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World renowned extreme Metal titans KREATOR are back. 5 Years after their incredibly successful “Gods Of Violence” album (2107, #1 in the German album charts, #4 in Austria, #7 in Czech Republic and Finland + chart entries in numerous other territories), the genre-defining band presents their most political effort to date. “Hate Über Alles” (in tradition of US punk icons DEAD KENNEDYS’ “California Über Alles”) is a bold statement against hate and the division of society in today’s world. While perfecting their signature sound of thrash metal that inspired countless other bands over the past 4 decades, KREATOR have managed to close the gap between the old and new school, still reaching new audiences, playing sold out shows to even bigger crowds as they move on. “

Hate Über Alles” features 11 tracks that once again show who’s boss in this game that many begin but only few ultimately last in. The crushing frenzy of the title track, the pounding “Strongest Of The Strong” featuring world famous vegan strongman Patrik Baboumian, the nostalgia of “Become Immortal” or the extravaganza of “Midnight Sun” make the band’s 14th album their most diverse and thrilling so far. “Hate Über Alles” will be accompanied by massive online and out-of-home campaigns, leading up to the band’s European co-headlining tour with Grammy-nominated US powerhouse LAMB OF GOD in November/December 2022. The album is available in various lavish vinyl editions featuring a beautiful, yet grim trifold artwork by famous artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SOULFLY, HELLOWEEN, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, HATEBREED among others) as well as in a noble CD Digibook and bold box set including an extended Making-Of Book, a live album of the band’s 2021 Bloodstock Open Air appearance, an art print of the cover and a pin of the band’s iconic logo.

The Long Island Metallers return with brand new album 'Culture of Violence' Essential listening for fans of Slayer, Megadeth, Testament and Pantera.

Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”

DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.

Instantly recognizable devastation and deceptively sinister hooks abound. Freshly minted DECAPITATED anthems like “Last Supper,” “Hello Death,” “Just Cigarette,” “No Cure,” “Iconoclast,” and “Cancer Culture” shimmer with sonically sharp production and unrelenting bombast. There’s also a newly increased emphasis on melody, even venturing into darkly romantic territory. Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.

Set on the descending plains of a mountain range amid a dense forest, Krosno boasts a 14th-century Gothic church, a Subcarpathian museum, and stunning artisan glassware. In this Polish town, teenage music student Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka discovered records from bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and Machine Head. The guitarist and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996, inspired by a wide range of technical death, blackened thrash, and local heroes, like KAT and the world-renowned Vader. Death and black metal reigned supreme in the Polish scene of the 1990s, where Behemoth originated as well. In fact, a Vader song called “Decapitated Saints” inspired the band’s moniker.
The organic musical chemistry between the Kiełtykas was akin to the brotherly connectivity and vibe driving Pantera, Gojira, and the classic era of Sepultura. In 2006, Kerrang! praised the first three DECAPITATED albums - Winds of Creation (2000), Nihility (2002), and The Negation (2004) – as “superbly conceived and executed eruptions of technical brilliance and razor-sharp songwriting that turned these youthful Poles into one of the genre’s most widely respected bands.” That year’s Organic Hallucinosis further perfected Vogg’s penchant for blending extremity with catchy hooks.

The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of the first four albums reinvigorated death metal, as DECAPITATED inspired a new generation of bands who followed suit. Sadly, this era came to a shocking end in late 2007. While touring Russia, the band’s bus collided with a large truck near the border with Belarus. Both Vitak and then-singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek sustained severe head injuries. Tragically, Vitak passed away in a Russian hospital a few days later. He was just 23.Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album, Carnival is Forever (2011) featuring new vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski. Blood Mantra (2014) introduced bassist, Paweł Pasek. Blabbermouth declared it “perhaps the most poised and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable ride.”

Cancer Culture sounds brilliant, modern, and tasty. “There is no place for any fake, plastic, bullshit drum machine or anything like that,” Vogg insists. “It’s all organic, pure, and clear, showing the true face of the band. Vogg and company entrusted the Cancer Culture mix to David Castillo at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios / Studio Gröndahl (Sepultura, Carcass, Opeth, Katatonia), and legendary American producer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Slipknot, Pantera, Machine Head, Korn).
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Suffocation over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling backbone. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will connect to the variety of atmospheric depth throughout Cancer Culture’s ten boundlessly energetic and creative tracks.
“If you told me 25 years ago, in my neighborhood in the South of Poland, that I would be in Machine Head, sharing riffs with Robb Flynn,” Vogg marvels. “It’s simply incredible. It means that everything is possible in your life. That gives me the faith to believe that I can achieve even more in my career. The dreams we have when we are kids, things we can barely imagine, can happen.” Flynn contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the Cancer Culture track “Iconoclast.” “Clean vocal singing is a really new thing in DECAPITATED,” Vogg notes. “It’s really unique and amazing.”

Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on creative invention and technical prowess maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond. The band’s supporters continually demonstrate confidence and absolute certainty DECAPITATED will deliver.

Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”

DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.

Instantly recognizable devastation and deceptively sinister hooks abound. Freshly minted DECAPITATED anthems like “Last Supper,” “Hello Death,” “Just Cigarette,” “No Cure,” “Iconoclast,” and “Cancer Culture” shimmer with sonically sharp production and unrelenting bombast. There’s also a newly increased emphasis on melody, even venturing into darkly romantic territory. Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.

Set on the descending plains of a mountain range amid a dense forest, Krosno boasts a 14th-century Gothic church, a Subcarpathian museum, and stunning artisan glassware. In this Polish town, teenage music student Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka discovered records from bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and Machine Head. The guitarist and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996, inspired by a wide range of technical death, blackened thrash, and local heroes, like KAT and the world-renowned Vader. Death and black metal reigned supreme in the Polish scene of the 1990s, where Behemoth originated as well. In fact, a Vader song called “Decapitated Saints” inspired the band’s moniker.
The organic musical chemistry between the Kiełtykas was akin to the brotherly connectivity and vibe driving Pantera, Gojira, and the classic era of Sepultura. In 2006, Kerrang! praised the first three DECAPITATED albums - Winds of Creation (2000), Nihility (2002), and The Negation (2004) – as “superbly conceived and executed eruptions of technical brilliance and razor-sharp songwriting that turned these youthful Poles into one of the genre’s most widely respected bands.” That year’s Organic Hallucinosis further perfected Vogg’s penchant for blending extremity with catchy hooks.

The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of the first four albums reinvigorated death metal, as DECAPITATED inspired a new generation of bands who followed suit. Sadly, this era came to a shocking end in late 2007. While touring Russia, the band’s bus collided with a large truck near the border with Belarus. Both Vitak and then-singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek sustained severe head injuries. Tragically, Vitak passed away in a Russian hospital a few days later. He was just 23.Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album, Carnival is Forever (2011) featuring new vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski. Blood Mantra (2014) introduced bassist, Paweł Pasek. Blabbermouth declared it “perhaps the most poised and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable ride.”

Cancer Culture sounds brilliant, modern, and tasty. “There is no place for any fake, plastic, bullshit drum machine or anything like that,” Vogg insists. “It’s all organic, pure, and clear, showing the true face of the band. Vogg and company entrusted the Cancer Culture mix to David Castillo at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios / Studio Gröndahl (Sepultura, Carcass, Opeth, Katatonia), and legendary American producer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Slipknot, Pantera, Machine Head, Korn).
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Suffocation over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling backbone. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will connect to the variety of atmospheric depth throughout Cancer Culture’s ten boundlessly energetic and creative tracks.
“If you told me 25 years ago, in my neighborhood in the South of Poland, that I would be in Machine Head, sharing riffs with Robb Flynn,” Vogg marvels. “It’s simply incredible. It means that everything is possible in your life. That gives me the faith to believe that I can achieve even more in my career. The dreams we have when we are kids, things we can barely imagine, can happen.” Flynn contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the Cancer Culture track “Iconoclast.” “Clean vocal singing is a really new thing in DECAPITATED,” Vogg notes. “It’s really unique and amazing.”

Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on creative invention and technical prowess maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond. The band’s supporters continually demonstrate confidence and absolute certainty DECAPITATED will deliver.

CREMATORY feiern 30 Jahre deutschen Gothic Metal mit Inglorious Darkness!

