Thursday 17 March 2016

TEXTURES - UK Tour kicks off this Friday - official tour trailer released



Dutch poly-rhythmic metallers TEXTURES released their new album Phenotype back in February of this year and are touring extensively in support of the album. The band are currently on the road with labelmates Amorphis and are due to hit UK soil TOMORROW - Friday, March 18th. In anticipation of the dates, frontman Daniël and guitarist Bart have released a tour trailer asking to to see YOU at one of their shows. Watch the official tour trailer here:



The tour dates rack up as follows:

Mar 18: Bristol Fleece, UK Mar 19: Manchester Sound Control, UK Mar 20: Dublin Button Factory, Ireland Mar 22: Wolverhampton Slade Rooms, UK Mar 23: London O2 Academy Islington, UK Mar 24: Glasgow Cathouse, UK Mar 25: Nottingham Rescue Rooms, UK

AVATAR DEBUT 2 TRACKS FROM NEW CONCEPT LP 'FEATHERS & FLESH'



AVATAR have launched the first two tracks off their forthcoming concept album 'Feathers & Flesh' wich is set for release on Friday, 13th May, 2016 via Another Century.

The songs 'Regret' and 'House of the Eternal Hunt' are being released in tandem - check them out here:



"What you have is the beginning of the story and all the light and darkness of things to come!" says frontman Johannes Eckström. "We meet our protagonist, Owl as she lies dying, looking back on the night that would be her last. Regret is about, well regret! Staring into the cold eyes of Death, she wishes to change everything, to go back, to live again. This leads us to House of Eternal Hunt. It is how things used to be; how they were supposed to be. That is how the tale starts, with a predator ruling the sky on the night that would turn out to be her last! With this concept and these tracks, we want to give you the past, present and, more than anything else, the future of metal as we see it. It is the beginning of an epic journey and we're glad to have you along for the trip."

The aim is set higher, further and deeper than ever before for AVATAR. Not only is this concept album their most extensive work to date, showing the widest range of any of their albums, it also contains a story too extensive for any booklet, so they made a book. A fully illustrated 60 page, 109 verse poem hardcover book. The physical album pre order, book, and exclusive merchandise is available now. Click here for more info: avatarmetal.com

The band is releasing their first song off the record in a very familiar way, a music video. 'For The Swarm' can be seen exclusively on the band's website.

Directed by longtime collaborator and director Johan Carlén, the video pegs itself firmly into the upper echelon of stunning visual masterpieces the band has grown accustomed to producing.

With past works being buzzworthy videos like "Bloody Angel", "Hail The Apocalypse" and the 2015 Loudwire "Best Rock video of the year" video for "Vultures Fly", AVATAR continues to raise the bar for what bands are doing visually in the current state of hard rock and metal. 'For The Swarm' is also available as an iTunes instant gratification track, meaning fans who pre order the album today will get the track as an instant download.

'Feathers & Flesh' was recorded in Germany, Finland and Sweden in December 2015 with producer extraordinaire Sylvia Massy (System of a Down, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers).

“Avatar is an amazing band” says Massy, adding, “The singer has the wild energy and charisma I love, and the players are relentless. The album we’re making is an epic. Each song powerfully stands on it’s own, but is only a piece of a larger story. This album is the project I’ve been dreaming about for years!”

The music is as always, rooted in the extreme, with plenty of melodic sensibility and a lust for experimentation. There is a love for intense double bass drumming, riffing and shredding of timeless dimensions alongside rough edges, slow grooves and epic storytelling for the ages. The idea is that as the band digs deeper, the fists will be held up higher. The end result is a modern metal album with all the ruthlessness and power one could ask for handled with a loving songwriter’s hand, inspired by The Beatles and Queen.

For a chance to see new material live, AVATAR have just been confirmed to perform Download Festival which takes place in Donington, England from 10th - 12th June.

Tracklisting:

01. Regret 02. House of Eternal Hunt 03. The Eagle has Landed 04. New Land 05. Tooth, Beak & Claw 06. For The Swarm 07. Fiddler's Farewell 08. One More Hill 09. Black Waters 10. Night Never Ending 11. Pray the Sun Away 12. When The Snow Lies Red 13. Raven Wine 14. Sky Burial

Video: Lindsay Schoolcraft / Cradle of Filth interviewed at The Academy Dublin. 13 March 2016



OVERKILL - Band streams track video in support of forthcoming UK tour



New Jersey's thrash legends Overkill are set to embark on an eight date tour across the UK and Ireland in April with labelmates, Vader. In celebration of the run of dates, the band has revealed a track video for 'Down To The Bone'.



