Breaking Benjamin's Keith Wallen Shares "Headspace Holiday" Video

NEW SOLO ALBUM INFINITY NOW ARRIVES MAY 3 VIA RISE RECORDS

WALLEN SHARES VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE "STRINGS" — WATCH

BREAKING BENJAMIN guitarist KEITH WALLEN will drop his latest solo album Infinity Now on May 3 via Rise Records. Pre-save it here. 

Today, Wallen has shared the video "Headspace Holiday." Watch it below.
 

"Life can stress you out and there's a lot of bad news on the TV more often than not, so 'Headspace Holiday' is about just that, the need for a mental escape from all of life's noise," Wallen shares about the song's inspiration.

As for the videol, he states, "It can be a challenge to find the right visual representation for your music sometimes, but we were able to get some cool performance and artsy silhouette shots. The director Jake Johnson was awesome to work with and I really like how it turned out. Plus, there was a Trans Am in it so that was cool!"

ABOUT KEITH WALLEN:
Keith Wallen is a prolific songwriter responsible for soaring melodies and hypnotic hooks heard across modern rock radio. The West Virginia-born troubadour uses his solo work as a vehicle to explore his multifaceted passions, moving seamlessly from the smart pop of '80s favorites like The Police and Depeche Mode to the big moody riffs of '90s grunge heroes like Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots. 
 
His co-writing collaborations include compositions with Saint Asonia, Fuel, We Came As Romans, Red, Dorothy, and Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch's Love And Death. Wallen bares his soul as a solo artist with earnest resolve, powering his honest anthems with commanding vocals. 
 
A former member of Adelitas Way, Keith was among his first calls when Benjamin Burnley decided to reform and reconfigure his band. Dark Before Dawn, Breaking Benjamin's powerhouse comeback, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Ember followed in 2018. 
 
Keith's self-produced acoustic and piano-driven Allies EP arrived in 2014. His debut solo album, 2021'sThis World Or The Next, featured "Dream Away," a song streamed 1.4M times on Spotify alone. His second solo album, Infinity Now, includes production and co-writing contributions from Kevin Thrasher (RIVALS, Jelly Roll) and work with Dan Braunstein (Spiritbox, Dayseeker) and Andrew Baylis (Sleeping With Sirens, Jelly Roll, Brantley Gilbert). 
 
Produced by Kevin Thrasher (Jelly Roll, RIVALS) and mixed by Joel Wanasek (Rain City Drive, Scott Stapp), Keith's sophomore solo album, Infinity Now, extends a warm invitation into the singer/songwriter's heart and mind. Hard rock bombast meets intimate pensiveness via engaging songs like "Blackout," "Strings," and first single, "Headspace Holiday."
 
As guitarist for Breaking Benjamin, a solo artist or songwriting collaborator, the common threads through Keith Wallen's work are honesty, authenticity, and heartfelt spirit. 

Timelost Share Claymation Music Video For "Wet J" — WATCH + New Album "Drained" Out In 2 Weeks!

Today, Philadelphia alt-rock/grunge band Timelost have shared the third and final single "Wet J" before the release of their new album Drained, out 2/23 via Church Road Records. The album is set to bring joy to fans old and new with its energetic blend of garage rock and nostalgic nod to the alternative rock sounds of the 90's.

In addition to the song the band has shared a claymation music video done by the album artist Perry Coker. Watch it below.

"Wet J is about the frustrations of continuously falling into the same mistakes. Wanting to give up and just be left alone to wallow in our own failures. We tried to portray this continuous beating of life with the beautifully made claymation / stop-motion video by Perry Coker (who also did our album art!). Our new album Drained drops in 2 weeks!" - vocalist/guitarist Shane Handal.

Pre-order Drained here.

Born out of a dispersed network of friends collaborating digitally, Timelost has undergone a remarkable evolution since their inception. The band has since found its footing in a sound that pays homage to the great alternative rock bands of the past while incorporating a contemporary influence.
 
Drained represents the latest chapter in Timelost's musical pilgrimage. Recorded and mixed by the skilled hands of fellow Philadelphian Scoops Dardaris (known for his work with Prince Daddy & The Hyena, They Are Gutting A Body Of Water, Another Michael), the album boasts a rich and dynamic production that brings the band's sound to new heights. Mastered by Matt Poirier, a luminary in the field whose portfolio includes The War On Drugs, The National, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
 
With influences reminiscent of iconic bands like Wavves, Weezer, and Dinosaur Jr, Timelost invites listeners to embark on a journey through the raw, unapologetic energy of Drained. The album's tracks, laden with infectious hooks and introspective lyrics, weave a narrative that reflects the band's growth and exploration of new musical territories.
 
About the album, Handal says "Drained is about the continuous beating of life. The state of the world, personal responsibilities, socializing, being in a band, all of it just being exhausting and wanting to burn it down or run away.
 
We originally wrote 7 songs and it felt tired and too similar to our previous stuff, so we dropped almost all of them and started new. We leaned into a more simple and fun approach to songwriting and ended up writing 18 songs over 2+ years. Drained is the best 10."

TIMELOST ARE:
Shane Handal — Vocals/Guitar
Grzesiek Czapla — Drums
Tony DiDonato — Bass

BRODEQUIN Release Torturous New Single

After 20 years of relative silence, last month, Brodequin returned with the announcement of their long-awaited fourth album. Today, the Brothers Bailey and their punishing new drummer are releasing the second torturous single off Harbinger of Woe.

Listen to "Suffocation in Ash" below.

Harbinger of Woe comes out March 22, 2024.

Pre-order: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/brodequin-harbinger-of-woe

Pre-save: https://orcd.co/harbingerofwoepresave

There's a reason why metalheads from every underground fiefdom recognize Brodequin as the most brutal band in all of death metal. After all, they did take their name from the most wicked torture device that any peasant has had the misfortune of receiving. 

Brodequin's whole discography is culled from the bloody annals of medieval history, but the source of inspiration behind their new single dates all the way back to ancient Persian history. "Basically, the victim, who's held in a tower that's specifically designed for this sort of thing, is immersed in ash", explains Jamie Bailey, who honed his morbid curiosity for the Middle Ages as a college history student.   

But don't just take his word for it. "Suffocation in Ash" treats unsuspecting spectators to an unflinching account of this real life torture chamber. Mike Bailey churns the riff like a giant wooden wheel, condemning even the sorriest of sinners to a hail of ash. Fellow executioner Brennan Shackelford continues to reign down a merciless torrent of blast beats and pinging cymbals long after their prisoner has been brought begging to one shredded knee.

"Silence. Liar", Jamie gurgles, as if echoing the guilty conscience inside their poor beaten skull.

"I sought to shed light on an execution method rooted in antiquity", Jamie says about the concept behind "Suffocation in Ash". "This specific technique often escapes the attention of those intrigued by these kinds of historical practices. Lyrically, my aim was to transport the listener into the vivid depiction of the scene I attempt to portray". 

"Among the myriad methods employed, a prominent example was the affixing of an individual to a pillar, or, more commonly, a tree trunk through the use of long iron nails".

That's Jamie Bailey, talking in true Brodequin fashion about the very first single from Harbinger of Woe.

"Of Pillars and Trees" is classic Brodequin. Mike's riffs churn like severed limbs through a meat grinder. Brennan pings his cymbals with all the murderous intent of a spiked mace. Heck, the death growls are nasty enough to make you think that Jamie is sucking the blood of his enemies through a straw.

