Pop & Rock Новости

The Codex Necro is the first studio album by British extreme metal band and Metal Blade Records recording artist Anaal Nathrakh. It was originally released on 22 November 2001, and is now available again as 2021 Vinyl pressings and CD.

ANAAL NATHRAKH are without a doubt one of the most extreme metal acts the United Kingdom has to offer. For over 20 years, the band has already been doing their thing and has brought it to more than 10 albums. June 11, 2021 will see the release of "The Codex Necro" and "Total Fucking Necro", the band's first album and compilation of the first two demos as a reissue on CD and various LP editions. You want to know how the musical history of ANAAL NATHRAKH started? Here you go, it's served !!!

The conclusive chapter of the two part EP series by DISTANT, which started with 'Dawn of Corruption' in October 2020, was follwed by 'Dusk of Anguish' in March 2020 and is now full embodied in its final form with AEONS OF OBLIVION. Taking the material from both EPs, arranged in the order of the lore accompanying the project - a hellish hour of punishing Downtempo Deathcore.

Excelsior! It’s the hail of yore that one should go ever onward and upward. And so, fittingly Onwards and Downwards is the occultist Swedish band Alastor’s clever call to arms... and also a reflection of our collective dark state of mind these days.
“If our last album Slave to the Grave were about death, this record is more about madness,” says guitarist Hampus Sandell. “You can look at the whole record as one person’s gradual slip into insanity. An ongoing nightmare without end. It also sums up the state of the world around us as this year has clearly shown.”
Alastor is heavy doom rock for the wicked and depraved. Drenched in heavy, distorted darkness and steeped in occult horror that will make your skin crawl and ears cry sweet tears of blood, the band is revitalized in 2021 with meticulously crafted songs and new drummer Jim Nordström bringing a hard-hitting and precise energy.
“It’s a more focused record but at the same time it’s more personal and naked. More raw emotion and pain,” Hampus says. The band recorded the album with the help of Joona Hassinen of Studio Underjord, who has helped with mixing since their ”Blood on Satan’s Claw” EP in 2017. Christoffer Karlsson of The Dahmers also assisted with overdubs and encouraged the band to demo the material early on, aiding in the album’s more deliberate and tighter feel.
From the first note of opener “The Killer In My Skull” the guitars are far thicker and out front than ever, and Nordström pummels the snare and kick like a young Dave Grohl. Bassist/vocalist Robin Arnryd’s chorus-drenched voice soars above it all like a one-man choir, at times harmonizing beautifully with shimmering Hammond organ notes. Nary a moment is wasted on the droning navel-gazing of lesser bands. Particularly, the driving anthem “Death Cult” which sounds like it would fit comfortably on QOTSA’s Songs For The Deaf, though there’s considerably more heft here. The title track pays its due to the Devil’s tritone in a marvelously woven framework of intertwining melodies befitting the album’s theme of descent into madness.
The quartet released its epic 3-song debut album Black Magic in early 2017 via Twin Earth Records, followed by the 2-track “Blood On Satan’s Claw” EP on Halloween the same year. Joining forces with RidingEasy Records in 2018, Alastor summoned the 7-track hateful gospel Slave To The Grave, which was packed with dynamic twists and turns, and funereal girth. It was met with considerable praise, setting the stage for the band’s greatest step onward (and upward... or downward, depending on your preferences.)

Since 1989 Germany’s Desaster have been churning out their unique and unholy blend of extreme metal, and in 2021 they return with perhaps their most powerful album to date, the towering Churches Without Saints. “It’s a typical Desaster old school black-death-thrash metal album, with a lot of aggression, but also great atmosphere and epic tunes!” enthuses guitarist and founder member Infernal. With a simple remit of making an album full of “neck-breaking songs” the quartet have once again proven themselves leaders in their chosen genres, giving their faithful and newcomers alike plenty to salivate over.

Das ansonsten eher metal-lastige Label Golden Core hat sich sechs „harte Rockthemen aus 1980 und 1981“ gesichert, die zwischen Januar und Ende April 2021 erscheinen (meist CD und LP). Nach den Hardrockern Piledriver und dem kräftigen Prog von Requiem, wird es mit der Beschreibung der Band und gleichnamigen Platte FLOATING OPERA etwas schwieriger. „Der harte, gitarrenorientierte Rock weist viele Soli auf und hat eine druckvolle Produktion. Auch ein paar obligatorische Balladen dürfen nicht fehlen (…)“, schreibt das Online Magazin Cosmic Dreams At Play (1996). Damit liegen sie nicht falsch, aber es fehlen noch einige Zutaten. Auch ohne vertrackte, omplizierte Parts schwingt auch bei „Floating Opera“ noch der Prog der Siebziger mit, während man auf der anderen Seite heute von Proto-Metal sprechen würde. Heavy Metal-Fans werden u.a. beim Titelsong bemerken, dass die Vocals von Andreas Ulbricht stellenweise an
J.D. Kimball von Omen erinnern. Das Wort Krautrock darf dann, wenn 1981 auch verspätet, ebenso fallen

