a Maldivian guitar hero
Shahyd Legacy, or most well known as the Lead Guitarist of Sacred Legacy, made his musical entrance on to the stage late 2004
with his first band called “SYN”.
But then we saw him take his music to a new level as he formed
his own band the “SACRED LEGACY” in the year 2006.
Also released his 1st guitar solo album 'THE SACRED LEGACY'
in September of 2006.
With his hard thrashing riffs and melodious solos Sacred Legacy became
an instant hit amongst the rock music lovers.
Along with Sacred Legacy Shahyd began his solo carrier as well,
to become known as the “Legacy”.
As his melodies demanded more attention than any small segment
of a song can address, they were crying for a separate feel
and a texture only a dedicated instrumental song can do justice to.
Songs such as "Infinity", "god’s legend" and "before I die"
became instant hits.
In 2012 and the years that followed,
Shahyd focused more on his solo career, the result was "Nostalgia"
a much more melodious release differing from his usual metal sound
but to much commercial acclaim.
Resuming his work with Sacred Legacy,
Shahyd released the bands 3rd album 'The Legacy Begins',
a far cry from 'Apocalypse' in terms of production, musicality and quality.
The album was a massive success amongst international metal communities which helped the band get signed
with the German record label 'STF Records'.
The band ended the year with a successful tour in Europe and Asia.
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a Maldivian guitar hero
After gaining much international recognition for his guitar virtuosity, Shahyd released his 3rd solo album 'Through the ashes' in 2015.
The album saw Shahyd return to his metal roots,
with a more Technical approach to much acclaim.
In 2016, together with longtime friends and music colleagues
Shahyd co-founded the band Gravity under Habeys Management.
The band is currently the top rock/metal band in the Maldives,
performing on the biggest local events
and on international stages as well.
2017 Shahyd released his 4th solo album "Gateways"
which was awarded one of the best albums of the year
from Maldives by Global Metal Apocalypse From UK
also landed many positive reviews
and high ratings by many websites and magazines
3 years in the making Shahyd is back and ready to release
his next masterpiece “STASIS”.
PROJECT RENEGADE
has released single/video
'Bloodwitch'
PROJECT RENEGADE
has released single/video
'Bloodwitch'
"Bloodwitch" is the second single by Project Renegade
from the upcoming album "Ultra Terra", released on June 10th, 2022.
"Bloodwitch" is mixed & mastered by Forrester Savell.
Quote from the band:
"'Bloodwitch' is a song that found its birth in our artistic need to give form and substance to that special hidden part in our psyche. The song represents the aftermath of a person's character when the latter has been relegated to nothing for too long. It's the result of countless years of abuse and it's that part of yourself that takes over for you in order to survive. An antihero that unleashes when you are at your lowest point. It signifies that primal inner strength born out of angst, necessity and drive. It's that necessary evil with a mission, waiting to be freed and take over every obstacle in its way...Are you ready to unleash your inner 'Bloodwitch'?"
STREETLORE
have released single/video
'Crossoroad'
Art Of Melody Music & Burning Minds Music Group are excited
to announce the digital release of "Crossroad",
second single taken from the official album
of the AOR high profile project, StreetLore.
The song features Terry Brock (Strangeways) as very special guest.
The lyric video is courtesy of Yellow Bang Studio.
released single/video
'Suffer in Darkness'
Finnish symphonic doom/death metal band Depressed Mode
is set to release a new EP 'Words of Death' later in 2023
via Inverse Records.
The first single 'Suffer in Darkness'
is a re-recorded version from the 'Ghost of Devotion' album
(Firedoom Music, 2007).
Female vocals is this time sung by Gogo Melone (Aeonian Sorrow, Clouds).
Otto Salonen comments:
"'Suffer in Darkness' was one of the first ever tracks for Depressed Mode. It was something that created the sound for the band, and I've been trying to recreate the atmosphere ever since. That's one of the reasons we've decided to re-record this song, and because I always felt like the song ain't complete with its orchestrations. Now I had the time and tools to create the atmosphere once again, and it's now enhanced. We once again hired our former drummer Marko Tommila to create drums for the whole EP, and this was the first song re-recorded."
pic by Jamppa Lamminpää
VASS/KATSIONIS
have released single/video
'I Walk Alone'
'Ethical Dilemma' is the result of a collaboration
between Terra 1nc0gnita's vocalist, Billy Vass,
and multi-musician/producer, Bob Katsionis.
The idea that started as a solo album for Vass,
concluded to a progressive metal album,
that could not go without
the established name of Katsionis on the project, as a whole.
With this in mind, the 2 collaborators joined their love
for progressive metal music,
each with his distinctive angle on songwriting,
and the result is an 8 song journey,
into the depths of time-changing signatures, complex guitars,
and keyboards, and the unique 4-octave range of Billy Vass.
The album has been released by Symmetric Records
In this album is included the single 'I Walk Alone'.