CREMATORY sind eine unbestreitbare Instanz im Gothic Metal und selbst nach mehr als 30 Jahren in der Szene beweißt die Band mit ihrem neuen Album Inglorious Darkness, das am 27. Mai 2022 über
Napalm Records erscheint, einmal mehr warum sie weiterhin zu den Besten des Genres gehört. Nach 15 Studioalben, drei Live-Alben, diversen Compilations und Splits, sowie hunderten von Headliner-Shows und Festivals auf der ganzen Welt kehrt die Band auf dem neuen Album teilweise zu deutschen Texten zurück.

Sie präsentieren nicht nur neue Songs auf deutsch, sondern auch eine deutsche Version ihres absoluten Klassikers ”Tears of Time”, der aktuell auf dem neuen Album ”Tränen der Zeit” heißt. Der bahnbrechende Track, welcher ursprünglich auf dem Album Illusions (1995) veröffentlicht wurde, avencierte zu einem Kult-Song des gesamten im Gothic Metal-Genre und feiert nun auf Inglorious Darkness seine glorreiche Neuauflage mit deutschem Gesang.
Mit Inglorious Darkness beweisen CREMATORY, dass ihre Leidenschaft stärker brennt denn je zuvor und dass sie selbst nach über 30 Jahren ein elementarer Bestandteil des Gothic Metals weltweit sind.

Running Wild were formed in Hamburg in 1976 and have become one of the most vital and influential heavy metal bands to come out of Germany. They are also credited with inventing the now infamous sub-genre, ‘Pirate Metal’ which is so popular today. The band still command a rabid, global fanbase too, the recent Noise reissue series saw all nine chart in the German album charts. To this day they still headline huge indoor shows and headline festivals.

Running Wild were formed in Hamburg in 1976 and have become one of the most vital and influential heavy metal bands to come out of Germany. They are also credited with inventing the now infamous sub-genre, ‘Pirate Metal’ which is so popular today. The band still command a rabid, global fanbase too, the recent Noise reissue series saw all nine chart in the German album charts. To this day they still headline huge indoor shows and headline festivals.

CIRCLE OF SILENCE melden sich mit ihrem neuen Album "Walk Through Hell" zurück, das düsterer als seine Vorgänger ausgefallen ist und ein wahres Schmankerl für jeden Power Metal Fan ist, der heftig, düster und melodisch mag.
"Walk Through Hell" ist das vierte Studio-Album von CIRCLE OF SILENCE.
Zum ersten Mal wurden alle Songs komplett in Drop-C Stimmung geschrieben, was dem Album ein schwereres und insgesamt düstereres Gefühl verleiht, viel düsterer als bei den vorherigen Alben.
CIRCLE OF SILENCE sind davon überzeugt, dass dies ihr bisher bestes Album ist, und dass es von allen Fans von härterem und dunklerem melodischen Power Metal geliebt werden wird.
Krachende Doublebass-getriebene Tracks, stampfende Groover sowie epische Hymnen - alles, was das Headbanger-Herz begehrt, findet sich zusammen mit vielen tiefgründigen und persönlichen Texten auf diesem Album.
Durch die Pandemie konnte die Band, im Vergleich zu früheren Alben, viel Zeit in die Arbeit an ihren Songs investieren. Epische Soli und Leadgitarren sowie ein bis zu 5-stimmiger Gesang verleihen dem neuen Album eine gewisse Epik.

CIRCLE OF SILENCE melden sich mit ihrem neuen Album "Walk Through Hell" zurück, das düsterer als seine Vorgänger ausgefallen ist und ein wahres Schmankerl für jeden Power Metal Fan ist, der heftig, düster und melodisch mag.
"Walk Through Hell" ist das vierte Studio-Album von CIRCLE OF SILENCE.
Zum ersten Mal wurden alle Songs komplett in Drop-C Stimmung geschrieben, was dem Album ein schwereres und insgesamt düstereres Gefühl verleiht, viel düsterer als bei den vorherigen Alben.
CIRCLE OF SILENCE sind davon überzeugt, dass dies ihr bisher bestes Album ist, und dass es von allen Fans von härterem und dunklerem melodischen Power Metal geliebt werden wird.
Krachende Doublebass-getriebene Tracks, stampfende Groover sowie epische Hymnen - alles, was das Headbanger-Herz begehrt, findet sich zusammen mit vielen tiefgründigen und persönlichen Texten auf diesem Album.
Durch die Pandemie konnte die Band, im Vergleich zu früheren Alben, viel Zeit in die Arbeit an ihren Songs investieren. Epische Soli und Leadgitarren sowie ein bis zu 5-stimmiger Gesang verleihen dem neuen Album eine gewisse Epik.

With a signature sound signified by lockstep rhythms & a deep grasp of soul and funk, Orgone has built a reputation over the past 2 decades as being one of the tightest, fieriest live bands in the country & a top notch crew in the studio. On their new album Lost Knights, Orgone offer up a collection of heavy-duty psychedelic funk-rock anthems created to be played loud and raucously. The release features lead vocal contributions from Orgone's ever expanding extended family of some the finest soulful singers on the West Coast - Terin Ector, Jamie Allensworth, Phil Diamond, with special appearances from Jesse Wagner (The Aggrolites) and Kelly Finnigan (Monophonics). A first of sorts, for the band, in featuring an all male fronted lineup on an album.The tough, punchy, & hard hitting production highlights a body of work both "head banging"-ly satisfying and eminently groovy. Opener "Working for Love" rolls out the gate with a crunchy drum break and slams into a heavy guitar and bass riff behind Ector's call to loving arms & irresistible singalong chorus. The rest of the album thunders on with Funkadelic-style guitar and gloriously gritty hammond organ percolating through timely songs of protest, brotherhood, unity, reverence & loss. Instrumentals "Samson" and "Crusader" round out the record, highlighting the trademark Orgone sound; instantly classic & dusty, at times chunky, at times sprawling; always on point. Lost Knights is ultimately a fun record- an expansion of a profound part of the band's DNA, their exploration of the cosmic haze between early Westbound catalog, 70s garage rock, skateboards, & the muscular power of a metallic crimson `68 Chevy Camaro. With racing stripes...

With a signature sound signified by lockstep rhythms & a deep grasp of soul and funk, Orgone has built a reputation over the past 2 decades as being one of the tightest, fieriest live bands in the country & a top notch crew in the studio. On their new album Lost Knights, Orgone offer up a collection of heavy-duty psychedelic funk-rock anthems created to be played loud and raucously. The release features lead vocal contributions from Orgone's ever expanding extended family of some the finest soulful singers on the West Coast - Terin Ector, Jamie Allensworth, Phil Diamond, with special appearances from Jesse Wagner (The Aggrolites) and Kelly Finnigan (Monophonics). A first of sorts, for the band, in featuring an all male fronted lineup on an album.The tough, punchy, & hard hitting production highlights a body of work both "head banging"-ly satisfying and eminently groovy. Opener "Working for Love" rolls out the gate with a crunchy drum break and slams into a heavy guitar and bass riff behind Ector's call to loving arms & irresistible singalong chorus. The rest of the album thunders on with Funkadelic-style guitar and gloriously gritty hammond organ percolating through timely songs of protest, brotherhood, unity, reverence & loss. Instrumentals "Samson" and "Crusader" round out the record, highlighting the trademark Orgone sound; instantly classic & dusty, at times chunky, at times sprawling; always on point. Lost Knights is ultimately a fun record- an expansion of a profound part of the band's DNA, their exploration of the cosmic haze between early Westbound catalog, 70s garage rock, skateboards, & the muscular power of a metallic crimson `68 Chevy Camaro. With racing stripes...

It started, as it so often does, with two old friends hanging out.

John Shima and C P Smith were joking around one evening in their home city of Sheffield. At some point, Smith challenged Shima that, if the latter could produce a record using nothing more than a small modular synth setup, then Smith would release it on his Central Processing Unit label. As heads will know, while Shima has drops on imprints like FireScope and Subwax Excursions to his name, he had never previously released anything via CPU. Shima accepted, and thus we now have his CPU debut, the four-track EP CPU Modular 1.

The specific setup that Shima worked with for these tracks was Smith's Doepfer A-100P6 Suitcase, a small but mighty combination of modules and programmers. It's no surprise that Shima was able to familiarise himself with the equipment in double-quick time - after all, Shima was an early adopter of the Eurorack modular format back in the day. What emerged from the CPU Modular 1 sessions was a quartet of devastatingly effective DJ tools, mid-set rollers which will get the dance moving something crazy.