There are few bands who can claim to have built their reputation on one single, but such is the situation for Aragorn, formed in Chesire in 1978. They were one of the first acts to sign to Neat Records as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal erupted, but fate conspired to ensure that they only ever released one single, the killer 'Black Ice' / 'Noonday', which has definitely become something of a cult 45 among aficionados of the genre. Here it is along with 12 tracks taken from their not released at the time album from 1982/3. A must for anyone into obscure, 70s styled hard-rock and early metal.

The harrowing follow up to 2019's 'Kingdom of Lies', OSIAH's new album LOSS is the sound of a band truly perfecting their craft. Masterful tech collides with punishing Deathcore, cementing the band's reputation as one of the most fearsome live acts in Death Metal today.

TO THE GRAVE - EPILOGUE - 19 track album featuring all 11 tracks from album 'Global Warning' (remixed and remastered) with new special guest appearances on all 11 songs. - 6 brand new tracks (including one interlude) and the 2020 single "Miserable Summer"














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Multidimensional duo Divide and Dissolve release their third full length studio album ‘Gas Lit’ on Invada Records, produced by Ruban Neilson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
Divide and Dissolve members Takiaya Reed (saxophone, guitar, live effects) and Sylvie Nehill (drums, live effects) create instrumental music that is both heavy and beautiful, classically influenced yet thrillingly contemporary and powerfully expressive and communicative. Their music has the ability to speak without words and utilises frequencies to interact with the naturally occurring resonance.
The CD is presented as a digipack.
The vinyl is pressed on 180g Transparent Red vinyl and comes housed in a heavyweight spined sleeve with printed insert and digital download card.
‘We Are Really Worried About You’ presents a formidable saxophone sound giving way to a surge of crushing percussion and heavy guitar riffs. ‘Denial’ is a potent blend of Takiaya’s ominous and unsettling sax that blows wide open into riff city for almost eight glorious minutes. Both tracks encapsulate the message behind the music: to undermine and destroy the white supremacist colonial frameworks and to fight for indigenous sovereignty, black and indigenous liberation, water, earth and indigenous land given back.
For fans of James Baldwin, Osa Atoe, Adrienne Davies, the ocean and freshwater, breath/breathing, Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Afro futurism, indigenous futurism, indigenous sovereignty, slavery abolition, resistance, the forest, bodies of water, being submerged, the railroad and Ai Ogawa.

PRIMAL FEAR's ferocious new record “Metal Commando” has been an undisputed highlight of 2020. The German power metal band's 13th full length detonated in the midst of a raging pandemic, leaving no stone unturned in its path. The whole world got stuck in, achieving the 6 piece some of their highest chart positions in their 20+ year career, which included; a top ten in Switzerland (6), Germany (7), Japan (7), Finland (9) and Sweden (9) next to multiple high entries in countries such as Austria, Spain, France and the USA.

PRIMAL FEAR are Germany’s metal band of the hour, again. Right now however, they want to show us something new, a different side to them - after releasing a string of heavy and hard-hitting singles from “Metal Commando”, mastermind Mat Sinner and vocal force Ralf Scheepers have something extraordinary up their sleeves; a 5-track single, built around an exclusive new rendition of their achingly beautiful ballad ‘I Will Be Gone’, re-recorded with none other than Finnish metal diva extraordinaire, Tarja Turunen.

“There were three famous vocalists on our final wish list,” Mat Sinner comments. “That it was Tarja who got involved in this song is a matter of pure joy for all of us. Working together on the song and video was totally relaxed and professional – a great experience also because Tarja’s and Ralf’s voices go together incredibly well. Now, we can expand the ‘Metal Commando’ saga with a unique chapter. We’re all really proud of this single.”

