What happens when you combine an artist who is obsessed with metal music with an art installation in Hollywood and sprinkle a modern day Patron Saint of the Arts on top?
You get a free night of ART + METAL courtesy of SCION A/V.
This Saturday marks the opening reception for Verita Vltima Vitae, the installation for U.K. artist & illustrator French, who is known for his meticulous line work. He’ll be hanging out in Hollywood exhibiting his newest illustrations and custom products. Trust us, this guy’s stuff is straight-up siiiick, and we mean that in the best way possible. Check out samples of French’s work here.
The metal bonus? New York death metal veterans & Long Island Music Hall of Fame inductees SUFFOCATION and technical death metal innovators ORIGIN from Kansas will be playing the Verita Vltima Vitae after-party at The Dragonfly! How’s that for an awesome Saturday night?
The ONLY way to attend the after-party is by RSVP-ing to attend the art opening to receive your after-party wrist band.
Niclas Lideskär Johnsson (ex. FULL STRIKE, ex. FATAL SMILE) and Wojtek Lisicki (LOST HORIZON, “ex”. LUCIFERION, ex. AGAINST THE PLAGUES) who earlier united their creative powers return with some essential updates.
(Quote)
“Niclas and Wojtek said to ZERO Magazine on September 17th
We admit that we’ve gone underground for some time, but there are reasons for that. Since over half a year we have been totally occupied with configuring the band and with a very intence studio work. The goal was to achieve a right structure of members on both professional and interpersonal level, with true dedication and passion for music and band-life. The goal we now have achieved.
Consequently, we would like to present the new band members, also participating on the recording of this album – Gunnar Hård Af Segerstad (ex. DISDAIN) and Kaj Leissner (ex. ARISE).
Parallelly to that we have been working our asses off with composing new songs and also re-writing and super-updating the older ones. The result is however fulfilling. We have managed to create a consistent material with great homogeneity at the same time with variation of different metal styles presented in a modern form. Everything is combined with and embellished by complex electronic ornaments of mysterious characters and suggestive natures.
You can listen to the songs “Terminated Fate” and “Sophisticated Machines” confronting our solemn faces at the Youtube links below. Both songs from the forthcoming debut album.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA. – Southern California thrash metal band Attackhead has announced plans to perform at Hell and Heaven Metal Fest in Guadalajara Mexico on Oct 27th.
Hell and Heaven Metal Festival is currently the only open air metal festival in Mexico. The Festival is dedicated to metal, but tries to balance genders like: Heavy, Glam, Metalcore, Thrash, Speed, Death, Black and Industrial metal. The festival had its first edition in October 2010 with three stages and 40 bands. In 2011, the promoters exceeded an 20,000 audience and have confirmed 57 international performing artists. This year’s line up will include Attackhead as well as headliners Anthrax and Heathen.
Additionally, Attackhead will be available in Guadalajara Mexico for a Meet and Greet on Friday afternoon sponsored by Metal Mexico.
Singer and lead guitarist Mark Chapman said “This will be our first time in Mexico and we are very excited to get down there and perform for our fans”. Attackhead is promoting their latest release “Voices in the Dark – Second Attack” which was remixed/mastered and released in August 2011. The album was also released on classic vinyl in February 2012.
The Mexico tour is being sponsored by Dunlop, Spear Guitars, Coffin Case, Tsunami Cables, Rock and Roll Gangstar apparel and Meteoro Amplifiers. Attackhead will be promoted by 918 Management in Mexico with US Promotion by Echo Eyes Tour and Management.
Upon their return from Mexico, Attackhead will be scheduling a May 2013 tour in Europe with performances in England, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Belgium.
See more of Attackhead on their official website at www.Attackhead.com. See more information about the Hell and Heaven Festival at: www.hellandheavenfest.com
The following is the seventh of eight installments where rhythm guitarist/songwriter/lyricist Ivar Bjørnson and bassist/vocalist/lyricist Grutle Kjellson of the Norwegian progressive extreme metal band ENSLAVED offer insight on the tracks to their twelfth studio album, RIITIIR, due out in Europe on September 28th and in North America on October 9th.
