Pop & Rock News

Zeke Sky is an American guitarist, pianist, vocalist and composer who has made continuous impact since videos of his playing and songs emerged on the internet in 2018. Combining influences of psychedelic rock, progressive metal, heavy metal and world music, Zeke goes against the grain in writing and performing bold and visionary songs without limitation, dealing with complex lyric issues ranging from toxic love to kingly conquests.

In the same year, Zeke played his first live event opening for KING'S X as part of a home recorded album effort. Despite the total infancy of his name, an impressive number of copies were sold of this obscure album on the web. Zeke followed up with a pair of singles in 2019 and 2020 with updated production ethics and of course more aggressive playing, and those saw favorable reviews all over the world, including in Rolling Stone Magazine (“ZEKE SKY is an incendiary of heavy metal.”).

In 2021, Zeke completed a debut label effort, »Intergalactic Demon King,« for release in late 2022. For this young composer, the future is as bold as it is long, for only the brave who accept the challenge will taste the fruits of the golden mountain. --- ---

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present ZERRE’s highly anticipated second album, Rotting on a Golden Throne, on CD and vinyl LP formats. From the cellars of Würzburg, Germany, ZERRE have been keeping the torch of old-school thrash metal burning while carving their own vicious path. Their sound draws on the razor-sharp aggression of classic Metallica and Exodus and the stomping groove of early Faith No More: no frills, no mercy. Their third full-length, 2024’s Scorched Souls, tore through the scene and earned critical acclaim for its searing riffs and unflinching energy. Now, ZERRE take a decisive step forward with Rotting on a Golden Throne. Darker, more overtly political, and more aggressive than its predecessor, this fourth full-length dives headfirst into the rot of power, corruption, and human decay – a brutal soundtrack for a world teetering on the edge. Onstage, ZERRE embody the chaos of their music: riff-driven assaults, breakneck tempos, and a raw intensity that leaves no room to breathe. On record, while those influences still remain, but the DNA has been splintered into something more unique and definitely more powerful: thrashing, yes, but within a crossover framework that feels titanic. The production is razor-sharp, but with ominous atmosphere to spare; the execution is even sharper, as the drumming especially pulses like a dread locomotive; and vocals spit forth venom, raging against a machine fatted by suffering. As the throne collapses, ZERRE deliver the anthem of its fall. Keep on Rotting on a Golden Throne!

Spectres have been stirring in the shadows for years now. Dark eyes watching from pallid faces. Siren songs calling to lost souls. In the blackest corners of the UK underground, a name whispered relentlessly amongst the faithful, first with curiosity, then soul-shuddering awe: Zetra.

Zetra is also the title of their striking debut LP. Ten tracks whose indefinable blend of shimmering shoegaze and pulsating goth-metal work deep beneath the skin, it is a masterclass in intimate dark romanticism and sweeping elemental beauty. It could be seen as a reaction to the geography of a strange new world, but also to the jagged topography of the human psyche itself. Is it a manifesto? A roadmap? A riddle waiting to be solved? Profound pleasure lies in peeling back its many layers.

Travelling alone, armed only with synths, guitar and drum-machine to compose, The Wanderers’ music could sound skeletal. Instead its early metallic bones have been fleshed-out with the electronic new-wave of Gary Numan and Pet Shop Boys and dreamy, droning guitars that hark to heroes like Slowdive and Sonic Youth as well as dark contemporaries Deafheaven and Alcest. As harsh as the truths with which they deal may be, these songs deliver beguiling brilliance.

Acolytes to spread the word of Zetra aren’t hard to find. British ‘contemporaries’ like Burner and Wallowing, Celestial Sanctuary and Employed To Serve have been dementedly singing their praises as far back as they can remember. Tours with the heavyweight likes of Creeper and Godflesh, VV and SKYND have taken their once-subterranean sounds into the spotlight. Unto Others’ Gabriel Franco (‘Moonfall’), Svalbard’s Serena Cherry (‘Starfall’) and Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir from Iceland’s Kælan Mikla (‘Shatter The Mountain’) even crop up amongst these recordings, dissolving into the cult of Zetra themselves. But none are as important as the legions of fans Zetra are yet to reach with a dark gospel still unpicking all manner of psychological knots and existential truths.