The Finnish icon can only agree: “I was very happy to receive the invitation to take part in PRIMAL FEAR’s beautiful song ‘I Will Be Gone’. We started our careers nearly at the same time many years ago, and finally got a chance to work together. I love the song and personally it helped me to stay connected and rock again, even if at the studio this time. I really hope that people will like this collaboration and that it will bring them joy especially during these difficult times we are living through at the moment.”
The song, fragile and touching, gets an altogether new and deeply melancholic vibe with Tarja’s unbelievably emotional performance, showcasing a different facet of PRIMAL FEAR. Yet, it’s not the only gift they deliver on this 5-track sensation - just take ‘Vote Of No Confidence’ for example, an all-new, previously unreleased beast of a song. Clocking in at over six minutes, this storming, furious anthem gives a brilliant glimpse of things to come. Previously only available as bonus tracks on the limited “Metal Commando” digipack, three more tracks complete this release; enchanting guitar instrumental ‘Rising Fear’, massive mid-tempo smasher ‘Leave Me Alone’, and heavy metal monument ‘Second To None’, making ‘I Will Be Gone’ so much more than just another off shoot of a successful album.

“Metal Commando” is so much more than just another album by a veteran band. The songs are too strong, the hooks too merciless, the refrains too huge, and their trademark phalanx of three guitars too indomitable for any meek kind of listener response. “We’re simply an awesome team,” Sinner laughs. The “we” he’s talking about are of course himself on bass guitar and vocals, fierce vocalist Ralf Scheepers, guitarists Tom Naumann, Alex Beyrodt and Magnus Karlsson as well as that brand-new whirlwind of a drummer, Michael Ehré.

After six albums “abroad”, “Metal Commando” saw the band return to their first home Nuclear Blast. Where some bands would give in under such pressure, changing labels for PRIMAL FEAR has unleashed a huge amount of sublime heavy metal energy. Heck, we bet this seismic shock was visible on the Richter scale! “We wrote and wrote and realised quite early on that we had a lot of good ideas going”. Good ideas? The songs are bangers as only PRIMAL FEAR anthems can be – a sound that’s long become a trademark just got new, shiny alloys.

New track ‘I Will Be Gone’ showcases PRIMAL FEAR’s mellow, bittersweet side – available on multi coloured vinyl, shaped vinyl, CD digipack or digitally. Let’s all take a deep breath now; soon enough it’ll get loud again on stages around the globe.

LIMITED TRANSPARENT BLUE WITH BLACK SWIRLS DOUBLE VINYL HOUSED IN A NEWLY REDESIGNED FULL COLOUR GATEFOLD SLEEVE/JACKET.

Nine years after it’s initial release, 'The Ripper At The Heaven's Gates Of Dark' is back. The original black vinyl and CD editions sold out pretty quick, and have been a constant source of repress requests ever since. So, at Makoto’s personal request here it is. And I agree with him that it’s definitely the best AMT studio album from that short lived four piece line up.

With the exception of the album's opener 'Chinese Flying Saucer' and it's unashamedly obvious musical references to Led Zeppelin II (hello 1969!) the rest of the album locks into a much more laid-back groove than on recent AMT releases. This dynamic shift is best displayed on the 22 minute jam, 'Shine On You Crazy Dynamite' and also the album's closer 'Electric Death Mantra'. The band opt for less frantic explosions of electric guitar overload and fuzz, replacing those elements with a more epic, blissed-out and at times brooding Japanese psychedelia, with more emphasis on acoustic guitars, sitar, organ, synthesiser and at times, really trippy vocals (most prevalent on 'Back Door Man Of Ghost Rails Inn'), recalling the twisted psychedelics of early Pink Floyd. Yet still, their sound remains so expansive that it is easy to become totally immersed in this album.

Epic in proportions, cloaked in a cosmic haze and shimmering in a synth utopia. 'The Ripper At Heaven's Gates Of Dark' maintains AMT's status as masters of out-of-this-world music and reveals their darker side of the moon.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. at the time of this recording were :Tsuyama Atsushi : monster bass, voice, soprano sax, cimpo flute, soprano recorder, acoustic guitar, cosmic joker Higashi Hiroshi : synthesizer, dancin'king Shimura Koji : drums, latino cool Kawabata Makoto : electric guitar, electric bouzouki, sitar, organ, percussion, electronics, speed guru

Recorded at Acid Mothers Temple, Japan Produced & engineered by Kawabata Makoto
Digital mastered by Yoshida Tatsuya.