Bjørnson on RIITIIR Track #7, “Storm Of Memories”:
“Alright, much like ENSLAVED’s career, this song could be described with the sports term ‘a working victory’ (it might surprise some that we didn’t get where we are just because of our strikingly good looks and a talented costume designer). It was the first song to be written for this album but the last one to fall into place completely. Obviously, I’m talking about the first section of the song – the second half is more ‘normal ENSLAVED’ (okay, that is funny) and it more or less worked itself out during the rehearsal sessions. On the other hand, I wasn’t completely getting the right atmosphere from the first rounds of the band adding their instruments in the studio on the first part: the demos from the previous year still had more of a ‘vibe’ to them than we were getting in the studio. Luckily, co-producer Iver [Sandøy] had an equally wholehearted belief in the song and really dived into the task of getting the best out of the song. His ideas – for the arpeggio that Herbrand [Larsen, keyboard player & clean vocalist] wrote out on his keys, along with his ideas for percussion and some effects – became the spark that ignited the song in the end, which turned out to be one of the best we’ve done! The last pieces were the somewhat disturbing chanting by yours truly and of course Jens Bogren’s perfect mix. Obviously, he’s done a fantastic job on the entire album, but I feel the need to point out how integral he is particularly on this (working victory of a) song. Lyrically, we might be looking at some weird mix of a literal interpretation of the title and the inner/physical workings of the rituals and/or mental processes (depending on whether you’re wearing a wizard’s hat or a lab coat) intended to cause willed change on either or both sides of the ‘reality border.’ This is the song where abstracts and concretes meet in the hope of conjuring up a storm…”
Kjellson on “Storm Of Memories”:
“This song sounds like the title strongly indicates: a storm of memories! Intense like a storm from within. This was the first song Ivar wrote for the album, actually just a few months after the release of the Axioma album. The funny thing is that where the first song written for a new album tends to sound like the previous album, this one doesn’t! In fact, this one does not sound like either Axioma or Riitiir. This song is something like a deserted island in the ENSLAVED ocean (okay, that sounds cheesy). Anyway, this is (at least the opening) the closest we will ever get sounding like a Krautrock-band! Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it´s kind of special since none of us have been digging particularly deep in Amon Düül or early Kraftwerk. The direction of this song, particularly in the mixing session, is perhaps the biggest debate we’ve ever had on the production side in the band. We are a bunch of nerds that live and breathe for the art of making music and we shared the production between four different minds (Bjørnson, Kjellson, Larsen & Sandøy) with four different ways of approaching music. So, some arguments (very healthy in a retrospective aspect) occurred. But, all of us ended up thinking this was a very refreshing yet different song. This process opened up the eyes for all of us on the production team and this collaboration is something I will always remember and be deadly proud of.”
RIITIIR will be released in Europe this Friday, September 28th and in North America on October 9th. The iTunes pre-order is available for $8.99 to all U.S. residents (special pricing also extends through the week of release). Visit iTunes to preview 90 seconds of every single thought-altering new song.
Nuclear Blast USA’s pre-order bundles include an exclusive album artwork t-shirt + an exclusive 1-inch pin. The deluxe digi-pak edition includes a bonus DVD featuring: The Making of RIITIIR, The Band, The Studios, The Artwork.
ENSLAVED will fly to Miami, Florida to perform on the Barge To Hell cruise on December 3rd. Vikings on a plane only to land on a boat… that’s an adventure waiting to happen.
Living on either or both sides of the reality border at:
Female-fronted classic heavy metallers ACCESS DENIED were originally formed in 2003 in Poland and after a series of demos released their debut album (“The Memorial”) in 2009. Their style quickly evolved from hard rock to classic heavy metal and they have been performing regularly in recent years.