Watch the medieval video for "Of Pillars and Trees", which was created by Matti Way of From the North Films: https://youtu.be/yh7awqeuZJQ    

Photo by Jacob Smith

After signing with Season of Mist in 2022, Brodequin re-issued their entire discography on LP and CD.

"Relentless, barbaric intensity" - John Gallagher (Dying Fetus), who named Instruments of Torture one of the most brutal albums ever.  

"Kicks in like a sledgehammer" - Metal Rage raved over Methods of Execution

"A merciless massacre" - Power Metal praised Festival of Death. 

Order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/BrodequinReisssues

Stream:
https://orcd.co/brodequin-methods
https://orcd.co/brodequin-festival
https://orcd.co/brodequin-torture

The Middle Ages might’ve brought the world out of The Dark Ages. But for every compass or printing press, those enlightened thinkers were also responsible for inventing the most torturous devices in human history. None were more brutal than the brodequin. Not only did the French use this instrument to cripple their victims, but to squeeze their legs to the point where bone marrow would spill out of their wounds.    

You could say the same about Brodequin. The band come with their own long and sordid history. Brothers Jamie and Mike Bailey have been playing brutal death metal since 1998. Putting his history degree to good use, Jamie’s lyrics are inspired by real historical events, staying true to death metal’s core thematic pillars of dismemberment, torture, abuse and murder. But their artwork broke from genre’s generic splatter illustrations by digging into intricate period woodcuts and beautifully grotesque oil paintings. 

“There simply was no point in history that was more brutal than the medieval period,” says Jamie. “At the same time that such barbarity was deployed, there was also an explosion in fine art, architecture and music. It all comes to feed our identity as a band”.   

Brodequin’s first album catapulted them far beyond their kingdom of Knoxville. “This band has stuck out in the underground with relentless, barbaric intensity”, says Dying Fetus’ vocalist and guitarist John Gallagher, who named Instruments of Torture one of the most brutal death metal albums ever. Festival of Death put another flesh-tearing arrow in their quiver (“Some of the fastest, most brutalizing death metal ever recorded” - Sputnik Music). But after sieging festival stages across Europe with Methods of Execution, the band had to be put on ice.  

“We had a series of deaths in our family”, Jamie explains. “Mike and I knew we had to step away until we had the time and were at a place mentally to give Brodequin the attention it deserved.”  

Now, after 20 years of peaceful silence, Brodequin have returned with fresh instruments of torture. The Brothers Bailey are back with a new drummer, a new label and their long-awaited fourth album.

“Brodequin had been away for so long that I was stunned by the level of interest from fans and record labels”, Jamie says. "Before playing Hellfest, the band was approached backstage by a metalhead rocking a Brodequin t-shirt who happened to work for Season of Mist. Soon enough, they were hitting it off with Michael Berberian. The rest, as they say, is history. 

“We all hung out for hours”, recalls Jamie. “The extraordinary level of enthusiasm shown toward our music made Season of Mist the obvious choice”. 

As has been the case with this band for their entire career, Harbinger of Woe lives up to its name. Lead single “Of Pillars and Trees” is classic Brodequin. Mike’s distorted guitar chords churn like limbs through a meat grinder. The way Brennan Shackelford pings, blasts and flays his snare through “Suffocation in Ash” with the all encompassing speed of a sandstorm. Jamie’s growls are so phlegmy, so rotted, that to drag them out from whatever dark bowel movement spawned them would make an executioner sick to their stomach. And yet — somewhere deep inside all that carnage hides a terrifying beauty. The title track leaves you deaf, dumb and blind, begging on your knees in the face of a punishing, almighty riff.    

“This album is a journey into this lost period of history where brutality and beauty coexist. Beauty, in the arts the were created, but also the beautiful brutality that was needed to engineer deadly devices like the brodequin”.  

With Harbinger of Woe, Brodequin reclaim their throne as the most brutal band in all of death metal.

Line up:
Jamie Bailey: Bass/Vocals
Mike Bailey: Guitar
Brennan Shackelford: Drums

Recording
Drums recorded at Brennan's Drum Room in Dallas, Texas.

Guitar, bass and vocals recorded at Navarre 24 in Harriman, Tennessee

Producer and sound engineer
Mike Bailey

Mastering studio and engineer
Brad Boatwright

Mixing studio and engineer
Josh Welshman

Artwork
Original artwork done by Jose de Brito.
Additional elements by Jamie Bailey.

Pre-order: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/brodequin-harbinger-of-woe

Pre-save: https://orcd.co/harbingerofwoepresave

Links:
www.brodequinofficial.com
www.facebook.com/brodequinTN
www.brodequin.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/brodequintn

Portland-based Sun Atoms present 'Ceiling Tiles' 7" single and haunting monochrome video

"Sun Atoms is a tripped-out opus packed with droning electronics, shimmering guitars, dayglo melodies and a deep, whispered delivery" ~ Brooklyn Vegan

"Ebbing and flowing like Love and Rockets under a Spiritualized raga; the spirit of Bowie’s classic Moonage Daydream echoes through the band’s astral fabric” ~ First Look

"Thoroughly enjoyable. We appreciate their artistic leap into an enthralling intersection of post-punk, indie rock and new wave. Worthy of your “put on repeat” playlist, this music opens a gateway for your consciousness to coast into fascinating sonic realms" ~ Spill Magazine

“Sun Atoms give first rate performances that bend and blend song to song through luminary influences Leonard Cohen, The Cure, Moon Duo, and Nick Cave in a resulting amalgamation that combines psychedelic, dark wave, and post-modern pop” ~ The Big Takeover

"Sun Atoms fuses styles and sounds like a long lost Basquiat painting found in deep space among comets and stars” ~ Maximum Volume

Portland alternative pop / postmodern rock outfit Sun Atoms present their new single 'Ceiling Tiles', released via Little Cloud Records digitally and on 7" vinyl. The video follows ghosts on a velvety caper through an endless maze, arriving at a house of cards on the verge of metaphysical collapse. The B-side complements chills with thrills with a unique rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic, here dubbed 'Tower of Song (in the key of JAMC)'.

Written around a compelling baseline by Peter G. Holmström (The Dandy Warhols, Pete International Airport), who also produced this single, the single was mixed by the iconic Jagz Kooner (Massive Attack, Primal Scream, Oasis, Garbage). This is the first taste of the band's sophomore album, to be released in late spring.

Vocalist Jsun Atoms (The Upsidedown, Daydream Machine) is joined by Holmström on bass, multi-instrumentalist June Kang, Mars de Ponte (LoveBomb Go-Go), L.A. drummer Eric Rubalcava and Boise native Derek Spencer Longoria-Gomez (Hi Hazel). 2021 brought the band's debut album 'Let There Be Light', also produced by Holmström and mixed by the iconic Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths, The Cranberries), involving performances by the likes of The Vandelles' Jasno Swarez, The Black Angels’ Alex Maas and Gregg Williams (Sheryl Crow, Blitzen Trapper).

"When I was a child, I saw a being made of light climb through my bedroom window, they stood at the foot of my bed and reached out to touch my foot," explains Jsun Atoms. "Mesmerizing and haunting, much like the new Sun Atoms single 'Ceiling Tiles', which reveals a story of characters living under a faux sky being manipulated to make it appear that the stars are aligning, when in fact, above this tiled Truman Show, the stars are doing just that. The characters in the song go about their day-to-day dance while the globe they are spinning on becomes an eye."

