Finnish dark metal band Mustan Kuun Lapset celebrates their 30th anniversary with a new EP “Suruaika” to be released in March 24th 2023. New they have released one song “Muistoa kunnioittaen” from the upcoming EP.
Muistoa kunnioittaen is MKL’s 30th birthday song. It gather in all the waves of the band’s music over the decades, from ’90s death metal to newer rock and folk influences. Muistoa kunnioittaen is the first metal song since Valo album (2019), and it’s also the first recorded song with Pasi Löfgren on bass and second vocals.
Suruaika 1993 – 2023 Anniversary EP contains four songs, including a Spanish version of one of MKL’s most famous works Morfiinisiivet, originally released in 2007. EP will be released on March 24th by Inverse Records.
The band plays Deep Waters & Dark Skies Tour 2023 in Finland with Swedish Wormwood and Finnish dark metal band Kuoleman Galleria.
On February 22, 2023, the Finnish artist Piper, also known as Päivi Sihvonen, will release her second single release from her soon-to-be released debut album “What is the heart for?”. Immediately after its release, her first single Self-consciousness gained international interest on music websites, and it was selected for European radio channels and British radio playlists. As a continuation of this metal-style single, the second single, Dream is about the most beautiful dream in the world, that you want to revisit, but cannot. Dream is the album’s sixth song, and this rock ballad transports the listener to wistful landscapes of wishes.
“The birth of Dream’s words was special. It was kind of the impetus for writing the lyrics for all my songs. The beginnings of the piano compositions had already begun to emerge, the parts of the songs Eternity and Distance had already formed in my mind. Dream was born at night when I was trying to fall asleep under the glow of the full moon. The words came to me, and I started writing”, Päivi recalls and continues:
“In January 2020, there was a mesmerising full moon that lasted for many nights. While I was watching the glow of the moon, a chorus started playing in my head and I wrote it down
Listening to inspiration and acting on it was a powerful experience. I explained to someone dear to me that Dream was born when the moon talked and I wrote. The verse that captures the theme of the song goes: “Insomnia, I want to sink into sleep, anew this dream.”
A woman and a piano create a strong tone in her debut album
“What is the heart for?” the lyrics and the moods of the songs that ended up on the record got their driving force from the challenges of being human, and got their strong framework inspired by nature.
“I want the public, who discovers my music, to be inspired to make their own interpretations – to give in to being carried away by their emotions,” describes Päivi.
Originating from classical, tinged with blues and finding fulfillment in the rock sound, the style wants to be its own, fantasy world-creating experience, without compartmentalization. The main role is played by a woman and a piano. In addition, other instruments played by Saku Anttila complete the experience.
Creativity through music and writing helps to open up
Päivi feels that one should not suppress or try to control one’s own unconsciousness:
“Music, writing and the arts are part of something bigger, for which, being open and receptive, you can act as its channel. You should throw yourself at the mercy of creativity and receive and create with the opening energy”, she describes.
“In the aftermath of a breakup from a long relationship years ago, I got through the pain through creativity. Then I made two songs on the piano and wrote them down. I still have not found those notes, one of which I can’t remember at all, but one of them was similar to the piano parts of Dream. As soon as Dream’s lyrics started playing in my head, I connected them to that earlier piano composition of mine. Could they work for that? I wondered. I wanted to try.”
Finnish atmospheric progressive metal band Alase released a new single and music video Fate’s Intervention. The track is taken from their upcoming second studio album ‘A Matter of Time’ which is released on April 14th 2023 via Finnish Inverse Records.
Guitarist Janne comments Fate’s Intervention:
” “Fate’s Intervention” single represents the rougher and darker side of the upcoming A Matter of Time album. We chose it as the second single, because we wanted to showcase also the heavier side of the album. Markus Hirvonen performed the vocals on the song which starts with heavy modern style riffing and screaming vocals. After the intro we move to a calmer, but ominous section. The song has lots of twists and turns, but the choruses are more straightforward and have a glimpse of hope. Alase is a fairly guitar-driven band, but we rarely have solos. However, for “Fate’s Intervention” me and Mikko both wanted to play solos. In a way, it was a shame to bury the good rhythmic riffs hidden under the solos, but we are sure that the sharp-eared listeners will pick them up there.”
