Good news for Children of Bodom fans. Before his death last year, front-man and guitarist Alexi Laiho managed to record three songs with his new band Bodom After Midnight. Now his band-mates have announced that they will be releasing these tracks on an EP called ‘Paint The Sky With Blood’.
Here’s the cover art and tracklisting:
01. Paint The Sky With Blood 02. Payback’s A Bitch 03. Where Dead Angels Lie (Dissection Cover)
‘Paint The Sky With Blood’ will be out in both physical and digital formats on 23rd April 2021 via Napalm Records.
Something for fans of symphonic metal. The Swedish symphonic metal band Vengeant have recently released their first ever single entitled ‘Angel’s Battle Cry’.
The band was formed in 2019 by bassist, lead guitarist and composer Christoffer Holm. They cite Magic: the Gathering as a influence on their music.
The track is available for streaming on Spotify now.
It’s been almost a year since their debut Ep came out. Now Swedish hard rock band Battering Ram are ready to present some new music. The new single is called ‘Down’ and it is out on Spotify.
Marko Hietala, the bassist and backing vocalist of the world renowned symphonic power metal band Nightwish has recently announced his decision to leave the group. Here’s an extract from his official statement as posted yesterday (12th January 2021) on the band’s Facebook and other social media pages:
“Dear people. I am leaving Nightwish and my public life. For a quite a few years now I haven’t been able to feel validated by this life. We have streaming company big guns demanding 9/5 work from artists of inspiration while unfairly sharing the profits. Even among the artists. We’re the banana republic of the music industry. Biggest tour promoters squeeze percentages even from our own merchandise while paying dividends to Middle East. Apparently some theocrasies can take the money from the music that would get you beheaded or jailed there without appearing as hypocrites. Just a couple of examples here. This past year forced me to stay home and think. And I found myself very disillusioned about these and a lot of things. I found out that I am in need of that validation. For me to write, sing and play, I need to find some new reasons and inspirations. ”My Walden” so to speak. And it’s even in my book that I’m a chronic depressive. It’s dangerous for me and the people around me, if I continue. Some of the thoughts a while back were dark. Don’t worry, I’m fine. I have my two sons, a wife, the rest of the family, friends, a dog and lots of love. And I don’t think that I’ll be gone for good.
Conspiracy is the word of the day. For the people who like them I need to say that my 55th birthday is now on 14th of Jan and I’ve certainly done my time for now. Blaming for instance Tuomas is an insult to both him and my free thinking. This is a very sad thing to all of us too. Have a care please.
But of course now we’ll know, if some go there on purpose. There are a couple of things agreed on that I will do on 2021. Otherwise I kindly and with respect ask the media, bands, artists projects etc. to not ask me for anything within the next year. I have some reinventing to do. I hope to tell you about it on 2022. It’s not a promise though. I am so sorry about this. “ Marko Hietala
Marko Hietala has been involved with Nightwish since 2002 and his departure marks a big change for the band. Nightwish have issued a statement stating that they respect Mr. Hietala’s decision. They will be continuing with their up-coming ‘Human. :II: Nature’ world tour with a session bass player. The full live line-up will be revealed later this year.
Here is something for fans of symphonic power metal. Introducing the Swedish symphonic metal group Vengeant. It was created in November 2019 and the line-up includes Greek singer Danae Komodromou (Scarlet Desire), lead guitarist and bassist Christoffer Holm, rhythm guitarist Dennis Eriksson (Mad Hatter, Darkest Void) and drummer Alfred Fridhagen (Saint Deamon, Mad Hatter and Darkest Void). They cite Magic: the Gathering as an influence on their music.
They are currently working on their debut EP due later this year. Their first single ‘Angel’s Battle Cry’ will be released on 12th February 2021. Check out the cover art:
Time for some black metal news. If you are fan of the Norwegian black metal scene, particularly bands such as Darkthrone and Taake, there is a very good chance that you might also enjoy Mork. The one man project was launched back in 2004 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Eriksen. His first album ‘Isebakke’ came out in 2013.
This year saw the release of his latest EP ‘Pesta’ via Peaceville Records. Check out the title track here:
Since then he has been busy in the studio working on Morke’s fifth album ‘Katedralen’. The cover art has been created by the French artist David Thiérrée and the record features guest performances Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone), Dolk (Kampfar) and Eero Pöyry(Skepticism). The track-list will be as follows:
1 Dodsmarsjen 2 Svartmalt 3 Arv 4 Evig Intens Smerte 5 Det Siste Gode I Meg 6 Fodt Til A Herske 7 Lysbaereren 8 De Fortapte Sjelers Katedral
‘Katedralen’ will be available in both physical and digital formats on 5th March 2021 via Peaceville Records.
The Swedish broadcasting media & production company Nox Rocks Live Events have teamed up with Stagedip, King2Music Records and Kingart Music Management to bring you a unique live stream experience called Nox Rocks II Lucia Metal Party. The event will be streamed worldwide live via the Nox Rocks website on 12th December – 13th December 2020 (Lucia Night) and it is scheduled to run for a grand total of 6 hours, 6 minutes and six seconds.