Opener '003' kicks the EP off as it means to go on. There's something at once stiff-necked and buoyant about the rhythms here, all thwacking Roland tones and snares which crack like someone whipping a length of sheet metal. While the beat barrels unyieldingly onwards, the programming in the tuned modulars is more exploratory and even trippy, full of delay-laced bleeps and flighty rhythmic motifs. It comes together for a cracking mix in the vein of artists like Jerome Hill and London Modular Alliance. Second A-side cut '010' is no different, the street-beat groove and grumbling low-ends underpinning all manner of modular wizardry.

CPU Modular 1 is really timeless stuff, a set of percussion-heavy, future-focussed beats which recalls Smith's own CPU drop 'DJ Tools Vol.1 - 808 Tracks'. '011' kicks of CPU Modular 1's second-half with a dose of Drexciyan dystopia, playing an atonal loop off of an insistent bass wiggle and neurotic hi-hats. Even when Shima tightens or slackens the modulars here, '011' remains unyielding, a dose of pure 'Wip3out' energy that you could happily groove to all day long. The EP closes out with '005', a gnarled, gurgling production which still retains the dancefloor punch of the rest of the record.

For his Central Processing Unit debut, John Shima was tasked to produce four tracks using a single small modular setup. Unsurprisingly given the pedigree of this seasoned machine-funk pro, Shima aced the assignment.

“Modern Primitive” is the new album by SEPTICFLESH who present a stunning combination of symphonic and cinematic music with aggressive yet catchy Death Metal. Picking up on the group’s sonic evolution in the past decades, “Modern Primitive” proves to be more emotional, epic and heavy than ever.

SEPTICFLESH was formed as “Septic Flesh” in Greece in the early '90s by Spyridon Antoniou (a.k.a. Seth Siro Anton): vocals/bass, Christos Antoniou: guitar and Sotirios Vagenas (a.k.a. Sotiris Anunnaki V.): guitar/ clean vocals. A debut Ep was released in 1991, entitled "Temple of The Lost Race". Their first full-length album "Mystic Places of Dawn" was released in 1994, followed by "EΣΟΠΤΡΟΝ" that was released in 1995. With the release of "Ophidian Wheel" in 1997, a female soprano vocalist (Natalie Rassoulis) was introduced, as the band moved towards a more symphonic style. "A Fallen Temple" (1998) continued in the same musical direction. In 1999, "Revolution DNA" was released, followed by “Sumerian Daemons” in 2003, both albums produced by Fredrik Nordström (At The Gates, Opeth, In Flames). Although the band's popularity was growing, the band members decided to disband, in order to focus on other personal projects and goals. But that was not the end of the story... After a reunion, the band returned with the album "Communion" in 2008, again with Fredrik Nordström at the helm of production. From that point onwards, the symphonic element (composed by Christos Antoniou, that has a Master Degree in Concert Music) was fully implemented in the structure of the songs, with the collaboration of Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague. “The Great Mass” (2011) followed with Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) producing, "Titan" (2014) with Logan Mader (ex-Machine Head) as producer and "Codex Omega" (2017) which started the group’s collaboration with Jens Bogren that continues to the very day. In 2020, the recording of the epic and fully orchestrated Live in Mexico entitled "Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX", was released on CD/LP/DVD/Blu-Ray.

Now, SEPTICFLESH has joined forces with Nuclear Blast Records and initiates the next phase in the band’s history, with a new album to be released in May 2022. Once again Jens Bogren is responsible for the bombastic mix and sound whereas Seth Siro Anton - who is also in charge for the visual aesthetics of the band and worked for artists like Nile, Paradise Lost or Moonspell - has crafted a really intense cover and over-the-top artwork for this release. The new songs impress with many layers, gloomy and empowering atmosphere while being heavy and memorable. Besides the continuous collaboration with the Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague, the band used a full adult choir, a full children choir and a variety of ethnic instruments.

Erupt offer up five fiery tracks on Left To Rot. Treading the blurry lines between extreme punk and extreme metal, Left To Rot is a cacophony in all the right ways. Fast as, heavy as, nasty as. Featuring members of Sheer Mag, Geld and Gutter Gods - Erupt brings its own molten explosions to the surface. These burnt offerings are recommended for fans of Sodom, Celtic Frost, Iron Age, Warthog, Mindsnare and the other hordes of apocalypse old and new.

In the more than two decades since their launch, Swedish Metallers Sabaton have gained a legion of loyal fans across the globe by carving out a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in the business, an assessment shared by the UK's Guardian: “Other than veterans Iron Maiden, Sabaton is the biggest heavy metal band in Europe.” Since the band’s debut album in 2005, Sabaton has been combining standout stage design and production with epic concept albums, linking real-life historical war events with classic kick-ass metal. Sabaton has released nine studio albums, amassed six GOLD, one PLATINUM, and one four-times-PLATINUM awards, seen eight of its albums score Top 10 international chart status and six claim the Top 5. The band has earned eight Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards nominations, taking home the award for “Breakthrough Artist” in 2011 and “Best Live Band” in three different years, and a Grammis nomination (Swedish equivalent to the U.S. GRAMMY) as Best Heavy Metal Band. Sabaton has amassed more than two-billion streams across all streaming platforms, and more than 1.5-billion YouTube views. Over its 20-year touring history, Sabaton has headlined major festivals and sold-out arena concerts around the world.

Just recently, the band not only announced their new studio album "The War To End All Wars" but also their "Tour To End All Tours": In Spring 2022, SABATON will be visiting 26 cities in 17 countries, bringing their ground-breaking modern metal to the people and delivering breathtaking live shows in a setting that will once again set new bars for concerts of this kind. SABATON will be supported by Mongolian rock band THE HU and Finnish heavy metal veterans LORDI.

“Slave Driver” pushes the boundaries of Thrash Metal once again, intense and aggressive in its purest form available! Dead Head have been around since the late 80`s which was a golden and extremely fertile period for Thrash Metal, and it shows. Their style is just about as aggressive as Thrash can logically get before having to refer to them as death metal whilst thankfully managing to retaining a slight 80`s vibe. Everything about “Slave Driver” just ooozes unadulterated seething hatred, and aural violence. The raging, savage, heavy yet scything hyperfast guitar riffs are so crammed with maliciousness that you instantly realise that Slayer have in all reality been effectively dead for years. The vocals which easily rival any Thrash band in history for delivering snarling savage hatred, should show Kreator what they have been incapable of producing since Pleasure to Kill. The fast cannon like drumming is unrepentant, and forms a perfect malevolent percussive backing for this brutal aural bashing. The mix is just as professional as you could want from a Thrash album, the guitar tone is crunchy and vocals are just right: spitting hatred and virtue in the same breath. If the band’s previous albums haven’t cemented them into the annals of Thrashistory just yet, “Slave Driver” will seal the deal. It’s an impressive statement from an overlooked band. Dead Head have remained very consistant with their releasing of very high quality Thrash/Death music for over thirty years. Hail the best Thrash band around today, they have been criminally overlooked for far too long.

Bristol techno, noise and hardcore supremos SCALPING are
releasing their highly anticipated debut album ‘Void’.
‘Void’ comes on the heels of an extremely exciting 2021 for the
band, which saw them play to sold-out crowds at the Roundhouse
twice in two weeks - both on tour with Squarepusher and at
Pitchfork Festival London - as well as releasing two widely
acclaimed EPs titled ‘FLOOD’ and ‘FLOOD Remixed’, the latter of
which featured treatments from producers Hodge, Azu Tiwaline,
object blue, AQXDM and Laurel Halo and Scottish instrumental
rock legends Mogwai.

SCALPING are heavy metal in 4D; the sound is moody, distorted
and rhythmic, but the use of electronic techniques gives the finer
details room to breathe, making more space for experimentation.
Tracks such as ‘Tether’, featuring Oakland rapper DÆMON, puts
a modern, metal twist on Bristolian trip-hop, whereas album closer
‘Remain in Statis’ features fast-rising artist Grove, a Bristol-based
rapper and self-professed metalhead whose commanding
presence sets the track alight.

In the heat and darkness, it’s a swarm of low-end frequencies and
ripping guitars, somewhere between Black Sabbath-esque
psychedelica and The Bug’s sub-bass headfuckery. Live, the
effect is immense. SCALPING play continuously for the duration of
their sets, generating a storm of metal-and-techno through a rising
beats-per-minute count.

‘Void’ will be put to the test, as the band kicks off an eight-date UK
headline tour, culminating in a live performance at fabric on May
5th. As live shows return in 2022, SCALPING will continue to
prove themselves as one of the UK’s most impressive, ambitious,
and original new live bands.