Lyricist Ninni comments the lyrics and music video:
“While writing the “Fate’s Intervention” lyrics, I could hear in my head that screaming vocals would be well suited for this song. In the text, I did not hold back at all, I just let it come out without censoring myself. Lyrics and music video reflect a person’s struggle with health problems. The screenplay of the music video had been waiting for a suitable moment in my desk drawer for quite a long time. Aarni Visuals created the music video skilfully and in his own personal style. The video supports the spirit of the song perfectly.”
1. Understanding the Waves 2. Clear Sky Is Not a Curse 3. Fate’s Intervention 4. Unburden 5. Life Ahead 6. The Source 7. Out of Place 8. Feeling Free 9. Ajan kysymys
Jupiter Hollow is rock music taken to a whole new level. Led by the fearless Grant MacKenzie and Kenny Parry, this powerhouse duo and live quartet featuring John-Ryan Godfrey and Nathaniel Reynolds-Welsh have been making waves in Canada since 2015 with their unique brand of progressive rock.
With thought-provoking lyrics, unique vocal melodies, harmonies, powerful guitar riffs, unyielded songwriting, and the duo’s incessant desire to bring fans on a journey, there’s always something new to explore. Thus far they have two full-length albums under their belts: 2020’s “Bereavement”, 2018’s “AHDOMN”, and have another one in the works. Working slowly and methodically, Jupiter Hollow takes their time to ensure a polished, impressive offering and will be releasing this next one, song by song. The first song is “Distant Shadow”, which they explain:
“Distant Shadow is an anthemic overture of what’s to be expected on Jupiter Hollow’s 3rd album. This song represents acceptance and the beginning of one’s process of finding happiness. Sometimes, the negative habits of individuals go unnoticed to themselves. These behaviors cause complications in one’s relationships, professional endeavors, and physical and mental health. Recognizing that it is you that brings on your own winter is the most crucial first step in changing one’s life for the better. From here we can pick apart the aspects of what makes this negative landscape and learn to fight the negative environment that it propagates.”
Jupiter Hollow’s approach is deliberate so that each track can be digested separately and then consumed as a cohesive piece in the future, designed to maximize activity and continuously give listeners a small piece of the puzzle to look forward to instead of waiting to see the entire finished picture at once. According to them, as a relatively unknown band, it’s more beneficial to create a trail of treats to follow to the final prize instead of overwhelming everyone with a dense meal like the “Ahdomn”-“Bereavement” saga.
To Release It’s Only Midnight Full-Length April 14th Via Tankcrimes
West Coast deathgrind practitioners DEATHGRAVE will unleash their It’s Only Midnight full-length April 14th via Tankcrimes, today revealing the record’s first single, cover art, and preorders.
Comprised of longtime scene veterans, DEATHGRAVE is Greg Wilkinson (Autopsy, Brainoil, ex-Laudanum, ex-Graves At Sea), bassist Fern Alberts (Amber Asylum, ex-Bird, ex-Ringwurm), vocalist Andre Cornejo (ex-Cyanic, ex-Bird, ex-Casket Blaster), and Clint Zane (Owl, Hazzards Cure, ex-Isotope) who joined the band on drums in 2018. It’s Only Midnight dives deeper into the realms of grindcore while lacing new dimensions to their sound. The drums add polyrhythms and complex time signatures in a seemingly effortless fashion. Meanwhile, the guitar playing combines bizarre chords, fast chainsaw picking, chunky palm mutes, and unnerving echoing melodies into a unified style. Bass lines diverge from the guitar parts highlighting the pulverizing drive of the music. To cap things off, Cornejo delivers the most demanding performance to date. The amalgam of the four members spews out a new and undefinable sound. To say this is just another grind album would be a vast understatement.
In advance of the record’s release, today DEATHGRAVE unleashes a video (created by Douglas Lawlor) for their first single, “Your Rulers Are Here,” now playing at Decibel Magazine.
Comments Cornejo, “I really enjoy old, tucked away neighborhood bars. When one walks into one of these watering holes and there’s four people that might as well be statues staring straight into glasses creaking their necks to shoot confused wide-eyed glare at the unfamiliar face fills me with an exciting and uncomfortable joy. I will sit down and order a whiskey covered in decades of dust and start to imagine the stories of local patrons, eavesdropping on their sluggish drunken conversations while buried in a book. ‘Your Rulers Are Here’ is my homage to all of these reclusive dives and the eccentric communities that find themselves stumbling in and out of them on a daily basis. The lyrics convey that a Lovecraftian cosmic monstrosity has infiltrated a small bar, infecting the libations with alien biological goop to enslave the local community through alcoholism that leads to sickness in which these malevolent creatures feed upon.”
