WINTER
will release album
'Fire Rider'
Following the latest official album "Pale Horse" from autumn 2021
as well as the re-release of the 'Best of' album "Looking Back"
from spring / summer 2022, the project WINTER releases
the next long-player "Fire Rider" with brand-new songs in October.
While "Pale Horse" was primarily based in the genre of gothic rock,
the new songs really hit the creative gas pedal
and surprise with an extremely gripping mixture
between the aforementioned goth sound
("Unholy Blood", "Into The Void" feat. Florian Grey)
and almost classic rock with the style of the 80s
as demonstrated by the title song "Fire Rider",
the proverbial "Children Of The 80s" as well as the first single "Pray".
A stylistic description of the mixture on the album
is the cover version of the Sister Of Mercy song "Under The Gun"
which even in its original version ranges between different genres.
Overall and in musical terms, "Fire Rider" is bolder
and occasionally slightly more aggressive than the previous album,
but also very catchy.
A prime example is the song "When All Is Said And Done"
which perfectly combines a wonderful 'Chris Isaak' vibe in the verses
and a rousing up-tempo rock sound in the chorus.
"Fire Rider" will be released on October 14th and will be available on CD, limited edition digipack CD, double vinyl and in digital form.
In addition, the double vinyl and limited edition CD feature
a special version of "Into The Void" with guest singer Florian Grey
plus another exclusive bonus track called "Shortcut To Your Heart"
on the vinyl edition.
LOST FROM THE START
return with single
'Lorem Ipsum'
‘Belgian rock has once again produced something delicious.’ - Dig The Gig
‘Unabashed Emo Rock.’ - DA Music
Belgian emo-rock juggernaut Lost From The Start return
with their 3rd release of 2022 with the stunning ‘Lorem Ipsum’.
the song was written after the first Covid lockdown in Belgium.
the band:
‘The song tries to capture the feeling of loneliness and emptiness that many people experienced during that time. It starts with a single guitar that represents this feeling and builds up to a climax.’
Following on from ‘Left in the Dark’ & ‘Through The Motions’
this track shows a much calmer side to the band
initially and really highlights them
for the accomplished musicians they are.
By utilising melodic guitar parts and catchy, yet thoughtful lyrics,
the band reaches out to everyone trying to find their way.
Hilde’s vocals range from haunting and beautiful
to strong and aggressive in 2 ½ minutes.
Taking you through many emotions with the passion in her voice.
Lost from the Start try through their music to address
heavy emotional and social topics.
the band explains:
‘As 30-something people we find ourselves in a different stage in life. We all have jobs and responsibilities. We also have a different, more realistic, look on the future. Things don’t always work out the way we want, that’s just life ... These everyday issues are processed in our music. We hope to reach and support others who feel the same way!’
Mixing inspiration from the bands they listened to back in the day
with more contemporary music they manage to create a unique fresh sound, distinctly Lost from the Start.
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line-up:
Hilde Vranken
Vocals
Seppe Dausi
Guitar
Ebe Vranken
Guitar
Robby Vanwetswinkel
Bass
Sebastiaan Clabots
Drums
LOST FROM THE START
return with single
'Lorem Ipsum'
The band has won themselves an army of fans
on the live circuit and played this year's Razernij festival.
Radio stations worldwide have been championing Lost From The Start
with live sessions for Radio Benelux
and winning Battle of the Fans
on UK station Voice FM’s Punk on the Rocks show.
With more music to come and shows on the horizon,
you can be sure you’ll be hearing a lot from Lost From The Start
in the near future.
line-up:
Hilde Vranken
Vocals
Seppe Dausi
Guitar
Ebe Vranken
Guitar
Robby Vanwetswinkel
Bass
Sebastiaan Clabots
Drums
THEM
will release in October
their new album 'Fear City'
Them will release on october the 28th 2022,
via steamhammer/spv their new album 'Fear City'.
it will be available as a cd digi pack
and as green/black vinyl LP with a printed inner sleeve.
By way of explanation:
New York City was often referred to as ‘Fear City’ in the early 1980s.
At that time, illegal prostitution, protection rackets and drug trafficking thrived in the city which was notorious for its high crime
and violence rates.
for international power metal band Them the perfect setting
for the continuation of their trilogy
surrounding main protagonist KK Fossor.
What was set in the 19th century on their first three album releases, ‘Sweet Hollow’ (2016), ‘Manor Of The Se7en Gables’ (2018)
and ‘Return To Hemmersmoor’ (2020), is continued on ‘Fear City’,
albeit with a 120-year time shift
and the descendants of the original characters.
Markus Ullrich,
the band’s German guitarist and creative mastermind explains:
“In a nutshell: KK Fossor is trying to find the descendant of the Witchhunter, who works as a televangelist under the name of Peter Thompson in 1981 New York.”
already there has been released one single/video ‘Welcome To Fear City’.
‘Retro 54’ is set to follow on 30 September 2022.
The third single/video, ‘Graffiti Park’, will probably be released simultaneously with the album or immediately afterwards.