Filmed by Brady Tuazon, this video follows several characters, who come to life from of a deck of tarot cards. An amalgamation of new colors in psychedelic, dark wave, and post-modern pop, 'Ceiling Tiles' explores a dreamy netherworld peeling away under the heartbeat like a synthesized glove. A cautionary tale of a dystopian future, some of which is already materializing before our eyes now, we follow the characters into a mirror, where they live outside of the lines under a faux sky, only to find that the planet itself is an eye, crying rain. Do they make it through the maze of plastic plants and security guards and get the message out in order to light up the world?

As Sun Atoms kicked off 2024 by playing three sold-out shows at Portland’s historic Revolution Hall, opening for Dinosaur Jr., this presented the perfect chance to shoot this video. With its long stairways and iconic brick facade as the ideal backdrop for this monochromatic video, here unfolds a mysterious tale of characters living between worlds and connected by Jean Cocteau’s famously mirrored portal.

As Sun Atoms roams this 113,000+ square foot state-of-the-art concert venue, Brady reveals two worlds, weaving through each other’s transparent personas and disappearances like white light on black attire. The band members appear like rare birds in the roles of madcap non-conformist odd fellows living outside of the lines.

“I wanted to conjure the same feelings I had the first time I saw Sun Atoms perform this song. Jsun and I were in lockstep as we discussed the vision for the video. We pulled in inspiration from Jean Cocteau and other noir films like “The Killing” by Kubrick," explains the video's director, Brady Tuazon.

"Working within the boundaries of black and white let us emphasize the theme of two worlds in a psychedelic noir manner. Portraying each member as their normal selves and as a ghost version adds another layer to the duality. It makes us ask the questions, “If our own ghosts saw us today, would they be kind and encouraging to us? Or would they be spirits signaling their existence as a cautionary tale?  Filming the video was a true testament of the grit and creative solidarity at the core of Portland creatives. We had limited time and resources to pull this off”.

Apart from Dinosaur Jr., Sun Atoms has played shows with Modest Mouse, Fishbone, Besnard Lakes, The Veldt and New Candys, in addition to performing at Seattle’s Freakout Fest and Portland’s Lose Yr Mind Fest with Allah Las, Broncho and Night Beats. The band will be touring this spring, starting at Treefort Festival, along with Ty Segall, A Place To Bury Strangers, Neko Case and Built To Spill. 

As of February 23, the 'Ceiling Tiles' is available on beautiful 7" vinyl and from fine digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. Sun Atoms will be releasing a new album in late spring.

CREDITS
'Ceiling Tiles' written by Peter G. Holmström, Jsun Atoms, June Kang, Derek Spencer Longoria-Gomez, Mars de Ponte, Eric Rubalcava
Produced and Engineered by Peter G. Holmström at Air Traffic Control
Recording (additional drums) by Gregg Williams at The Trench Studio
Recording (add. vox) by Tommy Dietrick / Joshua Tree Recording Studio
Initial tracking by Eric Crespo at Red Lantern Studios
Mixed by Jagz Kooner at Stone Circle Studios
Mastered by Keith Tenniswood at Curve Pusher
Peter G. Holmström - bass, guitar, sequencers, keys
June Kang - MPC, synths, percussion
Derek Spencer Longoria-Gomez - guitar, vocals
Mars de Ponte - guitar, keys, vocals
Eric Rubalcava - drums, percussion
Jsun Atoms - vocals, guitar
Cover artwork by James Coffman. Layout by Sean Gothman
Video directed and Edited by Brady Tuazon
'Tower of Song (in the key of JAMC)' written by Leonard Cohen
Released by Little Cloud Records 2024
'Ceiling Tiles' video directed by Brady Tuazon with support from Nigel Coutinho, Ryan Gamo, Erik Meharry and Hannah Glavor 
Artist photos by Erik Meharry 

TOUR DATES
March 23  BOISE, ID - Treefort Festival, In-store at Record Exchange
March 24  BOISE, ID - Treefort Festival, Shrine Social Club
March 25  SACRAMENTO, CA - Old Ironsides
March 27  LAS VEGAS, NV - The Usual Place
March 28  LOS ANGELES, CA - The Moroccan Lounge
March 29  PIONEERTOWN, CA - Red Dog Saloon
March 30  SAN FRANSCISCO, CA - Kilowatt
April 5  PORTLAND, Oregon - Star Theater
April 6  SEATTLE, WA - Seagaze Festival, Tractor Tavern Seattle


Keep up with Sun Atoms
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud | Apple Music | Spotify | BandsInTown | SongKick | Booking contact | Press contact

Keep up with Little Cloud Records
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | Link edIn | Email

Listen to Royal Tusk's new song 'Hated'

Alberta rock trio Royal Tusk have released a new song 'Hated,' from their third full-length album, 'Altruistic,' due February 23, 2024.

Spending nearly a year writing throughout the pandemic, the trio eventually hunkered down in Alberta’s Audio Department recording studio where they self-produced Altruistic. In the midst of the process, Carriere wound up in the throes of a year-long battle to get healthy after suffering from a blood clot in his lung. He lost over 20lbs and could barely speak...

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 'ALTRUISTIC' HERE

Swedish alt-rockers Then Comes Silence sign to Metropolis Records & announce new 'Trickery' album

"Then Comes Silence are everything a band should be - good tunes, good playing and singing, and good looking. Their songs are ear-worms, once heard difficult to forget, as catchy as gonorrhea but far better for your health" ~ Wayne Hussey

”I can see them being huge” ~ Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth)
 
"Truly love it" ~ She Past Away
 
"Hellacopters of Gothic Rock" ~ Jyrki 69 (The 69 Eyes)

"The only band that have been voted in as album of the month three times!" ( 'Blood' in 2017 / 'Machine' in 2020 / 'Hunger' in 2022) ~ Sonic Seducer Magazine

Iconic US-based label Metropolis Records is excited to announce the signing of beguiling Swedish post-punk outfit Then Comes Silence for the release of their seventh album, titled ‘Trickery’. This record celebrates friendship, unity and belonging to a group - your tribe. The first single - ‘Ride or Die’, which has already emerged in Germany's authoritative DAC Charts, will be released on March 1.

"Metropolis Records is thrilled to announce the return of Then Comes Silence.  The new album “Trickery” will be the band’s first worldwide release with us. It’s a fantastic album and we are excited to get to share it with you. It’s a refinement of the band’s signature sound, a focused distillation of everything TCS has released to date. Metropolis will be releasing the first single from the record, ‘Ride or Die’ on March 1st," says Jim Smith of Metropolis Records.

Hailing from Stockholm, Then Comes Silence was founded by Alex Svenson in 2012, originally inspired by frequent touring with A Place To Bury Strangers and an attraction to horror and the occult. Today he is joined by drummer Jonas Franssonand Hugo Zombie (Los Carniceros del Norte) on guitar.

'Trickery' follows their 2022  album 'Hunger', released via Nexilis Records / Schubert Music (Europe) and Metropolis Records (North America). After dual record deals for the past few albums, Then Comes Silence has signed exclusively with Metropolis Records for this album.