BEN BLUTZUKKER
has released single/video
'They Call Me Trinity'
"They Call Me Trinity" is not only the title track
of the spaghetti western of the same name,
the released single is also the harbinger of the Wild West EP
"Son of a Gun",
which will be available on November 18th.
The EP has 5 cartridges in the cylinder
and will be released both digitally and on CD.
For the title song "Son of a Gun"
a new stop-motion music video in the typical toy bricks look
will be available on the release day.
Track list of the EP:
1. Apache (The Shadows Cover)
2. Son of a Gun
3. Dead or Alive
4. Tombstone Alley
5. They Call Me Trinity (aka Trinity: Titoli)
BLACKRAIN
will release album
'Untamed'
BLACKRAIN
will release album
'Untamed'
Sometimes it takes a few years until a band finds that perfect sound
they have in mind for their songs.
For the new album ‘Untamed’ by the French Sleaze Rock formation BlackRain, that’s exactly the case.
Although already established as a band with their six previous releases
and also very successful on tour
(among others with
Europe, Alice Cooper, Scorpions or Steel Panther),
the quartet around singer Swan now presents a work
that sets new quality standards in every aspect.
“We love the powerful sound, the banging drums, this awesome mix of catchy melodies and aggression that permeates ‘Untamed’ from the very beginning,” bassist Matthieu de la Roche enthuses
and goes on naming the producer of the new quality work:
Hannes Braun, frontman of the German hard rockers Kissin` Dynamite
and an important figure in sound engineering.
De la Roche:
“Hannes told us: ´I love your songs, your show really has excited me, I know exactly how your next record should sound!` Thanks to his help, we found the sound we’ve been looking for since ten years.”
‘Untamed’ will be released on November 25th, 2022 via Steamhammer/SPV.
A date you should mark in red in your calendar.
The connection between the French group and their German producer
was practically self-evident:
BlackRain accompanied Kissin` Dynamite on their last European tour
and they were friends for about a decade.
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Tracklisting:
01. Untamed
02. Kiss The Sky
03. Dawn Of Hell
04. All The Darkness
05. Demon
06. Summer Jesus
07. Set The World On Fire
08. Neon Drift
09. Blade Of Love
10. Raise Your Glass
11. Shut Down
12. The End
BLACKRAIN
will release album
'Untamed'
“Kissin Dynamite was our support band in 2009 in a big gig in Paris. Now we are supporting them, and we are fine with this because it allowed us to cross Europe and catch a new public,” tells De La Roche.
Out of this friendship sprang a fruitful collaboration.
Swan, the singer and frontman:
“I honestly don`t know how Hannes managed it, but whenever I sent him a new song for review and mix, he found that perfect last piece of the puzzle to refine it.”
However, ‘Untamed’ convinces not only with its dynamic,
very transparent sound, but also with the exquisite songwriting.
“We haven't really changed anything fundamental, though,” Swan marvels over the creative inspiration. “We`ve always written the kind of songs we love ourselves. And since our line up hasn`t changed, we can`t really do anything different. Our goal is to keep getting better and hopefully one day write the perfect song. When one track is finished, we go on working with the mindset that the next one will be even better.”
You can feel this ambition in ‘Untamed’:
While the title track
(also the first single/first video, release date: July 29th, 2022)
could hardly be more characteristic for BlackRain,
‘Demon’ surprises with an unusual mix of glam metal and sixties influences. Also atypical for the band:
‘Summer Jesus’ with a whammy bar solo.
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Line-Up:
Swan Hellion
vocals, guitar
Max 2 – lead guitar
Matthieu de la Roche – bass
Frank F - drums
pics by Julien Zannoni
BLACKRAIN
will release album
'Untamed'
De la Roche:
“The track reminds me a little of Muse. Maybe we should have offered the song to them, financially it would have certainly been worth it.”
BlackRain themselves were taken by surprise by ‘Kiss The Sky’,
which gained tremendous substance during the recording process.
De La Roche:
“At first we weren`t 100 % sure about the number, but once it was mixed, our opinion changed. Now it`s become a real hit.”
This statement could serve as a quote to summarize the new record
on the whole, because with ‘Untamed’
(the cover artwork is done by the Asian graphic artist Yellow Mushi) BlackRain has definitely created a small masterpiece,
from which three more songs will be released after the first single: ‘Summer Jesus’ has been released on August 26th, 2022,
followed by ‘Neon Drift’ on September 30th
(with a guest solo by Kissin` Dynamite guitarist Jim Müller),
and ‘Kiss The Sky’ on October 28th, 2022.
Just one week later BlackRain will be back on stage
fall 2022 is peppered with festivals,
and spring/summer 2023 is reserved for a big European tour.
Fans can already look forward to it.
LEATHER LEONE
will release album
'We Are The Chosen'
Leather Leone has a mission, and not just recently,
but since the beginning of her life as an artist.