Over the course of two decades The Body - Lee Buford and Chip
King - have consistently challenged assumptions and defied
categorization, redefining what it means to be a heavy band.
On ‘I’ve Seen All I Need To See’, they test the boundaries of the
studio to explore the extremes and microtonality of distortion to
find its maximal impact.
Their most incisively bleak album to date, a towering monolith of
noise, Buford’s booming, resolute drums paired with King’s
obliterated guitar and howl.
Course, bristling distortion contorts every instrument, with
samples of spoken word, cymbals, toms and King’s already
noxious tone emerging from layers of feedback.
Features guests Ben Eberle (Sandworm) and Chrissy Wolpert
(Assembly of Light Choir).
Recorded with long time engineer Seth Manchester at Machines
with Magnets (Lightning Bolt, Battles, Daughters) and mastered by
Matt Colton (Sumac, Brian Eno, Uniform, Sunn O)))).
Available on CD, metallic silver vinyl and black vinyl. LP formats
include digital download code.
The Body have collaborated with many, including Full Of Hell,
Thou, Uniform and Bummer.
“The distortion has this ability to envelope you, and not push you
away. It has this strange kind of beautiful timbre... once you give
into the sheer power of it, and let it take you on a ride then it
becomes this whole other kind of sonic experience.” - Matt Colton
The Body have continued to mould their sound into something
even more devastating, gorgeous and terrifying... As a whole, The
Body’s discography is, and will continue to be, without peer.” -
Metal Injection “Some of the most captivating heavy music around right now.” - Rolling Stone

Zehn Jahre haben die Fans auf ein neues Album der millionenfach gestreamten Gothic-Metal-Band Lake Of Tears gewartet. Das neue Album „Onimous“ umhüllt den Hörer mit wohliger Einsamkeit in gewohnt schaurig-düsterer Manier und ist ab dem 19.02.2021 erhältlich.
Mit ihrer neuesten Veröffentlichung haben LAKE OF TEARS den perfekten Soundtrack für die kurzen, grauen Tage und langen, kalten, dunkle Nächte erschaffen. Nach fast einem Jahrzehnt des Schweigens nimmt uns Daniel Brennare, Kopf und Herz der schwedischen Pioniere der dunklen Musik, endlich wieder mit in seine sinistre Gedankenwelt.

Over the course of two decades The Body - Lee Buford and Chip
King - have consistently challenged assumptions and defied
categorization, redefining what it means to be a heavy band.
On ‘I’ve Seen All I Need To See’, they test the boundaries of the
studio to explore the extremes and microtonality of distortion to
find its maximal impact.
Their most incisively bleak album to date, a towering monolith of
noise, Buford’s booming, resolute drums paired with King’s
obliterated guitar and howl.
Course, bristling distortion contorts every instrument, with
samples of spoken word, cymbals, toms and King’s already
noxious tone emerging from layers of feedback.
Features guests Ben Eberle (Sandworm) and Chrissy Wolpert
(Assembly of Light Choir).
Recorded with long time engineer Seth Manchester at Machines
with Magnets (Lightning Bolt, Battles, Daughters) and mastered by
Matt Colton (Sumac, Brian Eno, Uniform, Sunn O)))).
Available on CD, metallic silver vinyl and black vinyl. LP formats
include digital download code.
The Body have collaborated with many, including Full Of Hell,
Thou, Uniform and Bummer.
“The distortion has this ability to envelope you, and not push you
away. It has this strange kind of beautiful timbre... once you give
into the sheer power of it, and let it take you on a ride then it
becomes this whole other kind of sonic experience.” - Matt Colton
The Body have continued to mould their sound into something
even more devastating, gorgeous and terrifying... As a whole, The
Body’s discography is, and will continue to be, without peer.” -
Metal Injection “Some of the most captivating heavy music around right now.” - Rolling Stone

The Body is a prolific musical force whose creativity is matched only by the astonishing weight of their sound. Duo Lee Buford and Chip King have established their own musical language that reimagines how rhythm, dynamics, and sonics can shape or dismantle song structure. Over the course of two decades, the duo has consistently challenged assumptions and defied categorization, redefining what it means to be a heavy band. On their new album, The Body are again pushing limits and testing the boundaries of the studio to explore the extremes and microtonality of distortion to find its maximal impact. I've Seen All I Need To See is The Body at their most incisively bleak, a towering monolith of noise.

Lucky album number 7 from Northern Ireland’s crossover outfit, Gama Bomb, the UK’s most consistent contributors to the modern thrash revival. Inspired by Victorian horror and maritime adventures such as Moby Dick, the new album is presented as a 19th Century play, with Act One and Act Two playing out on side A and side B of the record respectively. The pelagic tale follows the crew of the steamer ‘S.S. Gama Bomb’ as they voyage in search of a real-life Yeti, only to go slowly mad on the high seas. It also features songs about 80s and 90s movies, because GAMA BOMB cannot help themselves.
GAMA BOMB have previously toured with bands EXODUS, OVERKILL, SEPULTURA, FORBIDDEN and DRI, as well as appearing at major festivals: Hellfest in France, Tuska Open Air in Finland, AssaultFest in Japan, and BogoTHRASH in Colombia.