Elders is the debut release from Ensemble Nist-Nah, a nine-piece percussion group led by Nantes-based Australian drummer and percussionist Will Guthrie. The diverse group of French musicians that make up Ensemble Nist-Nah – whose collective experience encompasses traditional Gamelan performance, contemporary composition, noise, jazz, and everything in between – perform on drum kits, traditional and junk percussion, and a complete set of Javanese Gamelan instruments. Though building on the foundations of Guthrie’s solo work with Gamelan instruments (Nist-Nah, BT057) and primarily performing his compositions, Ensemble Nist-Nah is a collective endeavour, propelled by a breathtaking enthusiasm that has seen the ensemble manage to rehearse, perform, and even tour Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic.

From the first seconds of opening track ‘Geni / Tirta’, it becomes immediately obvious that this is no dry academic exercise or exotic indulgence. Rapid arpeggiated figures are propelled by manically busy kit drumming while slow-motion melodic lines float above. After a series of abrupt tempo changes and fragmented unison passages that crossbreed the rhythmic intensity of the Balinese Kecak with the joyride of an Ornette Coleman head, the music slows to a monumental groove, equal parts Javanese court music and Dark Magus. Another sequence of thrilling divagations leads us to the unexpected guest appearance of acclaimed vocalist Jessica Kenney, who elaborates a haunting Javanese Bedhaya across a spacious backdrop of massive gong hits, shimmering cymbals, rustling bells, and gritty textures.

The remaining pieces that make up Elders explore a dizzying variety of approaches, from the shifting rapid-fire muted textures of ‘Overtime’ to the ghostly bowed tones and ominous swells of the title piece (developed from a track on Guthrie’s solo Nist-Nah release), which gradually builds into waves of shuddering low resonance and asynchronous percussive clicks like a haunted clock mechanism. On the aptly titled ‘Rollin’, virtuosic twin drum kits criss-cross errant metallophone patterns in propulsive polyrhythms, while ‘Planeker’ manages to achieve a bizarrely effective fusion of Harry Partch and Autechre. Arriving bedecked in beautiful monochrome images of gongs drawn by ensemble member Charles Dubois, Elders is a feast for the ears: music that burrows deep into timbral and rhythmic possibility while possessing an intoxicating physicality and revelling in the joy of collective performance.

Following 2019’s critically-acclaimed sophomore album, I Spent the Winter Writing Songs About Getting Better, Proper. is making their return with The Great American Novel. “The Great American Novel is a concept album about how Black genius, specifically my own, goes ignored, relentlessly contested, or just gets completely snuffed out before it can flourish,” vocalist Erik Garlington said. “This record is a concept album that’s meant to read like a book; every song is a chapter following the protagonist through their 20s. Imagine a queer, Black Holden Caufield-type coming up in the 2010s.” The result is an album that is both lyrically and musically heavy, the former something fans have come to expect from Garlington’s unflinchingly honest lyrical content, but the latter something that’ll be refreshingly new. Channeling the heavier music he listened to during his adolescence — from post-hardcore outfit At the Drive-In to progressive metal band System of a Down — Garlington and the rest of Proper. — bassist Natasha Johnson and drummer Elijah Watson — push themselves in ways they haven’t before, culminating in an ambitious project that showcases the new sonic territory the band is heading in. Recorded by Bartees Strange in early 2021 and mixed/mastered by Brian DiMeglio, TGAN is made up of 14 songs, with three of them to be singles dropped throughout the course of the album’s release

Limited to 250 copies worldwide.

Croatia's Fiume delivers a full length eight track lp for L.I.E.S., following his cult 2019 Bunker Records release.

Jasmin Mahmić, (who is also known for his Le Chocolat Noir project) returns with his absolute blackened industrial onslaught straight from the depths of the Balkans. Fiume takes us into a netherworld of short circuited electronics, scrap yard soundscapes and foreboding, stark ,straight from your worst nightmare vocals. Barren wastelands, tropical depression, vast nothingness of the modern age, pillaged republics and metropolis' that have gone wrong, this is world downfall music. Let your own irrelevance stare you down in the mirror, minutes crawl like days, horror of life goes on. These are the sounds in your head, try to claw your way out. Recommended!

180gr./Insert/First Time On Vinyl/Prod. By Rick Rubin

Minneapolis-based metal band American Head Charge released The War Of Art in 2001. The album was released on Rick Rubin’s American Recordings and was produced by Rubin himself at his infamous Houdini Mansion. He worked alongside Cameron Heacock and bassist Chad Hanks, who co-produced the album. The War Of Art features the single “Just So You Know” and includes the popular tracks “A Violent Reaction” and “Seamless”. Critics praised the album by its power and intensity. After its release, American Head Charge went on tour with Ozzy Osbourne and Slayer and played in support of Slipknot amongst others.

The War OfArt is available on vinyl for the very first time and
includes an insert with lyrics.

Friends Of Hell draws from the most seminal of doom sources, saluting the great works of Pentagram, Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Cathedral along the way. But something nastier and grubbier lurks within the Friends Of Hell sound: a viscous, blackened streak that owes its leathery scars to Venom, Bathory and Hellhammer. The resultant hybrid makes perfect, horrifying sense, as songs like rampaging opener Out With The Wolves and the harrowing crawl of Gateless Gate conjure devilry, disgust and riff-driven destruction in equal measure. Heavy as hell but defiantly gritty and underground in spirit, Friends Of Hell avows that the old school is the only school. Not just one of the finest and fiercest doom metal records in recent memory, but also a subtly subversive twist on that arcane formula, Friends Of Hell once again confirms the timeless nature and the unerring, infernal power of The Riff.

Planet Mu presents ‘ADDLE’ – Bogdan Raczynski’s first album of new music in 15 years. Marking a change from the high-octane jungle tekno braindance for which he is most commonly known, here we find the Polish American musician in a more melodic and zen-like place of peace, which is ergonomic and decluttered, whilst also bittersweet and tinged with melancholy. ‘ADDLE’ is closest in spirit to 2001’s tender ‘myloveilove’, or the light-hearted ditties of this year’s ‘BANANS’ EP, but is also a markedly new milestone. A robust and bottom-heavy rhythm section juxtaposes with sad electronic tear jerkers, at points laced with the soft cooing wail of his vocals, which are loaded with a haunting, heavy and almost wounded emotion. Bogdan comments “Calm is great. You need to take a breather in the eye of the storm now and then. But the real growth happens in turbulence, when your feelings oscillate in and out of sync. It’s not dry land you’re after. You’re trying to build a new island while on a piddly raft. Beleaguered and weary you lay the foundation with your bare hands while the rain lashes your back; a new place for you and yours to moor yourself to until the next storm hits. ‘ADDLE’ is about that storm, its adjacent periphery, and what you look like, in and out, when you set foot. As space and time push against you, that process of adapting becomes an anchor. Among that state of being addled, out of flow, seemingly untethered, there is beauty.”

Although less unhinged and riotous than some of his previous work, ‘ADDLE’ is no less impactful. Lean, punchy and purposeful, this seemingly simple combination of beats and melody belies a razor sharp skill, which bursts with verve and virtuosity. Across its eight unique and moving tracks the listener experiences tenderness, feelings somewhere between unease and comfort, and a sense of reflection, with Bogdan seemingly gazing at twinkling stars, but with his view distorted by welling-up. Sonically, spaces range from razor-sharp choppage, juddering heavyweight head-nodders, bit-crushed siren squall and something akin to Philip Glass’ ‘Candyman’ score played through a high-tech-fairy-tale music box. There’s also a warming, life-affirming moment as close to deep house as Bogdan will ever comfortably get, neck-snapping metallic percussion, Casiotone on steroids and reverberant warehouse throb. Booming drum machines are a prominent factor too – reminiscent of early hip hop instrumentals – but spirited off somewhere, lost in purgatory. Bogdan Raczynski (born 1977) is a Polish-American electronic musician. Raczynski’s work draws inspiration from the chaotic breakbeats of jungle and hardcore rave as well as traditional Polish music and other sources. He has collaborated with Bjork, remixed Autechre, CLPNG and Jonsi from Sigur Ross, and toured with Aphex Twin, who commented how “his records are so underrated.” Bogdan was also a roster mainstay of Richard James’s seminal Rephlex label, with additional releases on Warp, Ghostly, Disciples and Unknown to the Unknown. A keen proponent of tech, he created a sample pack using pollution and recently collaborated with Polyend on a custom made banana-themed tracker.