"For this forthcoming album 'Trickery', we had a change of deal and went full member of the Metropolis Records family. We are ready to embrace the crowd again with our heart and can't wait to get the album out," says frontman Alex Svenson

'Ride or Die' single pre-save  https://ingrv.es/ride-or-die-qgn-r
'Trickery' album pre-order  https://thencomessilence.bandcamp.com/album/trickery
Album pre-save  https://ingrv.es/trickery-fqf-x

Recorded by Jörgen Wall (Jay-Jay Johanson, The Hellacopters) over three days at Stockholm's Kapsylen Studio and mixed by Tom van Heesch (Rammstein, Apocalyptica, Backyard Babies), this album was mastered by Svante Forsbäck / Chartmakers (Rammstein, Amaranthe, Ville Valo, The Rasmus, Apocalyptica).

These sessions capture the heart and essence of rock. With electronic elements being essential to the new recordings, 'Trickery' is also a salute to punk music, to which Then Comes Silence traces their roots.

After debuting with their eponymous album in 2012, Then Comes Silence put out two more albums before releasing 'Blood' via Nuclear Blast in 2016. Their subsequent 'Machine' album was jointly released via Oblivion/SPV and Metropolis Records in 2020.

Then Comes Silence unexpectedly became a three-piece just ahead of their 2022 US tour, then setting out to answer the question "could they continue with only three members"? Proving to work well, the band transformed into a trio, their metamorphosis leading to a different way of creating music and performing live.

Then Comes Silence has toured and played live with The Fields of the Nephilim, The Chameleons, A Place To Bury Strangers and most recently with The Bellwether Syndicate and Vision Video. With many festivals to their name, highlights include M'era Luna, Wave Gotik Treffen, Amphi Festival, Castle Party and W-Festival.

The 'Ride or Die' single will be unleashed digitally everywhere on March 1. The full 'Trickery' album will be released on vinyl and CD, as well as digitally, on April 5. In March and April, Then Comes Silence will be touring North America extensively with Vision Video.

Keep up with Then Comes Silence
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Apple Music | Spotify | BandsInTown | Press contact

Keep up with Metropolis Records
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

EXHORDER RELEASES 2ND SINGLE, 'FOREVER AND BEYOND DESPAIR,' FROM UPCOMING RECORD

NOLA thrash and groove trailblazers EXHORDER will release their much anticipated 4th full-length record, Defectum Omnium, on March 8th with Nuclear Blast Records. Today, the band has revealed the record’s 2nd single, ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’; a ripping and gripping pit thrasher with massive riffs and blistering solos. You know, what EXHORDER are known for!

Commenting on the new song, vocalist/guitarist Kyle Thomas says:

“Our second single ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’ embraces many of the punk rock ingredients that we grew up on. Exhorder got its start on the punk rock scene of New Orleans, so it only made sense to dig back into this part of our roots. With aggressive angst and sarcastic themes, this song is absolutely a middle finger to the hypocrisies of the establishment.”

‘Forever and Beyond Despair’ Music Video

EXHORDER’s latest and greatest features 12 crushing tracks and ominous cover artwork by Travis Smith (Katatonia, Opeth), the album follows the band’s critically revered 2019 release Mourn The Southern Skies. The new single follows the band’s recent release of their metal anthem “Year of the Goat.”

Pre-order/Pre-save Defectum Omnium: https://exhorder.bfan.link/defectum-omnium

Stream ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’: https://exhorder.bfan.link/forever-and-beyond-despair

Following the release of Defectum Omnium in April, EXHORDER will kick off a US tour with Bay Area thrash legends VIO-LENCE, Virginian extreme metalheads DECEASED and LA death metal band MORTAL WOUND. The brutality starts April 5th in Cambridge, MA and will culminate April 13th in Chicago, IL.

Tickets are on sale now at the links below.

EXHORDER US Tour Dates:

April 5 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East (Tickets)

April 6 - Brooklyn, NY - Monarch (Tickets)

April 7 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts (Tickets)

April 8 - Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar (Tickets)

April 10 - Cleveland, OH - The Winchester (Tickets)

April 11 - Cincinnati, OH - Legends (Tickets)

April 12 - Detroit, MI - Sanctuary (Tickets)

April 13 - Chicago, IL - Reggies (Tickets)

About EXHORDER:

Formed in 1986, EXHORDER’s journey has proven exciting, yet tumultuous. After a twenty-seven-year absence following their final Roadrunner Records release in 1992, EXHORDER re-entered the game with an album considered by many to be a contender for the "Best Comeback Album" category. The band released Mourn the Southern Skies in October of 2019 through Nuclear Blast Records. Fraught with euphoric peaks and crippling valleys throughout its existence, lineup changes, and the 2020-2021 pandemic, EXHORDER has since clawed back through the muck to prepare yet another album to add to the discography. In the spring of 2024, EXHORDER presents yet again via Nuclear Blast their fourth full-length recording, Defectum Omnium,  the Latin phrase for "The Failure of All". Singer Kyle Thomas wryly explains that the album title is representative of the current state of affairs that the world is in. "The world is a dumpster fire, and we are all complicit.", he explains. "People have been talking about, ‘...viruses killing us off, blah-blah, blah...', when in actuality WE are the virus to the Earth. Mother Nature is simply trying to shake off the fleas, and her ‘viruses’ are the antibodies combating US. Earth will survive, and we will join the dinosaurs, wooly mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers soon enough in her history."
 
Produced by EXHORDER and mixed by Jens Bogren, Defectum Omnium puts a foot back into the roots of the band's inception. The scales have tipped favorably towards the presence of punk and thrash more so than on Mourn the Southern Skies. Tracks like ‘Wrath of Prophecies’, ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’, and ‘Sedition’ are what EXHORDER comes by most honestly when referring to their beginnings. There is also a strong presence of doom influence, as always. ‘The Tale of Unsound Minds’ and the haunting ‘Defectum Omnium/Stolen Hope’ will raise utter despair from the depths of your soul. The thick New Orleans grooves EXHORDER has been known for beating out since day one are still undeniable, and they stand out in tracks like ‘Year of the Goat’, ‘Under the Gaslight’, and ‘Three Stages of Truth/Lacing the Well’. 

One trait about Defectum Omnium that deserves to be pointed out is that it is more of a journey and experience than just a regurgitated selection of songs on autopilot. With peaks and valleys much like a roller coaster ride, one listener described the album as having "...a little something for everyone.". As EXHORDER has always been hard to classify by one genre, the album is loaded with heaviness, aggression, speed, and venom. It also has an equal presence of mystery, melody, and harmony, and vacillates between darkness and light. Themes that dart back and forth between surviving oppression, despair, revolution, and brittle hope take you through the band's madness by way of the musical path that they have forged. With touring plans underway in support of Defectum Omnium, EXHORDER finds itself poised to finally achieve the brass ring potential that has always seemed to be just out of their reach.

Follow EXHORDER:

https://www.exhorder.com/

https://www.facebook.com/exhorderofficial

https://www.instagram.com/exhorderofficial/

https://www.youtube.com/@ExhorderOfficial

https://www.tiktok.com/@exhorder_official

MY DYING BRIDE | announce new album 'A Mortal Binding' + release single/video 'Thornwyck Hymn'

THE TWISTED WATERS THEY CALL OUT MY NAME
I WILL SWIM WITH THEM BUT THEY'RE NOT TO BLAME

British death-doom legends, My Dying Bride, are proud to announce their 15th studio album, A Mortal Binding, set to be released on 19th April via Nuclear Blast Records. Today's news is accompanied by the release of tempestuous, heart-wrenching new single 'Thornwyck Hymn'. The track comes with a stunning video directed by Daniel Gray, depicting a maritime story of unfolding desire and tragedy.