It’s Only Midnight will be released on CD and limited edition LP in three color variants (Cloudy Blue, Blue inside Clear w/ Smoke, and Red and Blue Wings w/ Splatter). A cassette edition will be released through a partnership with Transylvanian Records.
Spawned in 2013, DEATHGRAVE began to weave its own breed of metal based out of San Jose, Califorrnia. The band initially grabbed elements from many punk and metal bands like Siege, Rudimentary Peni, Napalm Death, Impetigo, Godflesh, and Zeni Geva as well as their own previous bands, and many others, yet their actual musical output never shared a similar sound to the aforementioned artists.
Over the past ten years, the band has toured multiple regions throughout North America and kept busy recording. To date, DEATHGRAVE has released a demo, a Mexico tour cassette, four split 7″s, and a debut LP in 2018 which dragged them out from the depths of the underground and into the forefront of the Bay Area’s grind/metal scene. It’s Only Midnight is the second LP on Tankcrimes while marking the first release with their current drummer.
Dark rock band DOL from Finland releases their second EP “Amor Brutale” later this spring. Now they have released second single “Hand Of Hate” from the upcoming mini album.
This song was originally written back in the late 2020 by DOL vocalist/ guitarist Eero “Mc” Veri, who wanted to find a new sound, that would define the musical direction for the new EP. The result was heavier and darker stuff, than the bands previous work. Song also features much more programmed synths and samples. Lyrically the song is a dark self reflection about how it can sometimes feel like you don’t deserve happiness and that all the happiness you might have will just end in tears.
Finnish melancholic metal band Abandon All releases their debut album “Far Away” later this year. The second single from the upcoming album is now released.
“Stupid People” is a song about school bullying. This is a topic that affects unfortunately many children and young people. Some members of Abandon All have themselves been through it and that is why it seemed important to them to talk about it through a song.
Abandon All was founded in 2020 and after one year the line-up stabilized to it’s current form – Monia Sommer (Vocals), Juha Nygren (Guitar), Kari Harjunniemi (Guitar), Ami Havukainen (Drums) ja Sami Heinonen (Bass)
On April 28th, Enforced will release their third full-length, War Remains (32 minutes of aggressive, no-frills thrash!), via Century Media Records. For a preview of this record, the video for the new single, “Hanged by My Hand”, can be viewed now below:
Vocalist Knox Colby states: “The song is about living in a world governed by the ignorant, the incompetent and the ineffective; shrugging off or poorly trying to mask how inept they truly are (The Norfolk-Southern train derailment in Ohio is a perfect example).
“The song seethes with no way forward, as the world around you burns in acid fire; you’d rather die with your dignity than having some bastard suit step over you like a piece of garbage, only remembering you as ‘collateral damage’ and not the human being you once were. They don’t care about you. Look out for yourself. Behind a poison smile, decline in denial.”
–Blue vinyl available from USA retail (500 copies) & CM Distro Wholesale EU and CMdistro.de (300 copies)
–White vinyl available from EMP (150 copies) & Nuclear Blast (150 copies)
–Red vinyl available from Enforced (limited to 300 copies)
–Digital album
Album Artwork by: Joe Petagno
War Remains track-listing:
1. Aggressive Menace
2. The Quickening
3. Hanged by My Hand
4. Avarice
5. War Remains
6. Mercy Killing Fields
7. Nation of Fear
8. Ultra-Violence
9. Starve
10. Empire
“We didn’t overthink anything,” says Enforced front-man Knox Colby, describing the ethic that went into the making of the Richmond, Virginia-based quintet’s third album, War Remains. “It’s all very straight forward, no bells and whistles production-wise. It’s almost ten minutes shorter than our last record and packs ten times more of a punch.”
Blazing out of the pandemic, Enforced carved a trail throughout North America and Europe, sharing stages with the likes of Obituary, Municipal Waste and Exhumed as well as festivals like Maryland Deathfest and France’s Hellfest. With that bloodied road behind them, Enforced set metallic standard with their power-of-the-riff-wreck-your-neck take on classic thrash and crossover hardcore from the same pissed-off hometown womb that had given the world the likes of GWAR and Lamb of God.