Belgian Metal frontrunners EVIL INVADERS are ready to unleash their third album, Shattering Reflection, on April 1, 2022 via Napalm Records! It took the band almost five years to craft a new record and it has been undoubtably worth the wait. EVIL INVADERS have found the perfect balance between fast, mid and slow tempo songs focusing on strong choruses, touching lyrics and even some progressive touches that will grab every Heavy Metal fan by the throat and screaming for more! EVIL INVADERS’s Shattering Reflection is promising to be a game-changer for the Belgian 4-piece as the band seems to have found their own formula to turn Heavy Metal into another extreme direction. Shattering Reflection takes off with a fast Heavy Metal banger “Hissing in Crescendo”, followed by the epic anthem “Die For Me”, already destined to become an EVIL INVADERS’s all-time classic. A calmer side is explored on tracks like mid-tempo opus ”Forgotten Memories“, creating a dense, heavy wall of sound with piercing vocals and ditto lyrics underlined by guitar solo virtuosity. That thrilling epos stands in line with “In Deepest Black”, which showcases even more how the band has managed to craft a pure classic Heavy Metal anthem with melodic guitar lines and catchy choruses, creeping relentlessly into the listener’s head. It also proves how Joe has matured as his vocals have entered a whole new dimension, both in the high and the low ranges. On the contrary, ”Sledgehammer Justice“ is a furious outburst of classic Thrash/Speed Metal in which the Belgian quartet goes full throttle with hammering rhythms and guitar solo madness! Another album highlight is the dark opus ”The Circle“, creating a horrifying atmosphere with stomping drums and excellent guitar lines. Fans of King Diamond will definitely dig this one! Throughout the album the band manages to keep the balance between fast Extreme Heavy Metal with sharp shredding and mosh-worthy tracks, as well as very melodic, more intense and chorus-oriented midtempo anthems. Shattering Reflection has turned out to be a monster of an album that will prove that in a new generation of Metal bands, EVIL INVADERS have been able to develop and mature record after record, just like the great classics did in the good old days. You will want to hear this record and also find out how EVIL INVADERS will deliver this masterpiece live on stage! credits

In seiner mehr als drei Jahrzehnte umspannenden Karriere hat sich der Komponist und Multiinstrumentalist Arjen Lucassen weltweit als treibende Kraft des Progressive Rock etabliert. Der vielseitig begabte Niederländer ist vor allem für sein Rockopernprojekt Ayreon bekannt, widmet sich aber auch regelmäßig musikalischen Nebenprojekten, die alle verschiedenen Aspekte seiner musikalischen Persönlichkeit erforschen.Lucassen ist bestrebt, bei Star One eine gleichbleibende Sängerbesetzung beizubehalten. Für 'Victims of the Modern Age' hat er die hochkarätige Besetzung der Leadsänger des ersten Albums 'Space Metal' (2002) wieder zusammengeführt: Russell Allen (Symphony X), Damian Wilson (Headspace, Threshold), Floor Jansen (ReVamp, ex-After Forever), und Dan Swanö (Nightingale, Second Sky, ex-Edge Of Sanity). Die unterschiedlichen Gesangsstile dieser großartigen Vokalisten, die von hochfliegenden Power-Vocals über eindringlich-melodische Passagen bis hin zu brutalem Growl reichen, verleihen jedem Song eine atemberaubende Vielfalt an stimmlichen Texturen.Was die Instrumente betrifft, so spielte der Holländer die Rhythmusgitarren, die Hammondorgel, das Mellotron, die Solina-Streicher und die analogen Synthesizer selbst ein und lud Schlagzeuger Ed Warby (Ayreon, Hail of Bullets, Gorefest) und Bassist Peter Vink ein, die kraftvollen Rhythmusspuren zu liefern. Außerdem holte er sich die einschüchternden Solokünste des ehemaligen After Forever-Keyboarders Joost van den Broek und des Gitarristen Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery), die beide charakteristisch glühende Soli beisteuerten. Zusätzlich zu dieser formidablen Besetzung rekrutierte Lucassen drei weitere Sänger - Mike Andersson (Cloudscape, Full Force, Silent Memorial), Rodney Blaze und den ehemaligen Black Sabbath-Frontmann Tony Martin - für einige Bonustracks des Albums.Zum ersten Mal ist 'Victims of the Modern Age' auf Vinyl als Gatefold 2LP+2CD & LP-Booklet erhältlich, sowie als Ltd. 2CD Digipak und Digitales Album (2CD).

Gloson veröffentlichen ihr lang erwartetes zweites Album! Es enthält eine Hexalogie von sechs fulminanten Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal-Tracks, die von der Menschheit in ihrer schlimmsten und reinsten Form inspiriert sind. Ein Versuch, der Bedeutung des Ganzen nachzugehen und unseren Untergang dadurch vorherzusehen. Aufgenommen und gemischt von Ulf Blomberg vom Hoborec Recording Studio und gemastert von Magnus Lindberg von Cult of Luna
Erhältlich als Jewelcase-CD sowie Gatefold-2-Vinyl in klassischem Schwarz!

In a career spanning more than three decades, composer and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen has established himself worldwide as a driving force in progressive rock. The multi-talented Dutchman is best known for his rock opera project Ayreon, but also regularly devotes himself to musical side projects that explore all different aspects of his musical personality

Lucassen is committed to maintaining a consistent vocalist lineup on Star One. For "Victims of the Modern Age," he reunited the high-powered cast of lead singers from the first album, "Space Metal" (2002): Russell Allen (Symphony X), Damian Wilson (Headspace, Threshold), Floor Jansen (ReVamp, ex-After Forever), and Dan Swanö (Nightingale, Second Sky, ex-Edge Of Sanity). The different vocal styles of these great vocalists, ranging from soaring power vocals to haunting melodic passages to brutal growls, give each song a stunning variety of vocal textures

As for the instruments, the Dutchman recorded the rhythm guitars, Hammond organ, Mellotron, Solina strings and analog synthesizers himself and invited drummer Ed Warby (Ayreon, Hail of Bullets, Gorefest) and bassist Peter Vink to provide the powerful rhythm tracks. He also enlisted the intimidating solo skills of former After Forever keyboardist Joost van den Broek and guitarist Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery), both of whom contributed characteristically blistering solos. In addition to this formidable lineup, Lucassen recruited three other vocalists - Mike Andersson (Cloudscape, Full Force, Silent Memorial), Rodney Blaze and former Black Sabbath frontman Tony Martin - for several bonus tracks on the album

For the first time, "Victims of the Modern Age" is available on vinyl as a gatefold 2LP+2CD & LP booklet, as well as a Ltd. 2CD digipack.

ltd edition box set, 4xlp + poster & dl card. rewriting the history of music, pere ubu continue to confound convention and shift personnel. the next box set in fire records’ reissue series, ‘nuke the whales’ houses 4 lps originally released between 2006 and 2014 – ‘why i luv women’, ‘carnival of souls’, ‘lady of shanghai’ and ‘long live pere ubu!’. ‘nuke the whales,’ is a nod of respect to a couple in cleveland who would daub such messages over the big news stations’ advertising boards. “very few bands display such dedication to constant self-reinvention as pere ubu” the quietus // all four albums have been remixed and remastered by original pere ubu member david thomas. ‘why i luv women’, originally released on glitterhouse in 2006, gains its first vinyl release. "spews 11 tunes of arcane lyrics and dense music” shrieked the cleveland gazaette. it’s joined by ‘long live pere ubu’ a soundtrack to a musical adaptation of the play. “skronking, squalling rhythms and melodic snippets undulating round a pulsating soundscape." record collector // and ‘lady from shanghai’, their fire debut for fire in 2013. originally released on the 35th anniversary of the group's debut, ‘the modern dance’, a latter day re-evaluation of the unprompted dance genre. and its follow up ‘carnival of souls’, a haunting “underscore’ to a tale of alienation, it “combines metallic percussion, spare guitars and david thomas' muttered vocals into something rustic and rickety, yet threatening at a moment's notice.”

First Word Records is very proud to welcome back Don Leisure, with a brand new 25-track album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.

Five years have passed since the first 'Shaboo' album was released. A collection of beats and pieces that documented the road trip of Don's youth - hip hop music interspersed with Asian radio station jingles of old, dedicated to Bollywood actor, Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani - Don Leisure's late uncle.

