METALBATS

Out of a Vortex emerged a bunch of Metalbats.
Some time ago, everyone could have noticed that Vortex, an old school Metal band from Groningen, the Netherlands lost its founder and motor-hand, guitarist Martjo Brongers, as he passed away end of 2019.
It meant the end of Vortex.
Few people must have thought about what would happen with the other members of this legendary Metal band.
Less was known, but at last we have news for all the fans and lovers of eighties Metal and especially Vortex.
After having taken time to grief, and sequentially thinking about future steps, Henk Bosma (drums), Orion Roos (guitar), Harm ten Hoove (bass) and Yuryen Thunderfox (vocals) decided to continue their musical route as Metalbats.
While looking at all the songs that were produced while Vortex was still booming and playing on several festivals and in impressive halls, there were several songs that had never been played live, simply because it’s impossible to fill a one hour, or a one and a half hour concert with all the songs of the rich repertoire of good old Vortex.
Here lies a nice opportunity to let everyone enjoy the songs that up ’till now were only available on recordings, like LP’s and CD’s.
So let us introduce to you this new band called Metalbats, with repertoire of classic Vortex Metal songs in a for all of you new and hopefully enjoyable presentation!
Some words about VORTEX
Since 1979 Heavy Metal band Vortex is working its way up in this world, playing in a traditional old-school style, known as NWOBHM.
After all these years it showed everyone that Vortex is more popular than ever.
2019 Vortex celebrate it’s 40th Anniversary with a lot of old and new material.
And finally at last they will share all their releases on Bandcamp.
Beware, the Bats are still flying.
Some tapes with long lost ideas, unfinished songs and other long forgotten metal treasures are the base for this new album of VORTEX from the northern part of The Netherlands.
Guitar player Martjo Brongers (also STEEL SHOCK) found it on a dusty shelf somewhere, not realizing that these recordings still existed.
It was like holding a holy grail in his hands.
After listening to it, the material was far too good to put back on the shelves again and VORTEX decided to re-record the songs and complete musical treasures that they found to release it thirty-two years later.
Good heavy metal will never lose its value, not even after thirty-two long years.
It’s the year 1985, when VORTEX released their EP ‘Metal Bats’.
It changed the life of many headbangers in the netherlands.
A year later their debut album ‘Open The Gate’ appeared and people who live in Bourtange still have nightmares of that one day, when five heavy metal guys knocked on the doors of the fortress fortified city and shouted out loud that they had to open the gate.
They actually didn’t know, that the guys of VORTEX were recording their first video clip, which even made it to the BBC quiz ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’.
After this release, things went pretty quiet or so it seems.
Today, we can witness what happened after ‘Open The Gate’ with the release of ‘Them Witches’.
The long lost 1987 written material sees the light of day at full force.
The original recordings that the band found are rehearsal tapes, recorded in the studios of Popbureau in Groningen.
These holy grails will now be exposed to the hungry metal fans.
The band has gained a lot of experience, power and quality.
These songs will really blow you away pretty easily, because they received that 2019 treatment, which was just what they need to sound as all-destroying, as VORTEX do now.
A tsunami and earthquake alert has been put out already.
This ass-kicking, skull splitting, headshaking material will make you proud to be a metal head and that’s what you are about to receive with this new album.
This album will literally give your eardrums an orgasm and it has been realized with witches help.
This masterpiece even contains the cooperation of Jurjen ‘Thunderfox’ Tichelaar and Martjo ‘Whirlwolf’ Brongers in ‘Gonna Hit You’.
Two master minds joining forces and they will astonish you with this killer song.
Next to this, you are also able to enjoy a new version of ‘The Breath’ and eight other rough diamonds that will make your heart beat faster and the adrenaline flow wild in your veins.
Guitar explosions of Orion Roos and Martjo Brongers, thundering drum beats of Henk ‘The Tank’ Bosma, the stunning bass parts of newcomer Harm ten Hoove and the powerful maniacal vocals by Jurjen will definitely blow your mind.
VORTEX will turn back time for thirty-two years.
It’s the year 2019, but once you’ve pushed the ‘play’ button of your CD player, you will step into a time machine that will set you right back into the previous millennium, in the year 1987.
After these 1987 recordings, VORTEX introduced themselves as the ‘Hammer Of The North’ in 2003, they bid us ‘Welcome To Metal Land’ in 2005 and they ‘Drink Bat Blood’ in 2010.
‘Remains’ is their last full-length release from 2014, but the band surprised us many times with some amazing compilation albums and this one’s no exception to the rule.
This album will really blow you away, so mark my words.
Better fasten your seatbelts before listening and don’t you come complaining, because I did warn you!