My Dying Bride's Aaron Stainthorpe commented,

“Set upon the rugged coast of Yorkshire, Thornwyck village has spent an eternity being haunted by the chill waters that wash it’s shore – and the hidden folk who dwell in the salty depths.
Woe betide anyone who fares into the briny sea, or even steels to close to it’s edge for they may never set foot back on mother earth”

You can pre-order A Mortal Binding here: https://mydyingbride.bfan.link/a-mortal-binding
Listen to 'Thornwyck Hymn' here: https://mydyingbride.bfan.link/thornwyck-hymn
Watch the 'Thornwyck Hymn' video below.

A Mortal Binding, the much-anticipated follow-up to The Ghost of Orion (2020) finds the Yorkshire-based quintet delighting in anxiety, loss, and toil to resplendent effect. From the raw distress of 'Her Dominion' and twisted horror of 'Thornwyck Hymn' to the funerary violins of the 11-minute monolith 'The Apocalyptist' and the classic-feeling 'The 2nd of Three Bells', A Mortal Binding is pinnacle My Dying Bride. If Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004) elevated the band to new heights and A Map of All Our Failures(2012) expanded upon the group’s mid-tens grandeur, then A Mortal Binding stages My Dying Bride’s next exultant phase of elegiac misery.

A Mortal Binding formats:

• CD jewelcase

• Vinyl 2LP gatefold - green

• Vinyl 2LP gatefold - red w/ black smoke

• Vinyl 2LP gatefold - clear w/ black smoke

My Dying Bride hired The Ghost of Orion studio wizard Mark Mynett to produce, mix, and master A Mortal Binding. The group holed up at Mynett’s Mynetaur Productions(Paradise Lost, Rotting Christ) in Manchester, UK, where they tracked the album consecutively from July to September 2023.

For over three decades, My Dying Bride from West Yorkshire have been the voice of the hopeless and broken, combining haunting sounds with crushing misery and melancholy. With their signature sound they've shaped the doom metal scene like barely any other act and integrated both soft violin melodies and violent death metal growls into their music, whilst always staying strictly loyal to themselves. And since the early Nineties, the band's masterminds and founding members Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe forged beautiful grief into studio albums with songs of epic length. As My Dying Bride edge past their 33rd year, they’re aging gracefully, remaining as vital and heart-wrenching as ever. The flower withers once more on My Dying Bride’s upcoming new record A Mortal Binding, due out on 19th April 2024.

My Dying Bride are:
Aaron Stainthorpe | vocals
Andrew Craighan | guitars 
Lena Abé | bass
Shaun MacGowan | keyboards / violin
Neil Blanchett | guitars 
Dan Mullins | drums

Capstan Announce New Album "The Mosaic" + Share "Misery Scene" Video

Florida five-piece CAPSTAN — Anthony DeMario [vocals], Joe Mabry [guitar], Harrison Bormann [guitar], Andrew "Boz" Bozymowski [bass, vocals], and Scott Fisher [drums] — are pleased to announce their new album The Mosaic, out May 24 via Fearless Records. Pre-order it here. 

Today, the band has shared the video for "Misery Scene." Watch it below.

Here, the band mixes dreamy choruses with buzzy, dramatic guitars, and cinematic sonic flourishes. The song will fill the room with its majestic melodies and singalongs. Misery never sounded quite so good. If Queen were a post-hardcore band, they would have made a song like "Misery Scene."

"'Misery Scene' is the beginning of a change of lyrical direction for Capstan; ever introspective, the lyrics address the writer's previous inability to break their cycle of self-destructive choices, as well as the toxic and ubiquitous admiration of poor mental health in artists. It is a song about making a conscious shift from the glorification of being unhappy for the perceived sake of art, to the desire to make a more positive impact on others' lives," says Mabry.

To make a mosaic, tiny pieces interlock as a larger picture. In similar fashion, distinct elements coalesce as one in Capstan. The band mixes metallic precision with pit-splitting hardcore grooves and the kind of hooks you can't shake. Since 2015, Capstan have progressed with each subsequent move. Following Seasonal Depression [2015] and In The Wake of Our Discord [2018], they made waves with their full-length debut, Restless Heart, Keep Running, in 2019. They toured with the likes of Trash Boat, Doll Skin, Silverstein, and many more. After amassing tens of millions of streams and earning acclaim from the likes of KERRANG! and New Noise, the group paint a definitive body of work on their aptly titled third full-length offering, The Mosaic.

CAPSTAN ON TOUR:
WITH HOLDING ABSENCE, CASEY, + ACRES:
2/11 — Montreal, QC — Le Studio TD
2/13 — Baltimore, MD — Baltimore Soundstage
2/14 — New York (NYC), NY — Gramercy Theater
2/16 — Philadelphia, PA — The Foundry
2/17 — Worcester, MA — The Palladium

Kill The Lights Drop "Sleep With The Devil" Video

SOPHOMORE ALBUM DEATH MELODIES ARRIVES MARCH 8 VIA FEARLESS RECORDS

 Kill The Lights, which features former members of Bullet for My Valentine, Throw the Fight, Threat Signal, and Still Remains, have announced their sophomore album Death Melodies. It will be released on March 8 via Fearless Records. Pre-order it here. 

Today, the band has shared the video for the new single "Sleep With the Devil." Watch it below. 

Singer James Clark says, "'Sleep With the Devil,' lyrically, deals with the struggle of addiction and the daily fight to stay sober. Every day you wake up, you are in a constant battle, with the inner voices and demons that tell you that you are not good enough, and you should give up. Simply looking at yourself in the mirror is a reminder of how you've let yourself, your family, and friends down. It's a constant negative cycle that fuels your desire to mask the pain and disappointment by abusing yourself."

Certain bonds cross any and all borders and boundaries. Kill The Lights harbor this kind of connection between them. Even though you’ve got Michael "Moose" Thomas [drums] and Jason "Jay" James [bass] in Bridgend, Wales, James Clark [vocals] in Minneapolis, MN, Jordan Whelan [guitar] in Grand Rapids, MI, and Travis Montgomery [guitar] in Dallas, TX, the musicians lock into an impenetrable groove that eclipses physical distance. The band is especially adept at fusing classic, galloping guitar riffing with modern metal conventions, like alternately sung and screamed vocals and breakdowns that will incite pits to erupt. 

Of course, the musicians boast an incredible pedigree. Moose co-founded multi-platinum international heavyweights Bullet For My Valentine, while Jay also played in the band. James fronted Throw The Fight, and Jordan and Travis handled guitar duties for Still Remains and Threat Signal, respectively. Upon forming Kill The Lights, they uncovered uncontainable chemistry, releasing their debut LP The Sinner in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Among many highlights, "The Faceless" posted up 2 million-plus Spotify streams and counting followed by "Through The Night" and "Shed My Skin," which each crossed the 1 million mark. Metal Hammer rated it 4-out-of-5 stars and proclaimed "Kill The Lights nail the groove and the glory." After piling up millions of streams and earning acclaim from the likes of KERRANG!and New Noise, a sense of unwavering unity drives their second full-length offering, Death Melodies.