White Vinyl

Two of the Northwest’s best have returned with an exclusive offering on a very limited one-time vinyl run. This split EP features all new previously unreleased material from NARROW MINDED (Walla Walla’s hardcore tour-de-force) and THRONEBURNER (Spokane’s black metal-tinged thrash cult). This contains 4 tracks, one of which will only be found exclusively on this physical run (the digital version will only be 3 songs), and comes hand numbered with cover art designed by Kyle Bond. Vinyl format also mastered by the legendary Dave Eck at Lucky Mastering.

Classic 5th album from German epic power metallers recorded live in Oberhausen 2016.

Shining a light on women's role in the late 70's and 80's Hard Rock scene in Spain, "Ellas son Eléctricas" comes filled to the rafters with kick ass Spanish Metal, Hard Rock, AOR or Thrash, reviewing the story of unfairly ignored ladies of Spanish Metal. Most of these songs see a vinyl release for the very first time (only Malena y Belcebu's song had previously been released), coming straight from obscure demos. Comes with an extensive 32 pages booklet with plenty of photos, reviews, bios and other awesome shit. TRACKLIST SIDE A A1 MALENA Y BELCEBU - Destruccion (1982) A2 HURACAN - Huracan (1983) A3 NEUROSIS - Sobredosis (1983) A4 CASANDRA - Dejadle Ser Libre (1990) A5 AMNESIA - Wild Side (1991) SIDE 2 B1 MOLE - Alta Sociedad (1984) B2 PLEYADE - Reacciona (1985) B3 LAZY - Twice the Speed of Light (1989) B4 YIN YANG - Shout loud (1988) B5 WAR - Sin Acción (1989) B6 VIUDA NEGRA - Mis Noches Tienen R'n'R (1983)

The notorious, riotous “Last ever Iggy & The Stooges show” reissued on vinyl.
Iggy taunting biker gangs as the band implode; the story is told on the inner bag.
The original 1976 album inspired the punks – it then outsold prior Stooges albums.
“You can actually hear hurled beer bottles breaking against guitar strings…”

First released in 1976, ‘Metallic K.O.’ was the fourth album from IGGY & THE STOOGES, a classic, memorable recording of the Stooges confrontational last gig. The Stooges had not been heard since ’73’s ‘Raw Power’, and the sound of kamikaze Iggy in between new songs dodging eggs and glasses thrown by Hell’s Angels gave him a new audience in the embryonic punk crowd. It defined Iggy as a punk originator, sold 100k+ and become the Stooges best-selling album.

This is Marc Zermati’s original album edit that shocked and inspired so many. In the 2007 remastering from the original tapes an original tape-speed fault was found and fixed – it’s now heard in the correct pitch. As Lester Bangs said: “IT’S THE ONLY ROCK ALBUM I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR HURLED BEER BOTTLES BREAKING AGAINST GUITAR STRINGS”.

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the release of their debut album Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park will release a 20th Anniversary Edition this coming October. The 3 Album (4 x LP) set features the original album, the Reanimation remix album on double vinyl and a bonus LP of B-Side Rarities includes mixes, radio sessions and live tracks.