This album was heralded as "the best album of its kind since J Dilla's 'Donuts'" and deemed "unmissable" by the folks at Piccadilly Records. It also had strong support from BBC 6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft ("very, very good this indeed"), Huey Morgan ("my beat of the week"), Worldwide FM's Lefto ("defo down with this"), Rob Da Bank ("this is wicked") and the likes of Mathieu Schreyer (KCRW, LA), Alex Ruder (KEXP, Seattle), Kid Fonque (5FM, South Africa), Om Unit, Jon1st, Mr Thing, Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts), Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s), Tim Parker (NTS) and tons more from across the globe.

Don Leisure is a DJ and producer based in Cardiff, Wales, sometimes known as one half of Darkhouse Family, along with Earl Jeffers. He's been a prolific beat-maker for many years, releasing under a variety of monikers for labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Izwid, Earnest Endeavours and Group BraCil. His most recent release was a remix for Gruff Rhys, which was released on Rough Trade.

In 2020 he was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize for his 'Steel Zakusi' project, and has dropped several releases for First Word, including the acclaimed 2019 'Halal Cool J' album and various Darkhouse Family projects, including collabs with artists as diverse as Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith and Children of Zeus's Tyler Daley, additionally to remixes from DJ Spinna and label-mate, Kaidi Tatham. As a DJ he has provided mixes for BBC 6 Music, NTS, Rinse FM, Solid Steel and Boxout FM in India, as well as performing at The Jazz Cafe, Fabric and on Boiler Room.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is a much-awaited sequel to the 2017 smash, and again features a modest 25 tracks. Psychedelic fuzzy samples and phat beats aplenty, Don Leisure once again takes us on a far-out trip across soundscapes. A real tapestry of flavours, from jazz to reggae, and from the soulful to the spiritual, this time round he's invited a few special guests to join him on his travels - most notably Welsh legend Gruff Rhys provides the vocals on 'Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo)', whilst acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid and Jazzman-signed harpist Amanda Whiting lend their talents to 'All Praises Due'. There is even a special cameo appearance from his young daughter, (aka Shaboo's great-niece!), Naima, on 'Naima's Dream'.

Once again, this is a journey into sound.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is released on vinyl & digital by First Word Records, March 2022.

Dedicated to Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwan
























x 24: Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo) feat. Gruff Rhys

If you are serious about Heavy Metal, then most likely CRYSTAL VIPER doesn’t need an introduction. The band was founded by the singer and guitarist Marta Gabriel, and released its debut album in 2007. Since then, they toured in more than 15 countries, played in both tiny clubs and at huge open air festivals, released 8 studio albums, and bunch of singles. So one thing is sure: they are one of the most hard working and most determined bands of their generation. Their latest studio album entitled "The Cult" is still hot: it came out in 2021, and brought CRYSTAL VIPER back to their roots: the traditional and pure Heavy Metal, full of epic melodies, classic riffs and guitar harmonies, ripping solos, and catchy refrains. The band couldn’t tour properly and promote the album due to pandemic, but instead of sitting and waiting for better times, they decided to record more material. Their newest release, "The Last Axeman » starts with a new version of the early CRYSTAL VIPER classic and fan favorite: "The Last Axeman", and is followed by a brand new song entitled "In The Haunted Chapel" (which like all the songs from the newest album "The Cult" has lyrics inspired by an H.P. Lovecraft story). The band knows their brand of Metal very well, so included is a surprise cover song: remake of "Ulitsa Roz", originally written by the Russian Heavy Metal heroes ARIA. Follows a remake of "It’s Electric", the classic headbanger of NWOBHM heroes DIAMOND HEAD, then 4 songs taken from "The Cult" album, but recorded live in studio, as part of the #RockOutSessions series. These new, stripped down and rough versions of "The Cult", "Asenath Waite", "Whispers From Beyond" and "Flaring Madness", show the pure and untamed energy of the band, and were also released as a 20 minutes long music video. CRYSTAL VIPER are here to stay. They are passionate about Heavy Metal. They represent the Metal Nation !

This is Lost Soul Enterprises big 15th release on wax, a tidy compilation of off-kilter dance floor cuts and misfit synthpunk anthems.

Side A commences with the gothic, neon-soaked Miami bass of ALONZO's "Cruising with Pap," featuring sinister verses delivered by a shadowy syrupsipping secret guest vocalist. Up next is bucking bronco NICK KLEIN's slow-mo industrial headbanger "Posture Test. The sonic equivalent of a sweat-soaked concrete floor, it lurches along at its own mechanical pace amid the metallic hiss and howl. Lastly, wild synth lines and ethereal dubbed-out samples dart in and out over a tough, punchy rhythmic foundation in NAEEM's "TLX," an android's sci-fi electro vision gone haywire.

On the B side, HEIDI SABERTOOTH's "Was It You" launches us deep into chugging acidic territory, combining enigmatic spoken vocals and a psychedelic, slowly evolving SH-101 line over a persuasive groove. Like a slap in the face after that comes raucous synth-punk powerhouse SSPS with "Paradise Lozt," raw as fuck, chanting a litany of dystopian tales atop pumping drums and a wash of demented organ-like synth stabs. Finally we close with the short but powerful "New Vape City" by the nomadic DOUCE ANGOISSE - an absolute earworm, a doleful coldwave ballad whose lush production plays perfect counterpoint to the icy, deadpan sentiments within.

In 2002 well-known for his albums by the progressive rock project Ayreon, Star One “Space Metal” is an exciting project from one of rock's great visionaries, Arjen Lucassen. With its stellar musicianship, visionary production and a simple yet far-reaching concept, Star One “Space Metal” shines bright as a giant sun in the galaxy of rock. “Space Metal” isn't a continuous story or a rock opera like the Ayreon albums. Yet it is still very much a concept album and a journey through Arjen's mind and memory. He takes the listener on a trip where they relive those great science fiction space films that made such an impact on him. Without a doubt Arjen Lucassen set a trend with his Ayreon albums. Especially after the highly successful release of “Into the Electric Castle” many musicians and producers have followed in his footsteps and new rock operas with multiple singers are surfacing all over the world. To ensure to keep the involved voices diverse he used very different sounding singers appearing in the same songs -- different singers for different moods. Dan Swano (ex-Edge of Sanity, Nightingale) sings the low parts, Russell Allen (Symphony X and more) sings the powerful rough parts, Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold, Headspace) sings the high clear parts, and to top it off, Floor Jansen (Nightwish) sings the really high choruses. Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon) sang the backing vocals with his huge smoky voice. Of course Ed Warby played the powerful drums, and Erik Norlander once again added his huge analog synth leads. Arjen also managed to get Jens Johansson (Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio, Stratovarius) who played some incredibly fast synth leads as well. Arjen even succeeded in getting Hawkwind's Dave Brock to make a guest vocal appearance, something no one has ever managed to do before. “Space Metal (Re-issue 2022)” is available as: Ltd. 2CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP+2CD & LP-Booklet and Digital album (2CD).

The Neptune Power Federation brings back the love song and rocks as furiously as ever on their fifth studio album, Le Demon De L’Amour! The Imperial Princess and her crew of Aussie rockers lord over eight love songs that prove few can push the boundaries of rock and metal like The Neptune Power Federation! Heading into the creation of their fifth studio album, Le Demon De L’Amour, Australian psychedelic rock and roll brigade The Neptune Power Federation couldn’t let go of the fact that love songs had been commandeered, in their words, by “soft rockers, bedwetters and the introvert crowd.” Whereas rock had its glory period during the 1970s and 80s, the art of the love song is now lost within heavier music. Few bands are now willing to venture into such territory — metal and rock have settled comfortably into typical, predictable lyrical tropes that fail to pull at the heartstrings the way they used to. On Le Demon De L’Amour, The Neptune Power Federation reclaims the art of the love song as their own. Off the heels of their acclaimed 2019 Memoirs of a Rat Queen studio album, the members of The Neptune Power Federation utilized the unexpected downtime afforded from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic to craft an album that takes more chances than its predecessor. While the band’s trademark rock swagger and prog tendencies still come into play, Le Demon ups the voltage and energy. True, there is a multitude of genre-blurring taking place, but the album’s infectious choruses and leaden riffs easily re-imagine metal and rock’s glory eras without blatant thievery.