As a thoroughbred musician, as an exceptional metal vocalist,
and above all as an unconditionally positive person,
her message has always been:
Never give up and stay the way you are!
You don’t have to look far to find this encouraging credo
on her new solo album 'WE ARE THE CHOSEN':
It features immediately on the opening track ‘We Take Back Control’,
and it would be difficult to express her selfconfidence
and zest for action more unequivocally.
The song sets the direction for the whole album, for Leather’s ambitions, and for her future as a committed musician.
Her positive lyrics run like a leitmotif through the album’s ten songs
and create an atmospherically dense arch up to its
programmatic finale ‘The Glory In The End’.
'WE ARE THE CHOSEN' has been scheduled for release
on 25 November 2022 on Steamhammer/SPV on CD,
vinyl LP and for digital download.
The first lead single has been out on 23 September,
followed by a second single on 4 November 2022.
Leather Leone undeniably counts among
the most charismatic metal vocalists of the past four decades.
She already caused a sensation in the 1980s as frontwoman of Chastain,
the band of guitar icon David T. Chastain.
Together with him, Leone has produced a series of successful albums
up to the present day, some of them for legendary US talent scout
Mike Varney’s imprint, Shrapnel Records.
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Track Listing:
01. We Take Back Control
02. Always Been Evil
03. Shadows
04. Off With Your Head
05. We Are The Chosen
06. Tyrants
07. Hallowed Ground
08. Dark Days
09. Who Rules The World
10. The Glory In The End
LEATHER LEONE
will release album
'We Are The Chosen'
She has also released successful recordings with Malibu Barbi, Sledge/Leather, among others, and as a solo artist.
'WE ARE THE CHOSEN' features her first solo songs
since LEATHER II (2018),
highlighting the amazing energy which has allowed her to break free from the oppressive situation of the past two years.
Leone remembers:
“Things had been going really well for me just before the Lockdown started, but with the arrival of Covid, all my touring plans had to be shelved and things were threatening to go down the drain. But my friend and guitarist Vinnie Tex was totally right in saying: ‘Now more than ever! We’ll do everything ourselves!’ The very first number we composed for the
new record was ‘We Take Back Control’, which pointed the direction for the rest of the album.”
A direction which is also manifest on the other songs,
such as the characteristic ‘Who Rules The World’, which is, as she explains “a typical example of my style, a kind of retrospective
of my entire musical life.”
In addition, there are a number of surprises on 'WE ARE THE CHOSEN':
‘Off With Your Head’ has the American chanteuse embark to pastures new; Leoni explains:
“This song is one of my absolute favourites.”
‘Hallowed Ground’, which she has dedicated to her great idol
Ronnie James Dio, also deserves to be mentioned.
“I met Ronnie lots of times and had wonderful discussions with him.
He knew that I first got into metal thanks to his music
and that I owe him lots.”
...to continue, please go to the next side...
pics by
Rockin Ryan Richardson
and Marisol Richardson
LEATHER LEONE
will release album
'We Are The Chosen'
'WE ARE THE CHOSEN' was recorded at the Hertz Studios
(Behemoth, Vader, Hate among others) in Białystok, Poland,
with Leather Leone and Vinnie Tex in charge
of songwriting and production.
Woitek and Slawek Wieslawski mixed and mastered the material,
and Marcelo Vasco (Slayer, Kreator, Testament)
contributed the cover artwork.
Leather and Vinnie Tex have invested vitality and passion
in every last detail of their new metal anthems,
so it comes as no surprise
that Leone sums up her latest offering as follows:
“To me, 'WE ARE THE CHOSEN' is a labour of love
and I’m incredibly proud of it!”
CREST
will release ep
'Riptide'
Crest is a Hawaiicore band, founded in 2015 in Turku, Finland.
Through the years the lineup has seen a few changes
and though the concept had already been thought out,
the band has now evolved to its final brand -
bringing the chill Hawaii-mentality to the modern metal scene.
The band's lineup was finalized when the current vocalist
joined the band in 2019,
and thus the journey could finally and officially begin.
Prior to fully bringing the Hawaiicore-theme to life,
the band released an EP, “Backbone” in 2016.
Dropping a few singles along the way like “Nevermore” (2018),
“Veil of Sanity” and “Tartaros” in 2020.
In the fall of 2022, after two years of hard work and dedication,
the newest EP which carries the name “Riptide” is finally presented.
With its high technicality combined with mellow and harsh tunes,
but above all its well thought out entirety,
the EP brought a fresh breeze to the scene.
After a break from any liveshows, the band is finally ready
to hit the stages and introduce it's Hawaiicore - spectacle
that you surely don't want to miss.
'Riptide' EP will be released on November 18th 2022 via Inverse Records.
Track list:
1. Aloha
2. Tiger Stripes
3. The Wave
4. Hempen Jig Jive
5. Slumberland
pic by Guilty Visuals