The line-up features a number of well renowned Swedish hard rock and metal artists includingEurope, Hammerfall, Therion along with international artists such as King Diamond, Pretty Maids, Rainbow, Manowar and many others.
Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren have decided to end their partnership on the industrial metal project Lindemann after seven years and two successful albums. The Rammstein front-man Till Lindemann has retained rights to the Lindemann name and plans to continue project with a possible new line-up.
Lindemann was formed in 2013 as a collaboration between Till Lindemann (Rammstein) and Peter Tägtgren (Pain, Hypocrisy). Their last album ‘F & M’ was released last year. Their final work as a duo will be a live DVD of their show in Moscow 2020 which is expected to hit the shops in the spring 2021.
Good news for Children of Bodom fans. When the band split up last year, their front-man Alexi Laiho formed a new band called Bodom After Midnight with rhythm guitarist Daniel Freyberg (also ex-Children of Bodom), drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost) and bassist Mitja Toivonen (Santa Cruz).
Now after a handful of small but successful shows in their native Finland the quartet have entered Finnox studio in Helsinki to record their debut album. The latest update is that the drum work is complete. The album has no title nor has there been any mention of whether there will keyboard player joining the line-up. They have yet to announce when the new album will be released but it will most likely not happen until 2021.
Swedish hard rockers Battering Ram have recently released their new single ‘Pieces’ on Spotify. ‘Pieces’ is the second single from their self titled debut album which came out back in January this year. Here is the cover:
The band are relatively new to the hard rock and metal scene and yet they have already made a name for themselves, growing in popularity thanks to streaming platforms. Their sound has been likened to that of Mustasch and Corroded.
Happy Halloween everyone! Here is some exciting news for fans of the American industrial rock band Rob Zombie. It’s been six years since their last studio effort, the downright bizarre but entertaining ‘The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser’. Now they are back and the long wait for new music will soon be over.
The font-man and film director Rob Zombie has recently announced that the new album will be entitled ‘The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’. Check out the cover art and track-listing below:
Tracklist:
Expanding the Head of Zed
The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)
The Ballad of Sleazy Rider
Hovering Over the Dull Earth
Shadow of the Cemetery Man
A Brief Static Hum and Then the Radio Blared
18th Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks and a One-Way Ticket On the Ghost Train
The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man
The Much Talked of Metamorphosis
The Satanic Rites of Blacula
Shower of Stones
Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass
Boom-Boom-Boom
What You Gonna Do with That Gun Mama?
Get Loose
The Serenity of Witches
Crow Killer Blues
‘The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’ will be out in both digital and physical formats on 12th March 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. In the meantime you can check out their new video for song ‘The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)’
Burton C. Bell has recently announced that he has parted ways with Fear Factory. The statement was made following a series of legal disputes with guitarist Dino Cazares and two former members of the band regarding rights to the Fear Factory name. Tensions between the band members began when Dino Cazares started a crowd-funding campaign to raise funds for the band’s new album. Here is an extract from an official statement from Mr. Bell’s official website:
” The past several years have been profoundly agonizing, with these members bleeding my passion with depraved deceit. As a direct consequence of their greed, these three have dragged me through the unjust, judicial system, resulting in the legal attrition that has financially crippled me. In the end, these three members have taken possession of my principal livelihood. However, they will never take my 30-year legacy as the beating heart of the machine. A legacy that no other member, past or present, can ever claim.”
Fear Factory was formed in Los Angeles, California, The USA in 1989 and Burton C. Bell joined the group the following year. He has been involved with the band throughout their career. Now guitarist Dino Cazres, the only original member left in Fear Factory, has announced that the band will continue as a two piece. Their last album ‘Genexus’ was released back in 2015 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Burton C. Bell’s new alternative rock band Ascension of The Watchers have a new album called ‘APOCRYPHA’ coming on 9th October 2020 via Dissonance Records.
Here is something for fans of sludge and doom metal. Introducing the American sludge/ doom metal duo Skeleton Screen. The band was formed last year by guitarist and vocalist Mark Johnston. Their debut EP ‘Conditions’ is out now and available from the Bandcamp page.
British extreme Gothic metal outfit Cradle of Filth are the latest band to jump on the live stream bandwagon. They have recently announced that they will be doing a live stream show next month. The event will take place on the so called “Devil’s Night”, the day before Halloween a.k.a. 30th October 2020 at St. Mary’s Church, Colchester Art Centre, England.
The band have recently been working on their new album, the yet to be titled follow up to ‘Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay’. It remains to be seen whether the live stream show will feature any new songs, but the band have revealed that it will include the first appearance from their new keyboard player and backing vocalist.
The streaming times will be as follows:
22.00 (10.00 pm) GMT 23.00 (11.00pm) CEST 18.00 (6.00 pm) EST 15.00 (3.00 pm) PST
Good news for Behemoth fans. The well renowned blackened death metal trio have recently announced that will be playing a worldwide live stream show on 5th September 2020. The event known as ‘In Absentia Dei’ will be filmed and streamed live at a church in a secret location in Poland.
