Monday 19 January 2015

VISIGOTH Debut Song on Heavy Metal Artwork



The Revenant King Available January 26th on Metal Blade Records

Salt Lake City Utah's VISIGOTH will release their debut album The Revenant King January 27th via Metal Blade Records. Today the band presents the third offering from the upcoming release. Decibel Magazine's "Deciblog" is hosting an exclusive stream of the ten minute epic track "From the Arcane Mists of Prophecy" here: heavymetalartwork.com.

VISIGOTH plays heavy metal that hearkens back to the golden age of ironclad riffwork and powerful vocals. They pay tribute to the titans of steel that left their mark on the history of the genre, and their earth-shaking sound echoes with a deep reverence for their roots. VISIGOTHgoes above and beyond mere imitation, making their own musical mark on the genre they lovingly embrace. In VISIGOTH's realm, there are no frills, no gimmicks; there is only heavy metal.

The band's brand of heavy metal fit perfectly within the ranks of Metal Blade Records, who brought the band on board to release their debut full-length album. After signing with the label,VISIGOTH recorded The Revenant King. The collection of heavy metal tracks was engineered, mixed, and produced by Andy Patterson at Boar's Next Studio in Salt Lake City. Alan Douches at West Westside handled mastering to offer a final product that truly represents the finest in true metal.

On The Revenant King Jake Rogers's powerful vocals lead the charge, and when combined with the twin guitar attack of Leeland Campana, Jamieson Palmer, and the rhythm section of bassist Matt Brotherton and drummer Mikey Tee, form an immensely potent traditional heavy metal attack that fans of the genre would be unwise to ignore!

Elen – one of the strongest debut albums of the year



The Berlin musician, Elen, releases her debut album of the same name on 6th of February 2015. “Elen” will sometimes sound like British (dance) pop and at other times like the relaxed US folk music from the good old days – real homemade music and full of soul.

Elen isn’t the only song writer on the album; contributors also include the Indie star Kat Frankie among others. Fred Sauer, who played with Peter Fox and Nina Hagen, plays the keyboard. University of Popular Arts Professor, Robert Lingnau, plays the bass and Dirk Erchinger, one of the founders of the most excellent Jazzkantine, plays the drums.

Elen’s debut album “Elen” is probably one of the most personal and therefore strongest albums of the year. What would otherwise be a hopelessly simplified platitude or over-generalisation is a very fitting description in her case. For if there is one thing that you can (and should) say about Elen, it is that she is the album and the album is her.

The 25 year-old Berliner has always been very deeply involved with music and people, especially on the street where she is absolutely in her element. “Elen” is the natural result of her roots as a street musician and the immediacy of the street strikes you at once like a poem or a film: Elen’s voice starts off soft and gentle before reverting to the majestic and powerful but is at the same time always full of a sensitive velvety warmth. The sounds will remind you just as much of the grand dame of singer-song writing Tracey Chapman herself as they will of folk and pop singer Florence Welch of Florence & the Machine. Elen and “Elen” are brimming with feelings and this excess of emotion is reinforced even further by the fact that it is not only her who has done the song writing but also Indie star Kat Frankie and a few others. The keyboard is played by Fred Sauer, who also played with Peter Fox and Nina Hagen. University of Popular Arts Professor, Robert Lingnau, plays the bass and Dirk Erchinger, one of the founders of the most excellent “Jazzkantine”, plays the drums. While it will sometimes sound like British (dance) pop, at other times it will sound like the relaxed US folk music from the good old days – real homemade music and full of soul.

Elen has financed the album though crowd funding as she was unwilling to make herself dependent on anything other than the music. Her humility towards music comes out very strongly in her songs. One thing is certain: “Deep inside I know it’s gonna be alright” from the song “It’s Gonna Be All Right” – you can’t help but agree with that sentiment. Elen’s time has come and there will be many more people who listen to her music in the future than have heard her on the street up to now. She lives and breathes music, every line and every chord and it is her true self that is revealed in this album.

www.facebook.com/elenofficial

SOLEFALD RELEASE NEW ALBUM ON FEBRUARY, 2nd



The release of the next Solefald album “World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud”, is closing in! Solefald challenges the listener with their complex musical diversity, taking the listener on a surreal adventure to truly unique musical settings and sound constellations yet to be discovered. Merging raw Norwegian Metal, Dutch Techno with Norse and African folk and rhythms, Solefald has beyond doubt crafted an out of the ordinary sound; World music with black edges.

FALLUJAH Sign to Nuclear Blast Entertainment



Nuclear Blast Entertainment is proud to announce the signing of progressive death metal masters, FALLUJAH! These San Francisco Bay Area natives caused quite a stir amongst the music world with the release of their latest album, ‘The Flesh Prevails’. It topped several “best of 2014” lists in not only the metal world, but in the progressive music community as well and won over scores of new fans with their fresh, emotive, and technically challenging music. As a result, FALLUJAH has paved the way for a new melodic and atmospheric perspective on death metal!