Dark Folk Artist Kati Rán Signs to Svart Records, Announces New Album

Dutch artist and Nordic folk pioneer Kati Rán is now pleased to reveal that she has signed with Svart Records, where she will be debuting her brand new full-length, 'SÁLA,' on May 24, 2024! For a glimpse of what's to come, Kati Rán is now sharing a short docu-clip about the record, which can be seen below.

Kati Rán elaborates: ”For me, signing to Svart Records was the most natural next step. Collaborating and releasing my music with Svart’s long-standing expertise in bringing out amazing artists and vinyl for true music connoisseurs, I’m grateful to be able to bring my audience a beautiful, elevated experience to enjoy my new Nordic Dark folk album SÁLA.

Together with Jaani Peuhu (Swallow the Sun, IANAI, Lord of the Lost, Hallatar) and Christopher Juul (Heilung), my new album has been tenuously crafted and produced and is curated by my many years of writing, researching, and traveling the Northern landscapes, taking on board with me incredible artists, sounds, and musicians to breathe the Nordic soul into the heart of this album. 

"I’m looking forward to opening the floodgates to SÁLA with the release of the first single and opening track “STONE PILLARS” on the 23rd of February. It embraces our most vulnerable side, questions our mind, and attempts to resurrect or reposition ourselves through spinning with the Fates. It dips right into the heart of things."

Svart Records is delighted to expand its international artist roster with the signing of established dark Nordic folk artist Kati Rán and to release her second full-length album 'SÁLA.' Special vinyl editions in gold, transparent smoke, and black as well as digipack CDs are available for pre-order HERE.

'SÁLA' features an impressive lineup of diverse musicians who lent their talents to the record, including Gaahl, Napalm Death's Mitch Harris, members of Heilung, Sígur Rós, and many others!

Kati Rán is known for her collaborative audio work for Netflix’s tv series 'VIKINGS: VALHALLA,' films and work for videogames, her stage appearances with Wardruna, Myrkur and Gaahls Wyrd to name a few, and her previous releases of the successful album; and Nordic dark folk tracks “Blodbylgje” and Icelandic track “Unnr | Mindbeach”; that run millions of streams and gathered a tightly knit Nordic Folk music loving audience around her.

If the most profound treasures are often the most deeply buried, the journey to uncover them is vital process of discovery. Five years after the 15-minute single “Blodbylgje” signaled the birth of a new, more primordial, and immersive vision after the dissolution of her band L.E.A.F., Nordic dark folk artist Kati Rán has expanded on its oceanic theme for her long-awaited full-length album, 'SÁLA.' Embarking on a far-reaching musical and personal travelogue, it’s a reawakening of both the feminine narratives submerged and fragmented within Norse mythology, and the enduring, healing powers held within.

Named after the Old Norse word for ‘soul’ and ‘sea’, 'SÁLA' is an act of "soul retrieval," the shamanic art of trauma recovery, be it illness, death, heartbreak or loss, and the reintegration of a splintered self. Across its 13, wide-ranging, elegantly unfolding tracks, the album is an embodiment of different feminine voices and perspectives – from the Norse nine daughters of the sea, or ‘billow maidens’, through various historical and fictional figures to the late-night voices we hear in our most liminal states – all with tales to tell, riddles to solve, challenges to be accepted and guidance to offer. It’s a multiplicity that, like the ocean itself, belongs to a vast, restless dynamic: a matrix of mysteries, unfathomable depths and ever-shifting currents, accumulating into an elemental, regenerative source of power.

Recorded in a barn in Húsafell, Iceland – home to glacier ice caves and a rare lava stone marimba rediscovered for the track “Stone Pillars” – as well as Finland, Norway and at home in Kati’s native Netherlands, 'SÁLA' is as much chronicle of Kati’s own perspective-shifting recording process as it as a pilgrimage through different viewpoints and internal states. That itinerate urge is also reflected in the use of different languages, ranging across Norwegian, Old Norse, Icelandic, and, for the first time, English, her combination of ancient texts, historical reimagining’s and unguarded personal reflection backed up by deep research into the most resonant recesses of Nordic lore.

Spun throughout every thread of 'SÁLA' is a sense of communion - with the power of stories to offer moral guidance and the thrill of the unknown; with the element of water, recreated across the album both in field recordings and the agelessly organic nature of the music itself; with the archetypes whose qualities we are called upon to embody at our most critical moments; and with the internal hidden realms forever whispering at us from the far edges of our consciousness.

Appropriately, it’s a collaborative venture too. As well as working closely together with Finnish producer Jaani Peuhu, there are contributions from across the musical spectrum, including extreme metal vocalist extraordinaire Gaahl, the Icelandic female choir Umbra Ensemble, renowned Norwegian jazz musician Karl Seglem, Björk and Brian Eno contrabassist Borgar Magnason, members of pagan folk acts Völuspá, Gealdýr, Heilung and Theodor Bastard and even Napalm Death’s Mitch Harris on vocals.

For all the many sources 'SÁLA' draws from, the result is a singular, intimately transformative rite of passage, and a retuning of the heart to the reverent continuity of the sacred. It will take you from the opening title track’s chest-pounding rhythmic pulse emerging from a traditional Norwegian bukkehorn (recorded by Karl Seglem), a galloping horse-rider and Kati’s glacial, velveteen chant, through “Kólga’s” recounting of female persecution through the ages borne on the most gossamer-light yet unbreakable of timbres and “Stone Pillar’s” gently percolating, deep wells of abandonment and incantations to recovery. 'SÁLA' closes with the track “Sátta” - Old Norse for ‘peace’ and ‘reconciliation’ – ending the album as it began with the bukkehorn, as it weaves rich drones and experience-stamped poems and prayers, Kati’s vocals the most sensitively tuned of emotional barometers. An album made in dedication, and in thrall to, its own sense of destiny, 'SÁLA'” is, as all quests must ultimately be, a homecoming.

Lineup:

Kati Rán

Special Guests:

Gaahl (Gaahl, Wyrd, Wardruna)

Mitch Harris (Napalm Death)

Jaani Peuhu (Swallow the Sun, IANAI, Lord of the Lost, Hallatar)

Karl Seglem (Norwegian jazz and folk legend)

Borgar Magnason (Björk, Sígur Rós, Brian Eno)

Gealdýr

Emilie Lorentzen (Heilung)

Nicholas Schipper (Heilung)

Yana Veva (Theodor Basterd)

Umbra (Icelandic female choir)

Sól Geirsdóttir, Varg Saastad (Völuspá band)

Marianne Heikkinen, Salla Marja (Saruru,´bunny girl metal´)

Páll Guðmunsson (Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Steindór Anderssen, Sígur Rós)

Production: Jaani Peuhu, Kati Rán, Christopher Juul

Mastering: Jaime Gomez Arrelano

Cover Art: Photographer Arne Beck, Illustrator Halfdan Skrifa, Graphic design Jari

Laurén, Charlotte Boer, Deluxe Box Edition with cover painting by Marzena Ablewska-Lech

Bio: Jonathan Selzer

Links:

Official Website

Bandcamp

E-Shop

Facebook

Instagram

TikTok

Twitter/X

YouTube

Pre-Save // Stream

Onceweresixty 'Don’t Get Stuck' - a deep tease of the Euro-rockers' new album 'Loco Sunset Boulevard / Ghetto Blast Noise Machine'

Call it college rock, call it slacker rock, call it 90s rock. Whatever you call it, indie rock trio Onceweresixty are gearing up to release their new album 'Loco Sunset Boulevard / Ghetto Blast Noise Machine'. Paving the way with the lead single 'Don't Get Stuck', they are also offering a lyrics video.  Gentle yet vibrant, while mellow and seductive, here they offer a mercurial soundscape.