Of course, all roads to The Neptune Power Federation run through lead vocalist Screamin’ Loz Sutch and her stage persona, “The Imperial Priestess.” Le Demon’s eight cuts find the indomitable frontwoman in top form, belting out tales of love from a female’s perspective, weaving in stories of cult worship, murder and hypnotism. The album’s artwork (created by guitarist Inverted CruciFox) also introduces her new nemesis — The Wizzard Princess. Recorded at bass player JayTanic Ritual’s The Ped Food Factory in Marrickville, Sydney, with mixing duties provided by Clem Bennett, Le Demon De L’Amour leads The Neptune Power Federation into their tenth anniversary next year. Their journey has taken them from the sweaty clubs of Sydney to a global audience. Now armed with eight love songs sure to melt and captivate the most hardened metal hearts, The Neptune Power Federation boldly goes where few bands dare to go.



"Maybe their best album so far!" - Deaf Forever (DE), 8.5/10, Soundcheck pos. 7 !!

"They can even top the phenomenal predecessor!" - Metal Hammer (DE), 5.5/7

"'Le Demon De'L'Amour' is definitely their most mature and complete album to date!"

"Finest party rock music of the most beautiful kind!" -(DE), 9/10

"An album full of thick, good riffs, solos, melodies and choruses that stick in mind - definitely recommended!" - Rockmuzine (NL), 85/100

"They are in impressive form!" - Saitenkult (DE), 8.5/10

"The Neptune Power Federation add a great piece of music to their list of achievements." - Heavy Music Blog (DE), 8/10

"The band rocks a bit straighter and more pleasing than before through their love song concept." - Rock Hard (DE), 8/10, Soundcheck pos. 6 / Dynamit !!

Modern metallers DAGOBA are back! After putting their stamp on the metal scene with a unique blend of metal and neckbreaking grooves, relentlessly touring and sharing the stage with legendary acts like Metallica, Machine Head and In Flames, DAGOBA have signed with leading Austrian metal label Napalm Records and are prepared to hit the next level. The French four-piece returns with the band’s most ambitious material yet: punishing vocals, groove and modern metal infused guitars and hard-hitting production shows DAGOBA on top of their game, pushing boundaries and incorporating electronic elements seamlessly into a unique modern metal formula. Vocalist Shawter impresses with a high variety in his singing by covering a wide span from intense and deep growls, strong shouts and precise clean vocals. The album starts off with an electronic intro that bursts into the massive attack „The Hunt“, that has already been released in July 2021 as a standalone single and includes all the significant trademarks: melodic passages with clean vocals alter with intense breakdowns and all of this underlined with electronic elements. This mixture leads to a catchy sound as showcased on the dramatic „Bellflower Drive“ or the melodic „City Lights“. Furthermore the sound of DAGOBA stands out for dominant drumming that oscillates between double bass, blast beats and forward going up tempo drumming as it occurs on „The Last Crossing“ or „Sunfall“. Between all the action, there is also space for calmer parts such as the interlude „Break“ or the track „On the Run“ that begins with female vocals that gradually build up into another hymn lining up brilliantly with the other songs of the album. DAGOBA manages the balancing act between harsh breakdowns, dense soundwalls and grooving passages with ease. Even on its hardest passages, the album never gets too enigmatic - quite the opposite: One smashing track is followed by the next, the record just flies by and leaves no time to breathe. By Night is a beast of an album showcasing how far DAGOBA can take electronic influences on the upcoming material – a must-have for true fans of modern metal! alone!

Sam KDC presents the first Auxiliary 12" EP of 2022, entitled Shedding Skin, a varied four-track odyssey that goes far and beyond the conventions of techno and 170 bass music. The EP opens up with the ominous underworld tones of Silver Serpent. Menacing snarls of metallic synthesis set against the backdrop of frenetic hi-hats and slow pulsing heavyweight bass make this a surefire way to inject something unique into any DJ set.

False Idols then takes things a step further with its relentless percussive torrent, set against a sea of uneasy undertones that wash in and out of proceedings. Prophecy Unfurling introduces breakbeats to devastating effect, as the journey continues underground. Dystopian pulses of synths interacting with the breaks play off each other in a distinct fashion that has become a trademark of Sam's after 2019's Omen Rising LP on Horo.

Finally, Sam brings it all to a head with the uptempo frenzy of Bloodstone. It's been a while since Sam has toyed with this tempo, but Bloodstone shows just why he's revered as one of the true innovators of 170. An almost playful bouncing ring-modulated bass tone sets the scene for Sam's now trademark ominous dark palette to paint a truly captivating picture for the listener. Shedding Skin shows an artist at the top of his craft truly doing his own thing.

Dead Head wurde 1989 in der Region Zwolle/Kampen in den Niederlanden gegründet. Von Anfang an zeigte die Band eine harte Arbeitsmoral
und veröffentlichte mehrere Demos und gab eine Menge Live-Shows. Die Band veröffentlichte außerdem drei Alben in voller Länge und eine EP,
bevor sie mit der Arbeit an ihrem vierten Album „Haatland“ begannen. Mit sechs Jahren zwischen „Kill Division“ und „Haatland“ perfektionierte
die Band ihren rohen, aggressiven Thrash Metal-Sound noch mehr. Die Produktion verbesserte sich erneut und die Band zeigte, dass ihr Potenzial
dem vieler etablierter Namen im Thrash Metal-Genre ebenbürtig war. Glücklicherweise wird „Haatland“ 2021 von Petrichor auf 2-CD und LP neu
aufgelegt, damit die Welt dieses Meisterwerk schierer Brutalität und raffinierter, eindringlicher Melodien wiedererkennen kann. Petrichor hat
der CD-Version dieser Neuauflage wieder eine Menge Bonusmaterial hinzugefügt. Dead Head ist keineswegs ein Knaller aus der Vergangenheit,
denn 2022 wird die Band ein neues Album veröffentlichen. Ein rasendes Stück Thrash vom Feinsten. Großartige Produktion, wahnsinnige Riffs
und wahnsinnige Vocals kombiniert, um dir den Schädel zu zerschmettern.

Purer, aggressiver traditioneller Metal, der den Geist von NWOBHM für das 21. Jahrhundert einfängt! Auf ihrem selbstbetitelten Album beleben Vancouvers Maule die Sounds der frühen 1980er mit einem frischen, energiegeladenen Twist und machen es zu einem der aufregendsten Debüts des Jahres! Mehr als vier Jahrzehnte nach ihrer Ankunft inspiriert die New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) weiterhin neue Musiker. Ihre erste Welle trug natürlich dazu bei, Thrash zu kreieren und legte den Grundstein für die europäische und US- Metalszene, die im folgenden Jahrzehnt Gestalt annehmen sollte. Und während Iron Maiden und Saxon als Speerspitzen des Stils auftauchten, etablierten sich auch Bands wie Angel Witch, Blitzkrieg, Diamond Head und Tygers of Pan Tang, die jetzt durch Bands einer weiteren Generation entfernt weiterleben, darunter Vancouvers Maule.
CD & LP (Black Vinyl + Inner Sleeve & Download Card)

"Astreines Futter für diejenigen unter euch, die gerne einen Ausflug zum Keep It True, Headbanger´s Open Air oder Muskelrock machen, erreicht uns diesen Monat (wie so oft) aus Kanada. MAULE konnten schon 2019 mit ihrem "From Hell"-Demo erste Wellen schlagen, jetzt steht der Release der Debüt-Langrille ins Haus. Erfreulicherweise hat sich musikalisch im Vergleich zum ohnehin schon sehr guten Demo nicht allzu viel verändert, MAULE setzen auch drei Jahre später auf Heavy Metal mit starker NWOBHM-Schlagseite. Vor allem Sänger Jakob Weel hat in der Zwischenzeit aber einen ordentlichen Zahn zugelegt, der Mann klingt deutlich versierter, klarer und druckvoller als auf "From Hell". Der Rest der Band tritt derweil gut aufs Gaspedal und klöppelt sich in weiten Zügen mit ordentlich Schmackes durch die neun kurzweiligen Tracks. Sehr schönes Ding!"
(Rock Hard Soundcheck # 3)