Teaming with Richmond-based producer, Ricky Olson, with mixing help from Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Kreator), the band delivered on every iota of extreme aggression they’ve flexed since their inception in 2016. War Remains is the sound of Enforced pushing themselves to the next level: a serrated-edge classic. “It has the intensity of ‘At the Walls’ (2019) but is more mature than ‘Kill Grid’ (2021),” Colby explains. “It has that tenacity of us live. It spills through the record. If you’re a fan of really aggressive music, you’re gonna love it. It’s seething!”
Prepares to kick off USA headlining tour this week with Marty Friedman, Trauma
After releasing theirsixteenth studio album, Digital Noise Alliance, last year to critical acclaim, Queensrÿche are kicking off 2023 with an extensive USA headlining trek in support of the record, featuring special guests Marty Friedman and Trauma. To coincide with the tour-start this week, Queensrÿche is also giving fans a new video for “Realms” (from Digital Noise Alliance). Produced by Thomas Crane , watch the clip now below:
“This track surrounds the ongoing scandals of politicians and the non-transparent cover-ups trying to save their political careers,”Queensrÿche comments.
In regards to the upcoming shows, the band adds: “We are very excited to be doing this headline tour in support of our most recent album, ‘Digital Noise Alliance’! This touring package is amped up and very much looking forward to seeing all of you! Come on out and let’s have a great time together, as live music is as vibrant as ever once again!”
See below for all dates!
Queensrÿche2023 Digital Noise Alliance Tour
w/ Marty Friedman, Trauma
Mar. 3, 2023 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
Mar. 4, 2023 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
Mar. 5, 2023 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre
Mar. 7, 2023 – Destin, FL @ Club LA
Mar. 9, 2023 – San Antonio, TX @ The Vibes Event Center
Mar. 10, 2023 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
Mar. 11, 2023 – Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
Mar. 12, 2023 – Midland, TX @ La Hacienda Event Center
Mar. 14, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
Mar. 16, 2023 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Mar. 17, 2023 – Sycuan Casino Resort – El Cajon, CA
Mar. 18, 2023 – Cannery Casino Hotel – North Las Vegas, NV
Mar. 19, 2023 – House Of Blues – Anaheim, CA
Mar. 21, 2023 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Mar. 22, 2023 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre
Mar. 24, 2023 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Mar. 25, 2023 – Kansas City, KS @ Knuckleheads Saloon
Mar. 26, 2023 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
Mar. 28, 2023 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Mar. 29, 2023 – Ft. Wayne, IN @ The Clyde Theatre
Mar. 31, 2023 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
Apr. 1, 2023 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
Apr. 2, 2023 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
Apr. 4, 2023 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Apr. 5, 2023 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theater
Apr. 7, 2023 – Boston, MA @ The Palladium
Apr. 8, 2023 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Apr. 10, 2023 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Apr. 11, 2023 – Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage
Apr. 12, 2023 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
Apr. 14, 2023 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Apr. 15, 2023 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Heaven)
Apr. 16, 2023 – St. Petersberg, FL @ Jannus Live
With a career that not only spans, but has also charted the course of multiple genres, Queensrÿche remains a force in their own right – and Digital Noise Alliance continues their ever-evolving legacy. As Blabbermouth proclaims, “…’Digital Noise Alliance’ promises to increase the momentum that has propelled them this far…The glorious comeback keeps on coming.”
Swedish industrial cult act DEATHSTARS recently announced their return with the new album Everything Destroys You, which is set to be released on May 5th via Nuclear Blast Records.
Fans have eagerly waited for their first release in over eight years, which brings us back to the good old Scandinavian Deathglam and destructive urban party nights. Today, the band reveals the second album single, “Midnight Party”.
The track is accompanied by a complimentary video – filmed in Stockholm, it depicts the band attending a packed club show, watching a Deathstars female cover band. Hint: this alternative Deathstars might feature some familiar faces…
Frontman Whiplasher Bernadotte comments on the song:
“I wanted to write a kind of worst slash filthy slash dark yet catchy party song and lyrics; something that was bad in a good way – bringing moral downfall up- to – speed al dente.. It’s about those times when you end up binge partying and don´t go to sleep for days, it’s just constantly midnight with the additional clear and present downward spiral and debauchery that eventually makes you go insane. The party that never stops until you collapse. Very different from David Lee Roth-poolpartyrock, to say the least.”
The album will be released in the following formats:
CD jewel case with 16-page booklet 1LP Sleeve + A2 Poster white 1LP Sleeve + A2 Poster splatter dark green & yellow