Their second album “Touch of Evil” was originally released in their home country in 2011 as a self release in limited quantities. It’s been re-released now by Pitch Black Records and it features an exclusive bonus video of the song “One Night” (explicit version).
The album will be released on November 6th 2012 and it will be available through Pitch Black Records and its distribution partners as well as through major mp3 stores.
A track from the album is already available for streaming and free download at www.pitchblackrecords.com.
METAL-RULES.com Will be attending BETHLEHEM, SECRETS OF THE MOON, and DORDEDUH as they embark on a joint concert tour of Europe!
We are proud to announce that will be attending on of the most exciting metal tours of this year, as we see BETHLEHEM, SECRETS OF THE MOON, and DORDEDUH embarking on a joint concert tour of Europe.
BETHLEHEM were founded in 1991 and with their release of their album “Dark Metal,” they invented the homonymous musical sub-genre, while shaping the field of Suicidal/Depressive Black Metal with their records “Dictius Te Necare” and “S.U.i.Z.i.D.”
BETHLEHEM have been one of the primary inspirations for countless bands to follow in their wake and now wiith a new album we will see them embark on the first-ever tour in the band’s history, so we expect to see some historically charged performances!
SECRETS OF THE MOON were formed in 1995 are amongst the ‘old hands’ of the German Black Metal scene. The band are seen as one of the more serious, most expressive, and most spiritual of their genre, giving fresh impetus to others as well.
We hope that their excellent reputation as a live act will be vindicated once more on this tour, and we look forward to hearing songs from their new album “Seven Bells”, which was co-mixed among others by Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost, Triptykon). We hope to see them as they celebrate the darkness at the end of the tunnel more convincingly than ever.
BETHLEHEM and SECRETS OF THE MOON are going to alternate as headliners on this tour as they’ll be supported by Romania’s DORDEDUH!
The band has centred around former Negura Bunget musicians Hupogrammos and Sol Faur, who will be releasing their debut album “Dar De Duh” later this year
We are looking forward to see them open up this string of concerts with their transcendental Black Metal!
We’re glad to finally make it official and announce that OG is a real 6-piece troop again – we welcome Erkki Silvennoinen as a new bass player to Omnium Gatherum. Erkki is a die-hard pro dude with a warm nice attitude, just the way we like it, and we know him well from sharing same stages than us since almost ten years ago. He used to play in Amoral as well as in Finnish Idols winner Ari Koivunen’s band back in the day. At the moment he is also playing in awesome brutal tech death metal band De Lirium’s Order. At the same time we say huge thanks to Eerik Purdon (ex-OG / Shear) who was filling the low-frequence spot almost one year as a session member on stage and in studio – thanx mate and we owe you a big one!
Here’s what Erkki has to say about his new vocation:
“I’m very excited to join Omnium Gatherum. I already know most of the guys from way back when I was playing warm-up gigs for them. I have seen them grow and evolve into the tight unit they are today and hire
Jukka as their front-man, who also happens to be one of my best friends. It’s an honor to get to play with such talented musicians. The previous bass players have left some big shoes to fill… I hope they fit.”
The new up-coming Omnium Gatherum album is being mixed at the moment by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studio and tentative release date is set to early 2013, more info about the album coming soon!
No news from the ship? But news from 70000TONS OF METAL’s scouting party in Germany: They didn’t want to wait until HELLOWEEN so they went to the country in the South: Switzerland. But there was too much traffic at the GOTTHARD and they decided to go back to Germany to meet their KREATOR!
Three more heavy hitters for 70000TONS OF METAL, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise!
So are you ready to start next year in style? Just imagine: In January 2013, 40 Heavy Metal bands and 2,000 fans from all over the World will go to the Caribbean to take over the luxury cruise ship “Majesty of the Seas” for 5 days and 4 nights. Book your cabin now at www.70000tons.com and be part of Heavy Metal History made in the Caribbean once again on 70000TONS OF METAL, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise! The Original Metal Cruise: Home of the biggest open air stage to sail the oceans!