Modern metallers DAGOBA are back! After putting their stamp on the metal scene with a unique blend of metal and neckbreaking grooves, relentlessly touring and sharing the stage with legendary acts like Metallica, Machine Head and In Flames, DAGOBA have signed with leading Austrian metal label Napalm Records and are prepared to hit the next level. The French four-piece returns with the band’s most ambitious material yet: punishing vocals, groove and modern metal infused guitars and hard-hitting production shows DAGOBA on top of their game, pushing boundaries and incorporating electronic elements seamlessly into a unique modern metal formula. Vocalist Shawter impresses with a high variety in his singing by covering a wide span from intense and deep growls, strong shouts and precise clean vocals. The album starts off with an electronic intro that bursts into the massive attack „The Hunt“, that has already been released in July 2021 as a standalone single and includes all the significant trademarks: melodic passages with clean vocals alter with intense breakdowns and all of this underlined with electronic elements. This mixture leads to a catchy sound as showcased on the dramatic „Bellflower Drive“ or the melodic „City Lights“. Furthermore the sound of DAGOBA stands out for dominant drumming that oscillates between double bass, blast beats and forward going up tempo drumming as it occurs on „The Last Crossing“ or „Sunfall“. Between all the action, there is also space for calmer parts such as the interlude „Break“ or the track „On the Run“ that begins with female vocals that gradually build up into another hymn lining up brilliantly with the other songs of the album. DAGOBA manages the balancing act between harsh breakdowns, dense soundwalls and grooving passages with ease. Even on its hardest passages, the album never gets too enigmatic - quite the opposite: One smashing track is followed by the next, the record just flies by and leaves no time to breathe. By Night is a beast of an album showcasing how far DAGOBA can take electronic influences on the upcoming material – a must-have for true fans of modern metal! alone!

BIOHAZARD formed in Brooklyn in 1988 and soon after released their first demo. The band consisted of founding members Billy Graziadei (vocals, guitar), Bobby Hambel (lead guitar) and Evan Seinfeld (vocals, bass). After the release of their second demo in 1989, drummer Anthony Meo left the band and drummer Danny Schuler replaced him. BIOHAZARD released their combined the urban sounds of hard-core, metal and rap with scorching lyrics describing the forces at work in our modern urban lives. With an impressive career spanning over 20 years with 10 albums (on both indie and major labels), the band sold over 5 million records. In 1990, Biohazard signed a recording contract with Maze Records. The band's self-titled debut album was poorly promoted by the label and sold approximately 40,000 copies. The album's subject matter revolved around Brooklyn, gang-wars, drugs, and violence.

In 1992, Biohazard signed with Roadrunner Records and released Urban Discipline, which gave the band national and worldwide attention in both the heavy metal and hardcore communities. The video for the song "Punishment" became the most played video in the history of MTV's Headbanger's Ball, and the album sold over one million copies. The band also began opening for larger acts such as Pantera, Suicidal Tendencies, House of Pain, Fishbone, and The Cro-Mags. In 1993, the hardcore rap group Onyx brought on Billy Graziadei for an alternate "Bionyx" version of their hit single "Slam" with Biohazard as their backup band. This led to a collaboration on the title track of the Judgment Night soundtrack. The soundtrack would go on to sell over two million copies in the United States. Months later, the band left Roadrunner Records and signed with Warner Bros. Records Inc. who released their third studio LP, State of the World Address. The album was produced by Ed Stasium in Los Angeles and contained the single "How It Is" featuring Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, for which a video was also shot. During their 1994 tour, the band made an appearance on the second stage at the Monsters of Rock festival held at Castle Donington. State of the World Address went on to sell over one million copies, and Rolling Stone magazine selected the Biohazard logo as the best logo of the year.

This was the last Biohazard album with Bobby Hambel, who left due to differences with the rest of the band. The band recorded their fourth studio album, Mata Leao, as a three piece in 1996. It was produced with the help of Dave Jerden. For the 1996-97 Mata Leao Tour, former Helmet guitarist Rob Echeverria joined the band. The band also played on the Ozzfest mainstage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Danzig, Fear Factory, and Sepultura. While touring Europe in support of the Mata Leao album, the band recorded their Hamburg, Germany, show for their first live album, No Holds Barred (Live in Europe), which was released in 1997 through their former label, Roadrunner Records. The band signed to Mercury Records and released their fifth studio album, New World Disorder, in 1999, once again with Ed Stasium as a producer.

The relationship with Mercury Records soured quickly as the band felt betrayed and misunderstood by the label. They severed their ties with the label amidst the merger of Mercury Records, Island Records, Def Jam Records, and Polygram into the Universal Music Group. The following year, Biohazard signed two new record deals with SPV/Steamhammer in Europe and Sanctuary Records for the remainder of the world. Despite the new record deals, the band took some personal time in order to work on other projects. Graziadei and Schuler also collaborated in transforming the band's rehearsal Brooklyn studio into a digital recording studio, known as Rat Piss Studios and soon after changed the name to Underground Sound Studios. Re-investing into the band, Graziadei and Schuler honed their engineering and productions skills while recording and producing local acts and new Biohazard demos. The band then undertook the process of writing, recording, and producing their own music. Their studio work led to the band's sixth studio album, Uncivilization, released in September 2001.
The album featured several guest appearances by members of bands such as Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Pantera, Slipknot, Sepultura, Cypress Hill, Skarhead, and Type O Negative. Shortly after the release of Uncivilization, guitarist Leo Curley left the band and was replaced by former Nucleus member Carmine Vincent, who had previously toured with Biohazard as part of their road crew. The band had to cancel scheduled European festival dates when Carmine Vincent underwent major surgery. The band did manage to find a temporary guitarist, Scott Roberts, formerly of the Cro-Mags and the Spudmonsters, in time to join the Eastpak Resistance Tour with Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Discipline, Death Threat, Born From Pain and All Boro Kings. Biohazard completed their seventh studio album in seventeen days; Kill Or Be Killed was released in 2003. While touring North America with Kittie, Brand New Sin and Eighteen Visions, Biohazard announced that Roberts would remain as their permanent lead guitarist. The tour was curtailed when it was announced that Seinfeld had fallen ill. With more downtime due to Seinfeld's illness, Graziadei and Schuler collaborated to mix Life of Agony's live comeback album, River Runs Again: Live 2003. Once Seinfeld was healthy again, the band toured Japan and North America, headlining over bands such as Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Throwdown, and Full Blown Chaos.

By the end of 2003, the band had begun recording its eighth studio album, Means To An End. The completed album was lost in a studio disaster, forcing the band to completely re-record the album, which was finally released in August 2005. In October 2004, Graziadei announced that Means To An End had been the final Biohazard album and that he would continue playing with his new band Suicide City as his main focus. One month later, on the Biohazard website, it was announced that there would in fact be a 2005 Biohazard tour. On December 15, 2005, Seinfeld and Graziadei participated in the Roadrunner United conglomerate event at the Nokia Theater in New York for an all-star event. The show opened with Biohazard's "Punishment," performed by Seinfeld, Graziadei, Sepultura's Andreas Kisser, former Fear Factory member Dino Cazares, and Slipknot's Joey Jordison. Graziadei and Schuler relocated their recording studio to South Amboy, New Jersey and renamed it Underground Sound Studios. The studio was renovated to include a live room with 20-foot (6.1 m) ceilings and 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of studio space. After Schuler's departure from the studio business, Graziadei relocated the studio to Los Angeles and changed the name to Firewater Studios. In January 2008, the classic lineup of Evan Seinfeld, Billy Graziadei, Danny Schuler and Bobby Hambel made the announcement that rehearsals had begun for a 2008 summer tour to commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. They toured Australia and New Zealand in April with Chimaira, Throwdown, Bloodsimple and headliners Korn to celebrate their newly declared reunion. The band also took part in Persistence Tour 2009, and announced at one of their shows that they were working on a new record. Biohazard brought in producer Toby Wright to work on the album and after several months at Graziadei's Firewater Studios in Los Angeles, the band completed their recording sessions. In June 2011, Biohazard announced that Evan Seinfeld had quit the band and Scott Roberts returned to replace Seinfeld for two UK dates but no decision regarding a permanent replacement was made. In January 2012, the band decided that Scott Roberts would remain with the band as a permanent member. The new album, Reborn In Defiance, was released worldwide, with the exception of North America, on January 20, 2012 through the Nuclear Blast label. In support of the album, Biohazard embarked on a short co-headlining tour of Europe with Suicidal Tendencies in the latter half of January 2012. After touring the world in support of Reborn in Defiance, the band entered the studio to work on a new release and after a falling out, Roberts departed the band.

Biohazard remains as it’s core founding members of Graziadei, Shuler and Hambel. Graziadei has since ventured off onto a solo career as BillyBio and teamed up with Cypress Hill frontman Sendog to start Powerflo. Both groups are working on their second releases due out late 2021 and early 2022.