Pallbearer are back with new album, Forgotten Days. Carefully plotted throughout 2019, the quartet's fourth long-player eschews the compositional maximalism that hoisted predecessor Heartless aloft for the heaviest groove and the most visceral hooks to come out of the Arkansans to date. Spread across eight towering tracks, Forgotten Days sees Pallbearer embracing their roots again, but this time with a doom-infused metallic spark that's infectious and transcendent. Indeed, this album is everything a Pallbearer fan could love. It is a raw and riveting evolution, filled with emotion and the unique downcast exuberance that has defined the band's storied career.
Pallbearer have found the perfect musical economy on Forgotten Days . The quartet—comprised of Brett Campbell (vocals/guitars), Devin Holt (guitars), Joseph D. Rowland (bass/vocals), and Mark Lierly (drums)—have distilled the last decade of music and touring know-how into songs that have an undeniable urgency. Songs like "Riverbed," "Stasis," and "Vengeance & Ruination" feature Campbell's best vocal lines to date. Even after they're long over, Campbell's heartfelt cantations leave an indelible imprint. Other songs, like "Silver Wings," "The Quicksand of Existing," and Forgotten Days ’ stunning bookend “Caledonia,” demonstrate Pallbearer’s considerable restraint, where riffs sing out with character and feeling instead of being folded into impenetrable complex shapes. Indeed, the album's opening title track is crushing old-school heavy metal perfection. Thematically, Campbell and Rowland wanted to capture (and emphasize) the concept of family on Forgotten Days . This isn’t about reunions, halcyon celebrations, or the glow of coming home after a long spell away. Instead, songs like "Riverbed," "Silver Wings," and "Rite of Passage" tackle far more onerous topics. They deal with loss—physical and intangible—the weight of personal choices, and intense reflection. Heavier than a mountain of regret, the lyrics express where writers Campbell and Rowland are at on Forgotten Days .
Pallbearer linked up with producer Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Johan Johannson) on Forgotten Days . They first met Dunn when the American producer/audio engineer agreed to do live sound. As their professional and personal relationship developed, it only made sense for Pallbearer and Dunn to collaborate on Forgotten Days . So, they packed up and headed to Sonic Ranch Studios in West Texas. By day, heavy magic was captured. Between takes, nerd-out sessions over the studio’s vintage Neve console and impressive art collection were had, as were the endless sonic possibilities of Eventide H3000 harmonizers, over-spec’d Verellen amplifiers, and Campbell’s custom nine-string guitar. At night, Pallbearer, Dunn, engineer Justin Morris, and crew would drink beers and listen to the coyotes howl as a massive campfire burned up to the stars.
As with Heartless , Pallbearer's new album features the incredible cover art talents of Michael Lierly, brother of drummer Mark Lierly. To get the other Lierly started, Campbell and Rowland supplied the themes of Forgotten Days . They plied family, loss, reflection, memory, and regret, and left the painter to come up with something that evoked all of their essential themes and yet had the look/feel of a Pallbearer cover. From there, Lierly produced powerful front, back, and inside (gatefold) images that were roughly hewn yet heartbreaking in their expressive heft. The striking cover is the ideal foil to Pallbearer’s thick musical and lyrical melancholia.
Pallbearer formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2008. A heavy rock band from the South isn't that unlikely, but one that is responsible for, in part, rekindling America's passion for heavy rock/doom metal is all but unbelievable. From Sorrow and Extinction (2012) and Foundations of Burden (2014) to Heartless (2017), Pallbearer ignited in generations new and grizzled, not just a renewed interest in originators such as Black Sabbath and Candlemass but also infatuation over echelons of lesser-knowns. Even the press were taken aback, with the Arkansans landing prominent coverage in The New York Times , SPIN , NPR , Rolling Stone , and Decibel .
Today, Pallbearer defies categorization while appealing to the tenets of the very genre that now considers the group's oeuvre as crucial and influential. Forgotten Days is proof of that. One listen to "Riverbed," "Caledonia," "Stasis," and the album's 12-minute epic, "Silver Wings," and they solidify their place in music as one of the most creative and talented rock bands in the modern pantheon. They've made their mark on metal, and with Forgotten Days.

Leaders and stalwarts of the American heavy metal scene since the early 80s, Armored Saint's eighth full-length Punching The Sky sees them returning hard. A diverse, attitude-drenched collection, it's everything the band's faithful have come to expect from them while pushing their signature sound forward. Exploding to life with the crunchy, rousing "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" and not letting up until the closing ruthless riff of "Never You Fret", the record is possessed of an urgency and vigor which very much places it in the right now, but could only be the work of bassist Joey Vera, guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, drummer Gonzo Sandoval and vocalist John Bush.

Limited edition vinyl pressings of the instrumental mixes of Vænir and the band's debut Empress Rising are also available today. These are mailorder-only, with sleeves printed on premium chrome jackets limited to 1000 copies each album. Begun as a digital-only release for Empress Rising - instrumental, the response was so overwhelming the band and RidingEasy Records decided to release both revised albums on vinyl as well.
About the release, Esben Willems, Monolord drummer and recording & mixing engineer for the original album and this version, says, "Listening to the mixes for the instrumental version of Vænir opened an unexpected door. We seriously didn't expect that the album would take such a different shape and feel in an instrumental version. Really stoked to see how our fans will experience this release. Also, getting both instrumental versions (Vænir & Empress Rising) released on LP adds another layer. Hope you like it."

Without vocals, Empress Rising suddenly becomes a post-metal, stoner epic in the vein of Sleep's Dopesmoker and Monster Magnet's 30-minute opus 'Tab.' Arguably Monolord's most atmospheric work, the instrumental treatment gives the album a new life and listening experience." -- Consequence of Sound

The sleeves are printed on premium chrome jackets limited to 1000 copies each album. Begun as a digital-only release for Empress Rising - instrumental, the response was so overwhelming the band and RidingEasy Records decided to release both revised albums on vinyl as well.