And unlike others they also remove the seats in front of the stage in the theater, or do you like seated Heavy Metal shows? This is 70000TONS OF METAL, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise where you enjoy unrestricted festival access to all live shows on board. And don’t forget, every band plays twice! There are also Open Mic Nights, Clinics, Work-Shops, the infamous 70000TONS OF METAL Karaoke, Bars that never close, you heard right: They don’t close, two full days at Sea, a fun-and-sun-filled day on a beautiful Caribbean Island and an opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists that all join us for the entire trip. It’s like everyone has a backstage pass!
The following 18 out of 40 bands have already been announced:
ANACRUSIS
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DORO
DRAGONFORCE
ENSIFERUM
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
GOTTHARD
HELLOWEEN
HELSTAR
IMMOLATION
IN FLAMES
KREATOR
LACUNA COIL
NILE
RAGE and LINGUA MORTIS ORCHESTRA
SABATON
SUBWAY TO SALLY
TURISAS
70000TONS OF METAL, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise, will sail Monday, January 28, 2013 aboard the Royal Caribbean “Majesty of the Seas” from Miami, FL and will not return you to the real world for four days until Friday, February 1, 2013.
Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$299 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24 room service!
What are you waiting for? You might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done! Check out http://www.70000tons.com/ for more information.
I love the Underworld in Camden! It may be a small venue but it has housed some of the biggest names in metal, such as Fear Factory and Suffocation and tonight it’s home to Gothenburg melodic death metal titans, Engel.
In addition to their current Teutonic Terror Attack 2012 co-headlining tour with fellow countrymen KREATOR and openers Swallow The Sun, German heavy metal legends ACCEPT have booked the following eight solo shows for October:
10/06/2012 – Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
10/07/2012 – Montage Music Hall- Rochester NY
10/08/2012 – Blondies – Detroit, MI
10/09/2012 – Phoenix Hill Tavern- Louisville, KY
10/11/2012 – Scout Bar – Houston TX
10/12/2012 – Borderfest – Hidalgo TX
10/13/2012 – South Texas Rock Fest – San Antonio, TX
10/14/2012 – Rocktoberfest – Lubbock, TX
ACCEPT’s Stalingrad debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #81 in April; KREATOR’s Phantom Antichrist debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #130 on the Billboard Top 200 in July.
Tristania have taken a break from writing the follow up album to ‘Rubicon’ to go on a Norwegian Arts Council sponsored whistle-stop 14 date, 7 country European tour and we caught up with them on their only UK date, at Camden’s Underworld. Read the rest of this entry »
Sacred mother tongue have been a driving force in the metal scene since first inception in 2004, after a creative change of hands the band solidified a line-up in 2008 consisting of:
Darrin South (vocals),
Andy James (Guitar),
Josh Gurner (Bass) and
Lee Newell (Drums).
The new line-up went on to create; Revenge Is Personal (2007) – EP, The Ruin of Man (2009)A Light Shines (2012) – EP and the upcoming album Out of the Darkness (2013). I caught up with Darrin and Andy to discuss the newly released EP as well as the new eagerly anticipated album.
Apparently, you can’t have picnics in the park in Finland anymore. “Well, you can, but if you go by the book [of public protocol], it’s not allowed. It’s stupid! I love a drink in the sun!” claims Sami Hinkka.
How did we get talking about picnics in parks, I hear you ask? Well, we’re doing the interview outside and the sun is shining with the security guard of the O2 Islington just admonished Sami for wanting to bring his beer out to join him. Bad times!
If you’re a miserable human being, don’t go to see Ensiferum!
I worked that out during the 2011 Ugly World Tour, on which they were joined by fellow Scandinavians Amon Amarth and Children of Bodom, and tonight, I couldn’t wait to see if Ensiferum would slay the crowd again – this time, in leading role! Read the rest of this entry »