"We're extremely excited to be part of a roster alongside not just great bands, but great people who are dedicated to the craft and enthusiastic about our vision of where we see FALLUJAH going,” comments the band. “FALLUJAH is all about pushing the envelope, taking risks, and keeping an open mind; with that mentality we felt Nuclear Blast was the most obvious and logical step for a band such as ours. With our team behind us, we can’t wait to see FALLUJAH grow."

FALLUJAH’s commitment to crafting forward thinking music, has helped them build their own diehard fanbase from the ground-up through several releases; 2009’s ‘Leper Colony’ EP, 2011’s ‘The Harvest Wombs’ LP, ‘Nomadic’ EP in 2013, and most recently their critically acclaimed album ‘The Flesh Prevails’.

‘The Flesh Prevails’ was mixed, mastered and engineered by Zach Ohren (ANIMOSITY, SUFFOCATION, ALL SHALL PERISH) at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland CA over the course of a few months. It features guest appearances from Christian Muenzner (SPAWN OF POSSESSION, ex-OBSCURA, ex-NECROPHAGIST) and the voice of Roniit Alkayam. The cover artwork was a collaborative effort between Poland's Tomasz Alen Kopera and the band's vocalist, Alex Hofmann.

Check out the track ‘Sapphire’ taken from ‘The Flesh Prevails’ here.

FALLUJAH is: Alex Hofmann - vocals Rob Morey - bass Andrew Baird - drums Scott Carstairs - guitars Brian James - guitars

Celldweller Releases Experimental Modular-Synth Album: "Transmissions: Vol. 1"



Highly-acclaimed songwriter, producer and sound designer Celldweller has dove into the realms of experimental, modular music with his latest release "Transmissions: Vol. 1." The record is out worldwide now via the FiXT Store, Spotify, iTunes and other major retailers.



"Transmissions: Vol. 1" showcases Celldweller mastermind Klayton pushing the boundaries of the electronic soundscape — using an array of sonic recording technology to send the listener into an entirely different world. The synth-based tracks are both complex and compelling, showing Celldweller's diversity in the electronic music world.

The tracks, which range anywhere from 4 to almost 12 minutes in length, send the listener into a different universe through the pure vastness of Celldweller's mind-warping experimentations. "Transmissions: Vol. 1" comes from Celldweller after the release of the second chapter of his critically-acclaimed "End of an Empire" series, "Love."

"Transmissions: Vol. 1" Track List:

1. Metropolitan 2. In the Middle of Nowhere 3. The Halls of Valhalla 4. The Last Question 5. Snowcore 6. Broken Clock 7. The Descent of King Ghidora 8. Shapeshifting Nebulae 9. Daydreaming at Night

The record is streaming now via Spotify and available for purchase from the FiXT Store & iTunes.

About Celldweller: Klayton is Celldweller. Personifying the sound of the iPod generation, he creates a hybrid fusion of digital and organic elements: intricately designed soundscapes constructed from Dubstep, Drum & Bass and Electro, woven together with aggressive Rock/Metal and Orchestral elements. Celldweller ignores genre boundaries and creates a pioneering vision of the future of electronic music.

DECADE ANNOUNCED AS SPECIAL GUESTS ON THE USED UK TOUR



DECADE have been revealed as special guests to The Used on their February run of shows up and down the UK. Decade complete the bill, joining UK hardcore outfit, Landscapes who are also confirmed to appear at all dates.

Says Alex Sears, Decade frontman; “We are completely made up to be touring with The Used. I think every band currently on the UK circuit would agree that they are a massively influential band so to be able to tour with them is an honour. Plus our mates in Landscapes are coming out too so it’s gonna be one big party!”

Furthermore, Decade are confirmed to play two festivals following their dates with The Used; the first of which will be Takedown Festival, Southampton (UK), on March 7th alongside acts such as Mallory Knox, Charlie Simpson & Arcane Roots, followed by Hit The Deck Festival which takes place over 2 days and various venues in both Bristol (25th April) and Nottingham (26th April).

Tour dates as follows:-

February

Thursday 5th – Mo Club, Southampton Saturday 7th – Rock City, Nottingham Sunday 8th – O2 Academy Newcastle Tuesday 10th – The Garage, Glasgow Wednesday 11th – The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen Friday 13th – Stylus, Leeds Saturday 14th – Academy 2 Manchester Sunday 15th – O2 Academy 2 Birmingham Tuesday 17th – O2 Academy Oxford Thursday 19th – KOKO, London Friday 20th – O2 Academy Bristol

March

Saturday 7th – Southampton University

April

Saturday 25th – Bristol Sunday 26th – Nottingham



DECADE’s debut album, ‘Good Luck’, is available now via Spinefarm Records.

BLACK STAR RIDERS - Damon & Scott discuss working with Nick Raskulinecz



Fresh from the critically acclaimed debut album All Hell Breaks Loose in 2013, Black Star Riders are set to release a new studio album, The Killer Instinct, on 23rd February 2015. The band entered the studio with heralded producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, THE FOO FIGHTERS, ALICE IN CHAINS, MASTODON) this time round and in the second album trailer, Damon Johnson and Scott Gorham explain what is was like recording with Nick.