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Track Listing:
01 Excito
02 Flight of the Concorde
03 Welcome To Fear City
04 Retro 54
05 An Ear For the Action
06 Graffiti Park
07 191st Street
08 Home Stretch
09 The Crossing of Hellgate Bridge
10 Death on the Downtown Metro
11 Stay Tuned…
12 A Most Violent Year
13 The Deconsecrated House of Sin
14 In the 11th Hour
THEM
will release in October
their new album 'Fear City'
This exciting mélange of horror and fantasy story is flanked
by the usual dynamic songs, a hybrid of raw metal riffs,
complex and frequently fast-paced grooves
and surprisingly catchy chorus parts.
Markus Ullrich:
“This is a special feature with Them: We play hard, technically accomplished guitar parts, combined with a solid basic toughness, yet we don’t just bark out the chorus, but sing it very melodically. Some songs on ‘Fear City’ are even heavier than expected, you could say: They really let rip! But our singer is fantastic and our songs make purposeful forays into a wide range of different stylistic directions.”
Ullrich is referring to typical Them numbers such as the opener
‘Flight Of The Concorde’, the above-mentioned first single
‘Welcome To Fear City’ and even a slightly slower track such as
‘The Crossing Of Hellgate Bridge’
with its wonderfully elegiacal atmosphere.
At the same time, ‘Fear City’ holds a number
of unexpected elements in store:
‘191st Street’ features classic progressive metal,
the verse on ‘Graffiti Park’ has a dark doom part,
‘The Deconsecrated House Of Sin’ starts with a classic black metal riff,
and ‘Death On The Downtown Metro’ surprises with blast beats.
Ullrich:
“I’m especially proud of the final track ‘In The 11th Hour’ with its atmospheric intro and sustained, epic doom metal vibe.”
Speaking of atmosphere:
As usual, ‘Fear City’ succeeds in transporting its listeners to a different, fictional world, in this case the year 1981.
...to continue, please go to the next side...
line-up:
KK Fossor
vocals
Markus Johansson
guitars
Markus Ullrich
guitars
Steve Bolognese
drums
Richie Seibel
keyboards
Alexander Palma
bass
pics are copyright Steamhammer/Them
THEM
will release in October
their new album 'Fear City'
“We’ve deliberately included keyboard sounds, little radio play snippets and cross-references to the 1980s,” explains Ullrich, who has first-rate musicians by his side, namely vocalist KK Fossor,
guitarist Markus Johansson (Sylencer, 4ARM), bassist Alexander Palma
and keyboardist Richie Seibel (Lanfear, Ivanhoe), and only had to enlist a new drummer in Steve Bolognese (ex-Witherfall, Into Eternity) due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic.
As on the previous albums, American sound mastermind Dave Otero was in charge of the mix
and drum recordings at his Flatline Audio studio in Denver, Colorado.
Last but not least comes the not entirely insignificant question:
Is the new concept album ‘Fear City’, like ‘Sweet Hollow’, the prelude to a story
that will be continued in several instalments?
Ullrich:
“Everything’s possible, nothing is carved in stone. The end of the story leaves lots of options. And that’s precisely what makes our new album so exciting right down to the very last note!”
band BLACK WIDOWS
have released single/video
'Schizo'
Portuguese all-female metal band Black Widows
released their third single and music video 'Schizo'
from their upcoming second studio album 'Among the Brave Ones'
which is set to be released on
October 21st 2022 via Finnish Inverse Records.
Vocalist/guitarist Rute Fevereiro comments:
"Schizo was chosen to be our third single. It's a more complex song that honestly represents well the darkest side of our album. This song is all about hypocrisy, the need of showing positive thinking and smiles regardless of what you're going through, to the extend of worsening our mental health. This song is specially focused on someone I used to know who is described in these lyrics. The music is the perfect marriage with the words professed. There are lots of clowns in the real world, showing smily faces and yet they feel miserable. I'm sure you all know someone like this."
Composed by Black Widows
Lyrics by Rute Fevereiro
Single cover
by Mónica Rodrigues
LILLI
released their second album
'Kintsugi'
Kintsugi (golden joinery) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted
or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.
Japanese aesthetics value the wear marks of the object caused
by its use and the repairs are highlighted as an art
rather than trying to mask them.
As a philosophy, kintsugi is embracing the flaws or imperfections
as part of the natural life cycle of the objects.
LILLI has been respecting the same philosophy
when working on their second album.
The songs are real life stories of broken lives
joined from pieces to an album.
The songs exude life with all its challenges and ups and downs.
None of us survives life without physical or mental dents,
but we have to learn to appreciate them in the sense
of a person's spiritual growth.
The group’s debut album was released in 2020,
so the band had time to work on the second album for almost two years.
Careful maturation has not been in vain,
as the end result is a tasteful, high-quality package.
The album contains massive arrangements and captivating stories.
The songs move musically on the borders of rock and metal music,
which creates a pleasant surprise in the content of the album
and carries the album brilliantly from the beginning intro
to the last song.