This 8-track offering - structured in two parts as a double EP - will be released on CD and vinyl by Uglydog Records, together with Beautiful Losers and PrettyOK Records. Here they pay homage the sonic ghosts of such artists as Belle & Sebastian, Pavement, Morphine, Low, Herman Dune, Silver Jews and The Velvet Underground,.

Onceweresixty was founded by Marco Lorenzoni (guitars, vocals and keyboards) and Luca Sella (drums, guitar and vocals), who began collaborating in 2001 via their old band MR60. The band is rounded out by Enrico Grando (keyboards and saxophone), who joined the band shortly after their 2021 release 'The Flood', a concept album about the consciousness of the insignificance of humans against the force of nature, and a society bent on self-destruction.

Over the past three years, this double EP took form at Villa Albrizzi Marini, a magical place in the Venice countryside hills en route to the Alps. Onceweresixty set up their studio on this 1400-villa property, owned by the Armenian Church. Marco Lorenzoni explains, "The Villa - an ongoing project of urban regeneration via art activism - is absolutely inspiring and amazing, and we’re glad to be part of it. Onceweresixty and our own label Uglydog Records have always been at the forefront of promoting the arts, supporting artists and creating social connections. This is our little Warhol Factory in the countryside."

Describing their own music as "weird psych folk pop", Onceweresixty draws their roots back to an ancient tale about the ghost of a beatnik biker living in a broken toy keyboard. "Sometimes he takes control of our minds and makes us play strange weird songs," says Lorenzoni, who continues to tell the tale of the band's origin.

“Immediately upon entering Texas from Las Vegas, drunk on tequila, we lost our way, the desert all around us and not a drop of water. Desperate, we recited a few passages from the Bible by heart, inventing what we didn't remember. It was at that moment that MR60 came to our rescue. He hosted us on his ranch, quenched our thirst and gave us bags of top quality tobacco. There we found everything we needed: out of tune guitars, out of tune tuners, Paleolithic barrel organs, a Stradivarius and a buffalo skull... We never left…  

"Well actually, we did leave," Lorenzoni admits. "somehow adult life took us one by one into everyday office routines and familiar responsibilities with bills to pay and so on."
 
Relaunched as Onceweresixty in 2018 after a 10-year hiatus, the band began conquering new musical territory. Their indie dream of the early 2000s ultimately gave way to colder and leaner sounds, better reflecting the current times. Luca Sella explains, "If MR60 used to compare the north-eastern Italy cultural desert to the Texan desert landscapes, today that desert is a post-apocalyptic land populated by brain-eating zombies. Anger and ignorance are everywhere. Everything is lost. Or maybe not”
 
'Don't Get Stuck' is out now, available everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The double EP 'Loco Sunset Boulevard / Ghetto Blast Noise Machine' will be released on March 22. It can be ordered directly from the artist via Bandcamp.

CREDITS
Music written by M.Lorenzoni, L. Sella, E. Grando
Lyrics written by M. Lorenzoni
Marco Lorenzoni - guitars, vocals & keyboards
Luca Sella - drums, guitar & vocals
Enrico Grando - keyboards, vocals & saxophone
Recorded and produced by Onceweresixty at VAMpires! Room  
Mixed by Mauro Martinuz at Bottega Sonora
Mastered by Federico Pelle at Basement Studio
Cover artwork by Freddy Mason
Studio photos of Onceweresixty by Ilaria Baggio
Live photos of Onceweresixty by Veronica Bassani and Freddy Mason
This record is dedicated to Loco, who was known to be a good dog, and Enrico Pese, who was known to be a good guy
 

Keep up with Onceweresixty
Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Press contact

Keep up with Ugly Dog Records
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter| Soundcloud | YouTube 

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

NEW ALBUM! Cold Years announce 'A Different Life'

MNRK UK and Cold Years are excited to announce the Friday, April 26 release of 'A Different Life,' the rising Scottish rock quartet’s brand new full-length album. 

Recorded at The Barber Shop Studios in New Jersey by producer Brett Romnes (Anxious, Hot Mulligan, Boston Manor, The Movielife), A Different Life follows Paradise, the band’s 2020 politically-charged look at life in their hometown of Aberdeen, and 2022’s soaring & musically daring follow-up, Goodbye To Misery.

Packed with songs that are both intensely personal and universally relatable, A Different Life is led by “ Roll With It ,” a scorching, socially-charged punk rock anthem with an infectious chorus that feels like it's been bubbling in your veins forever. "Life is not an easy thing to contend with,” frontman Ross Gordon declares. “Between long hours of working your ass off, trying to see family and friends and having the occasional self-destructive streak, sometimes it’s natural to want more. This song is about wanting more from your life — the person you once were is gone." 

STREAM "ROLL WITH IT"

There are some albums that immediately transcend time and space, regardless of genre, while simultaneously capturing the very moment out of which they were born. It’s an incredibly difficult balance to get right, but with their third full-length, Aberdeen’s Cold Years have done just that. Because from the moment A Different Life blasts off with the pounding beat of opener “Over” — a riotous punk anthem about removing a toxic person from your life — this album manages to make sense of a world that’s lost most of it. Simultaneously, it also feels like the record you’ve been waiting for to fill the void in your life for your entire life. You can feel it in these songs. That’s something the band — Ross Gordon (vocals/guitar), Finlay Urquhart (guitar), Louis Craighead (bass) and new drummer Jimmy Taylor — noticed as well.

“This is the first time I’ve ever come out of a studio able to listen to the tracks, where, and I say this 100% with conviction, we went in and did everything we wanted to do and more,” says Gordon. “I’ve never done that. I’ve always come out feeling like we could have done something better or different. But this album changed the game for all of us as a band. We didn’t just do twelve tracks that sound the same. We tried to make things a little different. That happened naturally, and it’s the most musical experience I’ve ever had. I definitely feel a confidence with this record that I didn’t feel on the others.” 

Cold Years - A Different Life CD

PRE-ORDER

MORE COLD YEARS INFO HERE

TREVOR RABIN RELEASES DEMO VERSION OF 'FRAGILE' ON DIGITIAL SERVICES

Trevor Rabin, the South African guitarist, singer, multi-musician, writer and producer, released ‘Rio’, his first solo album of vocal material in 34 years, in October last year. The deluxe edition of the album included 3 bonus tracks, including a demo version of a track titled ‘Fragile’.

That track has now been officially released on digital services, and you can listen now below:
https://trevorrabin.lnk.to/FragileDemo-Single

Trevor had this to say about the track: “I’m particularly pleased with the space, in terms of production, and happy with the simplicity of the lyric. Life is harsh, fickle and Fragile. My intention regarding the guitar solo was for it to drip onto the “page” so to speak.”

‘Rio’ is available as a Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray (including 8-page LP-booklet and obi strip), both featuring bonus material, 5.1 surround sound & liner notes. Also available as Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g 2LP+LP-booklet (with etching on side D), and as Digital Album. The cover for the album was created by Trevor himself: “I dabble with digital art so I sent some images of mine to the label and was pleasantly surprised when they liked them.”
 