You can see the ‘Wrecking Crew’ live in the following cities:

05.04. UK Birmingham - The Rainbow Warehouse 06.04. UK Manchester - Sound Control 07.04. UK Leeds - Leeds Uni Stylus 08.04. UK Glasgow - The Classic Grand 09.04. UK Belfast - The Limelight 10.04. IRL Dublin - The Academy 12.04. UK Bristol - The Fleece 13.04. UK London - o2 Academy Islington

Additional support comes from UK based One Machine.

METAL ON THE HILL! Heavy Metal returns to Graz!



Is anybody surprised that a town bearing a name like Eisenerz (= iron ore) is home to an absolute metal giant like NAPALM RECORDS? Of course not. Much more baffling though is that the Austrian state of Styria – to which Eisenerz belongs – hasn`t seen a metal-only festival in ages! Luckily Napalm`s live department NAPALM EVENTS has now stepped in to riff all of Southern Austria out of its slumber…

In cooperation with “Spielstätten Graz”, this one will have its baptism of fire in 2016 at the picturesque “Schloßberg”: METAL ON THE HILL is the name of the game!

Directly beneath the highest point of Styria`s capital – the plateau of the Schloßberg – lies Graz` most popular open air event location: the Schloßberg stage Kasematten. A stage plus a vast auditorium in the old fortress walls had was erected in the 1930s – an absolute trademark of the city! Especially during summer nights and open air events the place is brimming with darkly romantic atmosphere. A sliding roof protects the audience from any fitful weather.

In addition, the first festival day (attention: limited capacity!) will go down at the “Dom im Berg” (= mountain cathedral). This venue is definitely Graz` most unique event location! In 1999, this multifunctional spot was carved out of the mountain and opened to the public at the 2000 state fair.

A more than stately and unforgettable backdrop that is fiercely guarded by the festival mascot – the Styrian Panther. Catch a glimpse of the locations here:

12.08.2016 Dom im Berg (DevilDriver, Drescher, Jinjer, Tuxedoo) 13.08.2016 Kasemattenbühne (Arch Enemy, Satyricon, Lacuna Coil, Moonspell + 3 more TBC)

It`s a given that NAPALM RECORDS will go big and international with its first very own open air festival: ARCH ENEMY, SATYRICON, LACUNA COIL, DEVILDRIVER and MOONSPELL will all play exclusive Austrian shows. Black metal pioneers SATYRICON even boast an exclusive „Nemesis Divina“ anniversary set! Popular national acts such as DRESCHER and TUXEDOO are also part of the bill. More stunning acts will be announced late in March!

VIP tickets, weekend passes and day passes are now available here www.metal-on-the-hill.com and at all usual booking offices and websites. VIP tickets only available via www.metal-on-the-hill.com.

GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH Returns For Release Of Third Album Through Pitch Black Records This April



Pitch Black Records is thrilled to announce the return of one of Canada's premier stoner metal acts, GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH, with their new, third album, Citizens Of Nowhere, set for release this April.

Citizens Of Nowhere is the follow-up to GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH's superb New Machines Of The Night (Pitch Black Records, 2013) which received numerous praises worldwide, including the #4 spot in Revolver Magazine's online readers poll for album of the week as well as charting #15 on the CMJ Loud Charts.

The main driving force behind GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH, vocalist/guitarist Al "The Yeti" Bones (also of Serpents Of Secrecy, The Mighty Nimbus, Georgian Skull, Mister Bones) comments: "It's been awesome working with such a flagship independent metal label like Pitch Black Records. It's so important to form an alliance with a label that believes in what you do as much as you do. Our new album is a smoke riff masterpiece that tells tales of the apocalypse, death, space, time travel, and the almighty highway!"

Proudly (and rightly so) declaring their affection for that good old warm sound, GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH has gone completely analogue on this one, recording on reel to reel tape at Sharktank Studios in Windsor, Ontario. The album includes eleven tracks, with a cover of the Sabbath classic "Killing Yourself To Live" as a CD bonus. Clocking in at just under an hour, this is an album that truly "reels" the listener in right from the start and the band's unique style of bluesy stoner rock/metal, which includes three guitars and a harmonica, is set to captivate audiences once again.

Citizens Of Nowhere is scheduled for release on April 15th on CD and digital download.

Citizens Of NowhereTrack Listing:

1. The Sting 2. Holding Grace 3. Citizens Of Nowhere 4. Black Samurai 5. Elephant In The Room 6. Gloomy Tombs 7. Odyssey 8. We Died For This 9. The Return 10. Witchcraft For The Ages 11. Killing Yourself To Live (CD Bonus)

GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH:

AL Yeti Bones - Vocals/Guitar Adam Saitti - Drums Dustin Black - Guitar John Serio - Guitar Darren Brush - Bass Rev. Brodie Stevenson - Harmonica