As a whole, the album's music is clearly more heavy in style
than the band's debut album, but definitely in a good way.
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track-list:
01. Repaired in gold (intro)
02. Demons
03. Dead tree
04. Manflake
05. Elude
06. Long way till monday
07. Always there
08. Limits of life
09. Dawn of the night
10. Back to life
11. Dark soul woman
LILLI
released their second album
'Kintsugi'
"We are very satisfied with our new album and during the production process we had the opportunity to work with several highly talented keyboard players, such as Akseli Kaasalainen (Dreamtale), Mikko Kujanpää (Memoremains), Antti Simonen (...and Oceans) ja Marko Karttunen. The visitors bring their own stylish fingerprint to the whole, which brought new drive and musical depth to the songs,"
says the band's bassist and studio chief Sami Halinen.
"Some of the stories on the album are quite brutal human destinies, such as the long journey from Friday to Monday caused by loneliness, or the hard work of the nurses and doctors,
especially during the last covid years",
the band's singer Lily Black continues.
Mixing: SN-Audio Productions, Sami Niittykoski
Mastering: Alho Audio Mastering, Jarno Alho
Cover art: Markus Koskinen
line-up:
Lily Black
Lead vocals
Teemu Harjunen
Lead guitar
Sami Halinen
Bass, keyboard and backing vocals
Petteri Rosenbom
Drums
Featuring keyboard artists:
Akseli Kaasalainen,
Marko Karttunen,
Mikko Kujanpää,
Antti Simonen
MY FUNERAL
will release new album
'Funeral Manifesto'
Dark Thrash Metal band MY FUNERAL releases new full length album.
Helsinki based thrash metal act My Funeral release
their long awaited fourth full length album on friday 7.10.2022.
Titled ”Funeral Manifesto”, the album delves thematically
deep into the mind - mental disorders, setbacks, but also victories in life.
The album will be released through Finnish record label Inverse Records.
Funeral Manifesto is a conceptual album,
in which can be heard a darker, more mature band than ever before.
The included tracks are the most ambitious and heavy to date,
and work has been done to deliver an ultimate creation.
Recording of the album took place at Electric Fox Studios in Vaajakoski, Finland, with producer Tuomas Kokko during the fall of 2021.
Funeral Manifesto is a declaration from the dark side of man.
Of how darkness takes over the very mind,
and how self-destruction and addictions feed it.
Other topics include hedonism, failure and one’s mortality.
The album as a whole can be seen as a philosophy of darkness
and acceptance of death.
track-list:
1. Primitive Evil
2. Suicidal Thrash
3. Darkness Walks Beside Me
4. When Darkness Eats
5. Nirvana of Negative
6. Confession
7. The Night Will Come
8. Twice Fallen Angel
9. No Regrets
10. The Uprise
THE THREE SUM
has released single/video
'Long Live The King'
In mid-August, THE THREE SUM boarded their fearsome road cruiser
with their first single, "Coming After You",
taken from the EP "Kingdom Fall", to be released on 12/02/2022
via Dr. Music Records, to barrel down the dusty asphalt
of the international Rock 'n' Roll highway
with just the right pinch of hot rod flair.
Now the Swiss Punk 'n' Roll band kicks it into the next gear
with the hard-hitting second single "Long Live The King",
inspired by all the events of the last years,
and devoted to the mighty people in many realms,
from entertainment to politics, not always using their power
to benefit the weaker ones but gaining even more control and influence.
The band has been attracting attention for a few years
with their dystopian mix of Punk Rock and Metal
along with wacky little horror stories
and is now heading straight for the fast lane with the EP.
The five new songs manifest themselves on "Kingdom Fall" into a power-packed musical muscle car with which the trio provides additional speed. "Long Live The King" is thereby not without reason the second single
since the track sticks with its damn catchy melodicore sound
in the head and will not only thrill fans of Papa Roach, Asking Alexandria or A Day To Remember. As of today,
"Long Live The King" and its passionately energetic music video will cause quite a stir in the Punk Metal scene, and who knows,
the song might even make the walls of Buckingham Palace,
now resided by King Charles III, tremble.
THE THREE SUM now call for a royal riot with their new single
"Long Live The King".
pics by
Frank Kollbrunne (PhotoFrank)
SCARLET DORN
has released new album
'Queen Of Broken Dreams'
Scarlet Dorn's brand new album "Queen Of Broken Dreams" has been released via SPV Recordings.
The album contains 12 new songs
and has been released as a Limited LP Edition including red colored vinyl, CD Edition in a digipak as well as stream and download.
Scarlet Dorn combine an incredible elegance of darkness
with a particularly memorable catchiness of the songs.
With her captivating voice, singer Scarlet Dorn exudes a variety
of emotions ranging from gentle and tender to menacing and somber.
Scarlet sings her way straight into your heart
free of boundaries between genres.
From industrial sounds, rock ballads, and some catchy electronic beats,
the band takes all listeners on a journey through complex human abysses, the world of hope and sorrow,
but also directly into the arms of life in all its glory
that you just can't get enough of.
pic by Jan Season