Monolord formed in 2013, quickly recording their 2xLP debut Empress Rising, which RidingEasy Records released on April 1st, 2014. The second album, Vænir, followed April 28th, 2015. The band's third album, Rust, released September 29th, 2017, was a critical and commercial breakthrough. It would be the band's last for RidingEasy, though the band remain managed by label head Daniel Hall, elevating them to the Relapse Records roster for their 2019 full length No Comfort.

Without vocals, Empress Rising suddenly becomes a post-metal, stoner epic in the vein of Sleep's Dopesmoker and Monster Magnet's 30-minute opus 'Tab.' Arguably Monolord's most atmospheric work, the instrumental treatment gives the album a new life and listening experience." -- Consequence of Sound

The sleeves are printed on premium chrome jackets limited to 1000 copies each album. Begun as a digital-only release for Empress Rising - instrumental, the response was so overwhelming the band and RidingEasy Records decided to release both revised albums on vinyl as well.

Monolord formed in 2013, quickly recording their 2xLP debut Empress Rising, which RidingEasy Records released on April 1st, 2014. The second album, Vænir, followed April 28th, 2015. The band's third album, Rust, released September 29th, 2017, was a critical and commercial breakthrough. It would be the band's last for RidingEasy, though the band remain managed by label head Daniel Hall, elevating them to the Relapse Records roster for their 2019 full length No Comfort.

Limited edition vinyl pressings of the instrumental mixes of Vænir and the band's debut Empress Rising are also available today. These are mailorder-only, with sleeves printed on premium chrome jackets limited to 1000 copies each album. Begun as a digital-only release for Empress Rising - instrumental, the response was so overwhelming the band and RidingEasy Records decided to release both revised albums on vinyl as well.
About the release, Esben Willems, Monolord drummer and recording & mixing engineer for the original album and this version, says, "Listening to the mixes for the instrumental version of Vænir opened an unexpected door. We seriously didn't expect that the album would take such a different shape and feel in an instrumental version. Really stoked to see how our fans will experience this release. Also, getting both instrumental versions (Vænir & Empress Rising) released on LP adds another layer. Hope you like it."

GROUNDSWELLS’ is the third chapter in Wren’s seasonal lore exploration, and their first through Gizeh Records. These six melancholy-shrouded sonic ruminations swell between intimate performances devoid of adornment, and evolving soundscapes of auditory ruin. Tracing an elemental arch, 'GROUNDSWELLS' captures Wren delving into earthen awakenings.

Launching into a monochromatic dirge, ‘Chromed’ announces the LPs stylistic intentions, forgoing the trappings of traditional harmony with deliberate pendulums of pitch and tone. Swarms of percussion drag the track to its conclusion in a collage of insidious feedback, with oscillations sculpted by the record’s producer, Scott Evans of Kowloon Walled City.

Elsewhere, swift variance is displayed in Wrens’ deft handling of genre and form, refusing to be solely one of either. The record courses between rigid post-punk, broad waves of dreaded sludge, and austere choral reverberations. Pulsating Krautrock themes present in their previous work are revisited, with a focus on embracing archetypal motorik technique, as the LP stretches compositions to their furthest tensions through profuse repetition, straining the cracks between.

Inviting physical, elemental surrounds into ‘Subterranean Messiah’, Wren allow space for the sudden cloudburst of Middle Farm Studios in the introductory passage via location recording, embracing the interplay between source and locality. Combined with the painterly fretwork and ghostly chants of Fvnerals, the collaboration seeks an emotive new path of melodic vulnerability. In contrast, the closing elegy is layered with disharmonious cycles of agonised cello from Jo Quail. As with other conclusions on the LP, the track's commitment to strained repetition is rewarded with sonic climaxes of blackened psychedelia, led by stalagmitic spirals of atonalism.

Throughout the LP, Wren draws from their long-standing apologue, with a partnership of vocalists showcasing a lyrical and vocal interplay thick with a dense lore new to their compositions. 'GROUNDSWELLS' brings Wren to an equinox in their earthly contemplations. Ruminating on the decaying inanition that engenders renewal, this record is a revelry in the cyclical, repetitious infinity of planetary permanence.

Die von Sänger Sean Peck (Cage, The Three Tremors) angeführten U.S.Metaller Death Dealer veröffentlichen mit "Conquered lands" ihren dritten Longplayer, der gleichzeitig das Debüt von Mike Lepond (Sympathy X, Ross the Boss) als neuen Bassist darstellt und neben Ross the Boss himself auch noch Stu Marshall (Night Legion, Dungeon) an der Rhythmus-Gitarre und Steve Bolognese (Ross the Boss, Into Eternity) an den Drums als Bandmitglieder zählt. Somit ist die Marschrichtung klar und die Band wird mit diesem 3. Album nicht nur Fans von Manowar und Ross the Boss abholen, sondern generell im Heavy Metal für eines der Highlights im Q4/2020 sorgen.