Los Angeles-based bonehead savants Zig Zags are no-nonsense '80s style thrash with a magpie eye for deep-fried pop culture detritus. These guys give so few fucks while they are out ripping faces that it's tough to say much about them that hasn't been said before—they shred so that we may raise beers in non-ironic salute to their Voivod worship, to a world in which young heshers subscribe to Heavy Metal and practice early Slayer solos while watching daytime TV, to waking and baking as you watch the world burn.

Running Out of Red is the soundtrack to getting high and driving around in your shitty car in your small town, occasionally getting laid...occasionally getting laid out at the local liquor store by an older dude. Gang vocals: check. 1-2 pit beat: on lock. Shredder solid state guitar heroics: ripping, and so should you, the bong is packed and I think there's still pizza in the fridge. I can smell your pants from here, dude.

Cat.no.: CF 072 CD
Format: CD/LP

Tracklisting:

Symphonische Extrem-Heavy-Metal-Band aus Stockholm - gegründet und geleitet von Multiinstrumentalist und Songwriter Zorn. Nachdem er sich von Dark Funeral trennte, war er entschlossen, mit seiner neuen Band Zornheym den traditionellen "Metal-meets-Symphony"-Ansatz aufzurütteln. Zornheym entwickelte sich schnell von einer ambitionierten Idee zu einem dramatischen musikalischen und narrativen Konzept, das sich um die Schrecken einer psychiatrischen Anstalt und ihrer Häftlinge drehte. Vier Jahre, nachdem die Tore der Anstalt erstmals erdacht wurden, wurden sie mit der Veröffentlichung des Debütalbums endlich geöffnet. Wo Hass wohnt und Dunkelheit herrscht. " Dieses Album stellte das erschreckende Konzept des Asyls und die darin enthaltenen schrecklichen Charaktere vor. Zornheym's Sound wurde als kraftvoll und filmisch beschrieben und das zweite Album lädt dazu ein, diese Erfahrung in "The Zornheim Sleep Experiment" fortzusetzen, das tief im Inneren der Anstalt stattfindet. Mit einem echten Chor und einem Streichquartett kreieren sie erneut ihre Klangwand und lassen die Geschichte in einer Graphic Novel zum Leben erwecken, die die Geschichten des Albums begleitet und erweitert.

Zornheym debütierte auf dem französischen Motocultor-Festival und sie haben ihre energiegeladenen, bombastischen Erfahrungen auf vielen weiteren Festivals und Veranstaltungsorten in ganz Europa weitergegeben.

Symphonische Extrem-Heavy-Metal-Band aus Stockholm - gegründet und geleitet von Multiinstrumentalist und Songwriter Zorn. Nachdem er sich von Dark Funeral trennte, war er entschlossen, mit seiner neuen Band Zornheym den traditionellen "Metal-meets-Symphony"-Ansatz aufzurütteln. Zornheym entwickelte sich schnell von einer ambitionierten Idee zu einem dramatischen musikalischen und narrativen Konzept, das sich um die Schrecken einer psychiatrischen Anstalt und ihrer Häftlinge drehte. Vier Jahre, nachdem die Tore der Anstalt erstmals erdacht wurden, wurden sie mit der Veröffentlichung des Debütalbums endlich geöffnet. Wo Hass wohnt und Dunkelheit herrscht. " Dieses Album stellte das erschreckende Konzept des Asyls und die darin enthaltenen schrecklichen Charaktere vor. Zornheym's Sound wurde als kraftvoll und filmisch beschrieben und das zweite Album lädt dazu ein, diese Erfahrung in "The Zornheim Sleep Experiment" fortzusetzen, das tief im Inneren der Anstalt stattfindet. Mit einem echten Chor und einem Streichquartett kreieren sie erneut ihre Klangwand und lassen die Geschichte in einer Graphic Novel zum Leben erwecken, die die Geschichten des Albums begleitet und erweitert.

Zornheym debütierte auf dem französischen Motocultor-Festival und sie haben ihre energiegeladenen, bombastischen Erfahrungen auf vielen weiteren Festivals und Veranstaltungsorten in ganz Europa weitergegeben.