us motivated long term is finding out how far we can take this mixture of rock and electronic music, you know? But I wouldn’t go and limit the possibilities of what FLOYA can sound like, as we want to artistically express ourselves as freely as possible.”

FLOYA’s approach music in the same way they seem to approach life. There’s a huge amount of positivity spun into Yume in the bittersweet moments. By actively choosing optimistic sound to channel life’s issues and conflicts makes for a encouraging soundtrack to life. “Absolutely! We focus a lot on the positive sides of life as it is very easy to find reasons to focus on the things that don’t work in our lives, you know? Focusing on what does work makes every day so much more enjoyable to us as people.”

Yume is out now via Arising Empire.

Like FLOYA on Facebook.

LAMB OF GOD'S MARK MORTON RELEASES GRITTY MEMOIR "DESOLATION: A HEAVY METAL MEMOIR"

For a band as extreme as Lamb Of God, mainstream success and touring the world to massive audiences was an almost surreal achievement. But for guitarist and lyricist Mark Morton, the triumph was dulled by the pain of addiction and loss.

In Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir (Hachette Books), Morton traces the highs and the lows of his career and personal life, revealing how the pressures of success and personal battles eventually came into conflict with his dedication to the creative process. Morton writes about the greatest personal tragedy of his life: the death of his newborn daughter, which plunged Morton further into hopelessness. Surrounded by bandmates living their wildest dreams, Morton wanted nothing more than to disappear, ingesting potentially lethal cocktails of drugs and alcohol on a daily basis.

And yet intertwined with self-destruction and harrowing heartbreak, there were moments of joy, self-acceptance, and incredible connection. Morton developed close relationships with his bandmates and crew members, sharing experiences that have made for some strange and hilarious tales. He also gained a greater sense of purpose through interactions with his fans, who remind him that his work reaches people on a deeply personal level.





“Initially, I started writing this book just to see if I could do it,” said Morton. “But as the writing process unfolded, it quickly took on much more meaning. Unpacking my story, I was able to observe events in my life with an objectivity that I hadn't experienced while I’d lived them in real time. Through a lens of hindsight and recovery, I made friends with my past and found value in my most difficult days. I hope that by offering my experiences, I can create a point of connection and commonality. There are a lot of fun stories in here and a few really sad ones. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to share them.”

Desolation is, at its core, about Morton's journey as a musician navigating self-doubt, anxiety, and the progressive disease of addiction, and ultimately finding relative serenity and gratitude.

“Mark Morton’s Desolation is one of the most remarkable rock memoirs I’ve ever read, and Hachette Books is thrilled to be his publisher,” said Ben Schafer, Executive Editor at Hachette Books. “Through its humility, candor, and strikingly unpretentious style, it delivers a life story that is simultaneously relatable and remarkable. The rise of Lamb of God, Mark’s surprisingly varied influences, and his personal highs and lows are all chronicled with such a disarming and rigorous honesty that readers of all sorts will be moved and inspired to create, to recover, to live in a state of gratitude.”

Buy from Amazon and all good book shops including Waterstones and Blackwell's (digital available today, hardback July 11).



Praise for Desolation:

“I’ve spent over half of my life crossing the globe with Mark Morton, and during that time he has been many things to me - bandmate, fellow roofer, drinking and drugging partner-in-crime, and even occasional drunken brawling opponent. Most importantly, he’s been my dear friend. But for almost a decade, I was thoroughly convinced I would find him dead in his tour bus bunk. This book tells those stories, but it is also the story of how I got my friend back. I don’t worry about him dying anymore, so read this and know that there is still hope, even when everything falls to pieces.” - D. Randall Blythe, author of Dark Days and singer of Lamb Of God

“As a Virginia native and as a music lover and as a former knockabout kid who loved to sneak out and head to Richmond, I found this searing, emotional, furiously raw and real memoir to be a REVELATION. Mark Morton peels back the layers of his soul and lays them bare. This is more than a memoir, it is a testament to the power of music and the love that it creates. Bravo!” - S.A. Cosby, bestselling author of All The Sinners Bleed and Razorblade Tears

LIVE REVIEW: Tool @ Resorts World Arena, Birmingham

If you were passing through Birmingham International on a Thursday night, you’d have no idea that proggy post-metal foursome TOOL were in town at the neighbouring Resorts World Arena. There’s young couples dressed to the nines at the bar; there’s denim-clad dads and copycat children at the merch desks; and there’s old-school grannies grooving their way to their seats. It’s not until the Californian’s iconic heptagram rises to the stage’s night sky as the lights go down that it’s abundantly clear it’s time to worship at the altar of messrs Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Danny Carey, and Justin Chancellor.