Defecto stehen nach wie vor für eine fulminante Mischung aus Hell und Dunkel, aus Eingängigkeit, Progressivität und Aggressivität, die umgehend beim Hörer hängenbleibt, aber mit jedem Durchlauf neue Details offenbart. Die Defecto-Erfolgskurve wird also weiterhin nach oben zeigen! Aufgenommen wurde in den Sonne Studios und den Hansen Studios. Für den Mix war wieder Frontmann Nicklas Sonne selbst verantwortlich. Das Mastering wurde von ihm und Jens Bogren übernommen. Das Album Artwork stammt von Stefan Skjoedt.

NOCTE OBDUCTA wurde 1995 als Nachfolger der Band Deshîra gegründet. Jetzt, 25 Jahre nach der Gründung, erscheint bereits das 13te Album mit dem Titel "Irrlicht (Es schlägt dem Mond ein kaltes Herz)". Mit diesem Album kehren NOCTE OBDUCTA nicht nur stilistisch zurück in alte Gefilde und greifen dabei in ungeschliffener und dennoch gewohnt lyrischer Manier viele Momente aus der Geschichte der Band auf. Nicht nur ein Mal muss man dabei auch an das Nektar-Konzept denken. Dennoch wirken NOCTE OBDUCTA auf dem neuen Werk ehrlicher und ungleich schonungsloser als damals und verlieren dabei die ein oder andere Hoffnung mehr als gut wäre. Das Artwork unterstreicht auch optisch die Reduktion aufs Wesentliche und mag dabei zuweilen schroff wirken. Dennoch ergibt sich ein wie gewohnt stimmiges Gesamtkonzept und offenbart einmal mehr die stetige Unrast und Schaffenskraft von Marcel, dem kreativen Kopf der Band.

Time comes in cycles sometimes what we thought we left behind suddenly catches up with us and changes the 'Plan'. Amebix vowed never to play again after the sad ending of the band in 1987, out of steam and with little support we simply drifted apart. It wasn't until the advent of the internet that it became apparent that we had left a wake in our passing, which had in turn passed the torch on to those who would follow. There was some satisfaction in that, and also some niggling feeling that we had never really had our 'day in the sun', but as I say, time comes in cycles.Stig, Roy & I all got together for the first time in 2008, I had not picked up a bass guitar for 22 years , whilst Stig had kept his hand in with his own projects , and Roy Mayorga has barely left a drum stool since his early days in Nausea, but it was the first time that we had all met , let alone played together. The brief was to try and re -visit three songs, to see what there was left of the music that had driven us so hard when we were just kids. If it didn't work, we would all have tried anyway and had a good experience along with it. But it did work, the first track we recorded was WINTER, the first take was the one we kept, and that is ultimately the version you hear. We all stood around a bit stunned, this is easy ..lets crack into Arise!...........nailed ! As the tracks came together, we realised that a door was opening, and that we had a choice, to walk along this road again or hang up the strap for good. Personally I am glad that we walked on, 2009 was a great year , a time of celebration and re-birth, and a vindication of the body of work that we had spent ten years on, which found a home within the souls of so many good people .NGNM. A.Arise! 6:45 B i.Winter 4:59 ii. Chain Reaction 5:47 All songs written by Amebix Recorded, mixed and Engineered by Roy Mayorga o Classic Amebix tracks re-recorded with the founder members The Baron and Stig and featuring multiple talents of Drummer/ Percussionist, Producer-Engineer (Sepultura) Roy Mayorga (Nausea/ Stone Sour ) o Limited to 500 of each

Picking up where the band left off with their critically acclaimed ‘Love in Shadow’, the trio of Aaron Turner (ISIS, Old Man Gloom), Brian Cook (Russian Circles) and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) push further into the polarity of their sound with longform composition and freeform exploration.

Meticulously detailed and complex one moment, rudimentary and repetitive the next and completely untethered and unscripted at seemingly random, ‘May You Be Held’ is an album that fluctuates between extreme discipline and control and an almost feral energy. “As an artist in this time of significant upheaval, society seemingly having reached the end of its current iteration, it’s of critical importance to absorb and interpret this process of dissolution - and of the transformation that hopefully follows it” says Turner, “While I don’t believe we’re on the brink of collective destruction precisely now, this is clearly a pivotal stage in the story of humankind - and there is something that feels right about this music at this exact and
very uncertain moment.”