They will be joined by special guests the American black metal band Imperial Triumphant, who will be playing from The Slipper Room Cabaret in Manhattan, New York. The exact time of the event has yet to be disclosed.
The world wide Covid 19 pandemic is still at large. Some live events are going ahead with restricted access and new safety measures but it will be a long while before large scene shows can resume. 2020 saw the rise of live steams with many artists and organisers getting together on virtual platforms to entertain their audiences.
GlobMetal Promotions have teamed with up Bloody News Metal Magazine to bring you the first ever Bloody News Online Fest. This will be a two day free live stream event taking place on 28/08/2020 and 29/08/2020.
The line-up will include: Belle Morte, Judgement, Arida Vortex, Rusted Nail plus many more. For the full band list check out the poster below:
The event will be streamed online via the Bloody News Metal website.
Here is something for fans of doom metal. The Moscow based, Russian atmospheric doom metal artist Yesterday I Lived has just released his latest single ‘Theatre of Sorrow’.
The project was created last year. The new single and his self-titled debut album are available exclusively from his bandcamp page.
It’s been three years after their last studio effort ‘Two Paths’. Now the Finnish folk metallers are back with a new album called ‘Thalassic’. Here is an official statement from the band regarding the lyrical themes:
“The idea of it started to brew in my mind when I was doing interviews for ‘Two Paths‘ and many journalists asked if it was a theme album, and I noticed that I was answering all the time that because of the way we compose it’s almost impossible to make a theme album. This really started to piss me off and the decision was made: the next album would have a theme. At that time, we already had a few songs almost ready for the next album, and I started to listen to the demos much more from the feeling aspect instead of analyzing them musically. For some reason, all of them took me to a seashore, and the theme was found: something related to sea or water. So I started to read about history, myths and legend around the world that had something to do with the theme, but even though all of the lyrics are obviously inspired by this, I tried my best to keep Ensiferum‘s heroic mentality in them. In the end, there were too many ideas for lyrics, because I didn’t set myself any boundaries – like all stories would have to be Nordic, etc, and one of my favourite songs on the album tells about Andromeda from Greek mythology. I can’t promise that this way of lyric-writing will be the future of Ensiferum, but at least we did this once.”
You see the cover art and track-listing below:
1. Seafarer’s Dream
2. Rum, Women, Victory
3. Andromeda
4. The Defence of the Sampo
5. Run from the Crushing Tide
6. For Sirens
7. One with the Sea
8. Midsummer Magic
9. Cold Northland (Väinämöinen Part III)
10. Merille Lahteva (Bonus Track)
11. I’ll Stay by Your Side (Bonus Track)
‘Thalassic’ will hit the shops in both physical and digital formats on 10th July 2020 via Metal Blade Records.
In the meantime you can check out their new lyric video for ‘Rum, Women, Victory’
Two years after their country music covers album ‘Outlaws ‘Til The End’ was released, now the American groove metal band DevilDriver are back. They recently announced that their new studio effort will be called ‘Dealing With Demons I’.
Their front-man Dez Farara stated that this will be the first volume of a double album concept focusing on human nature, emotions and personal struggles. Here is an extract of he had to say about it:
“It’s time to lay it all out, on two records. I’m never gonna revisit these subjects again. I’ve been writing about this sort of human nature, disloyalty and dishonesty, love and loss, since the beginning of my career. I am going in a more lyrically woke direction in the future. A lot of people say my music gives them strength. But what they don’t realize is that these topics haunt me. Over the course of these last few years we fled from wildfires, my wife battled cancer and now we are going through a pandemic… so it is what it is… let’s dump it all on the table and purge. I want to go through different topics in the future, so here we are now. I’ve laid it all out on a double record for all of you to hear.”
Check out the cover art and track-listing below:
1. Keep Away From Me
2. Vengeance Is Clear
3. Nest Of Vipers
4. Iona
5. Wishing
6. You Give Me A Reason To Drink (feat. Simon Blade Fafara)
7. Witches
8. Dealing With Demons
9. The Damned Don’t Cry
10. Scars Me Forever
‘Dealing With Demons I’ will hit the shops on 9th October 2020 via Napalm Records.
For now you can check out the lyric video for their new single ‘Keep Away From Me’
So we may have to wait a while for the debut album from Alexi Laiho‘s new band Bodom After Midnight but there is some good news for his fans. The former Children of Bodom front-man’s autobiography ‘Alexi Laiho – Chaos, Control & Guitar’ is now available in English.
The book was ghost written by Petri Silas, a music journalist and personal friend of Mr. Laiho. The original version (in Finnish) came out last year.
The Straddlerz - The Straddlerz The Straddlerz – The StraddlerzThe Straddlerz“The Straddlerz”Dirty rock’n’rollSelf-… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…4 days ago