Until then though, fellow Californian’s NIGHT VERSES slip on stage as subtly as the soundscapes they create sound. Unlike the headliners to come, the trio of guitarist Nick DePirro, bassist Reilly Herrera, and drummer Aric Improta refuse to dabble in audiovisual psychedelics, staying in their same positions from opener Arrival all the way until closer No. 0 like professional stuck-in-the-mud players.

If it wasn’t for the incendiary theatrics of Improta — who’s time in FEVER 333 with livewire frontman Jason Aalon Butler has clearly paid off —you’d be forgiven for simply believing you’d been submerged into a pool of glimmering post-prog art-rock. It’s not that NIGHT VERSES aren’t captivating — their musical chemistry is contagious as they glide through dexterous rhythmic workouts with minimal effort, as if they’ve barely broke a sweat —, it’s simply that they fail to fill a stage built for bombast and pomp.

If you’ve been plugged into NIGHT VERSES for a while, you’ll find no deep cuts as they focus on this year’s Every Sound Has A Color In The Valley of Night. It’s these cuts, over 2018’s From The Gallery Of Sleep, that shine brightest: 8 Gates Of Pleasure’s post-metal heart beats with life thanks to its story-driven voice tracks, whilst Karma Wheel roars with a Tyrannosaurus-sized riff. It’s just a shame they don’t see off their set with the Chancellor-guesting Seance — it could’ve been just the trick to lift the support slot’s level up a notch.

Rating: 7/10Tool @ Resorts World Arena, Birmingham. Photo Credit: Scott Moran

Unlike NIGHT VERSES, TOOL need not worry about holding anybody’s attention. Despite being an entirely-seated show, the 13,000 or so in attendance stand to attention like soldiers on the frontline as soon as the lights go down, and Carey, Chancellor, Jones, and Keenan take to the stage. Opener Jambi’s throbbing riffs bubble and boil up like a witch’s cauldron, as Keenan stalks the upper decks of their two-tier stage set-up like a mischievous imp doing the devil’s business, before Chancellor’s groove-laden bass delays send their mind-altering music into overdrive, coalescing with the psychedelic visuals spread out across a stage-wide screen.Just one song in and TOOL have you eating out the palm of their hands.


Draped across every other seat is a signpost to stay away from your screens, unless you fancy an early night. Before TOOL take you on a hallucinogenic journey through space and time, Keenan takes to the mic for just one of two speeches. Egging on the crowd to be “less scouse, and more brummie” and cheer louder as he greets them, he then says it’s time to undertake a journey with them, and to stay off our phones – “if you can’t stay away from your phone for two hours, then you’ve got a problem” – and if we’re good, we’ll get to film the final song.

With the ground rules read out, TOOL dive into the deep blue pool of the titular track from 2019’s comeback album, Fear Inoculum. It’s the album their nearly 2-hour, 11-song set is built around, dropping a cut ritualistically every other song. It’s testament to TOOL’s musicianship that they can play just three songs – Fear Inoculum, Rosetta Stoned, and Pneuma – in thirty minutes, and not a single soul is sat back down. It says something to the worship TOOL receives from its audience that so many of their staples — Ænema, Forty Six & 2, Schism, The Pot to name a few — are missing tonight, yet every step through their catalogue is mesmerising and worthy of inclusion.Tool @ Resorts World Arena, Birmingham. Photo Credit: Scott Moran

Intolerance has the crowd buzzing along word-for-word like bees in a hive, as Keenan stomps across his mini-stages with the sheer force of an immovable object; the 13-minute monolith Descending drifts into a dreamy world of wonder that see’s audience members swaying to and fro, tapping out Carey’s percussion on their chests, and getting lost in its labyrinthic rhythms; and the seismic chorus of The Grudge brings act one to a close in climatic fashion.

Following a 12-minute intermission – where many spend it filling up their pints – it’s time for Carey’s spotlight-stealing super-solo as Chocolate Chip Trip takes on a new life, switching into a maze of modular synths. The lamest confetti cannon explosion you’ll ever witness, like a balloon whizzing away its helium, celebrates the culmination of Flood, before Invincible makes you feel exactly that.

Having earned Keenan’s approval, the arena becomes a sea of shiny screens, thousands capturing segments of the all-conquering closer Stinkfist. It’s the explosive end to the night – like the New Years Eve fireworks – that crowns yet another set that suggests TOOL are an otherworldly being capable of creating magic out of nothing every time they step on stage.

Rating: 9/10