Order ‘Rio’ here: https://trevorrabin.lnk.to/Rio

Watch the previously released videos below:

Big Mistakes: https://youtu.be/KPzga7UJwy4
Push: https://youtu.be/udpVPB223O0
Oklahoma: https://youtu.be/NzN62Oouhyo

The Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray also features the following bonus tracks:
1. Spek & Polly
2. Fragile (Demo)
3. Georgia

Given that his previous vocal-led solo album, ‘Can’t Look Away’, was released in 1989 (2012’s ‘Jacaranda’ was all-instrumental), Rabin has kept us waiting for more than three decades for a follow-up. Trevor admits that there was pressure from all sides, including his own family, to have speeded up the process. However, the delay is excusable. Since leaving Yes following the ‘Talk’ album in 1994 and largely as a prequel to touring as part of ARW in 2016, the guitarist entered the time-consuming world of movie soundtracks. Not just any old movies, either. Trevor’s name appears as composer for such blockbusters as Con Air, Armageddon, Remember the Titans, Enemy Of The State, Deep Blue Sea, Glory Road, and Gone In 60 Seconds and both National Treasure movies, amongst many others. “Over the past ten years I was having ideas, concepts that I couldn’t implement due to my busy schedule,” he explains, adding: “To be honest, those years flew by in a flurry. I knew that this was the time, and once I found my momentum I worked on the album 24/7.” The process proved a labour of love and as with his first and second solo records, ‘Trevor Rabin’ and ‘Face To Face’ (from 1977 and ’79 respectively), Rabin handled just about all of the instruments himself.

Stylistically, ‘Rio’– is tough to categorize. Besides guitar-driven rock-meets-pop, ‘Goodbye’ is Country & Western with an edgy drive, while ‘Tumbleweed’ begins in a burst of harmonies. No wonder its working title was ‘The Demographic Nightmare’.

“I wanted to get into many different areas,” Rabin states. “Of course there are ‘prog things’, but overall there are a lot of styles going on.”

TREVOR RABIN Online:
www.instagram.com/trevorrabin.official
www.facebook.com/TrevorRabinMusic
https://twitter.com/trevorrabin

INSIDEOUTMUSIC Online:
www.insideoutmusic.com
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
www.twitter.com/insideouteu

ENSLAVED | release single + visualizer 'Forest Dweller' feat. Jo Quail'

The tree set ablaze at the end of my days
Awaiting my deserved death yell
Long forgotten, no one whispers my name
In the mountains and forests, I'll dwell

Norway's trailblazing cosmic voyagers, Enslaved, released their latest avant-garde creation Heimdal, one year ago. To celebrate the studio album's first year of existence, the band recently announced the Heimdal (Deluxe) digital album, due out on March 1st 2024.

Heimdal (Deluxe) will include the studio album in full, as well as alternative versions of two album tracks 'Forest Dweller' and 'Congelia', both with sublime performances from renowned cellist Jo Quail, bonus track 'Gangandi', plus the entirety of 'The Otherworldly Big Band Experience' - Enslaved's stunning 2022 streaming event featuring fellow psychedelic Norwegian prog band Shaman Elephant.

Today, Enslaved have released the alternative version of their track 'Forest Dweller', featuring internationally acclaimed composer and virtuoso cellist Jo Quail, alongside a beautiful visualizer video created by Costin Chioreanu.

Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson commented,

"It is an absolute honour to have Jo Quail on these special versions of 'Forest Dweller' and 'Congelia'. We are all big fans of her unique work and style; I have personally had the pleasure of working with her for some time through By Norse Music (the label co-founded with Einar Selvik and our manager Simon Füllemann). When we had the chance to invite guest artists for the release show in Bergen of 'Heimdal' back in March 2023, Jo Quail was a given. She blew our (and the audience’s) collective minds with her powerful interpretation and performance on 'Forest Dweller' and 'Congelia' - to the degree that it simply could not be the end of the story. She has a take on her art that is one of a kind - impossible to categorise, haunting, emotive and atmospheric; we feel that this version of us joining forces underlines the artistic and musical kinship we feel being present between our two camps. So here we are; for the world to hear! Be sure to check out Jo’s releases while you are at it!!!"

Jo Quail added,

"I’ve long been a fan of Enslaved, and I have huge admiration for the way their masterful compositions broaden and deepen with each release. When the band invited me to collaborate I had to re-read the email several times! I was honoured and humbled by this invitation from a band so greatly revered by so many of us all over the world, and I was tremendously excited by the chance to explore our sonic worlds together. Enslaved are the same people on and off stage, which is not always a given, and it’s something that, in my opinion, translates in their music and performance - the connection with their audience in concert draws us in deeply and it’s nothing short of inspiring. It was an absolute honour to be invited by Enslaved to perform Forest Dweller and Congelia with them in March 2023. I approached these two quite diverse tracks with immense respect, as both were already fully developed and everything sat perfectly and exactly where it needed to be, so any contribution from me needed to underpin or enhance the existing story arc rather than divert from it. Enslaved are musically very generous; they were wholly supportive of my suggestions for cello parts, and the result was a collaboration that I shall treasure for all time. I’m thrilled that this now has life beyond that one very special concert, and I hope you enjoy the result!"

PRE-SAVE HEIMDAL (DELUXE): https://enslaved.bfan.link/heimdal-deluxe.ema
LISTEN TO TRACK 'FOREST DWELLER - FEAT. JO QUAIL': https://enslaved.bfan.link/forest-dweller-alt.ema
WATCH THE 'FOREST DWELLER - FEAT. JO QUAIL' VISUALIZER BELOW.

Enslaved's latest studio album Heimdal (released March 2023) is both a departure and a communion with roots forged over three decades ago in the turbulent birth throes of Norway’s black metal scene. It's a record that points towards new beginnings, and a dawn that’s on the other side of the apex of the land. A psychedelic journey through arcane Norse folklore, connecting with one's ancient ancestors and our future selves.

'The Otherworldly Big Band Experience' was an Enslaved show like none other, their biggest, boldest project to date - a colossal, kaleidoscopic stage show featuring a stellar setlist covering their career, both past and present. Including some tracks never previously performed live. 

Enslaved will be touring the UK and Europe in March 2024. The 16-date run will take the band across 10 different countries, with support coming from British post-hardcore quartet Svalbard and US metallers Wayfarer.

Tickets are on-sale now from https://enslaved.no/

Never faltering, Norway’s iconic Enslaved continue to exist as one of the most original and dependable components in our scene's indestructible backbone. Possessing the reputation as one of the most riveting live acts around, they never fail to offer us talent of the highest calibre, always doing justice to their signature black/progressive sound. Enslaved was formed in 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson, releasing their first demo Yggdrasill in the summer of 1992, their legendary mini-album Hordanes Land coming out in 1993, and with their debut full-length Vikingligr Veldi arriving in the spring of 1994.

Enslaved are a band in stellar form - a band at its most existentialist and self-conscious, proud Bergeners bearing the torch of their hometown’s extraordinary musical history. Their most recent material shows Enslaved at their most unleashed and thought-through - a lethal combination unfurling a potential that’s easily rekindling the furor of their early works while dancing gracefully through their most ambitious, most haunting and most musical tunes yet. A contradiction? Life itself is a contradiction. And yet we all live to prove it wrong.

Enslaved are:
Ivar Bjørnson | guitars 
Grutle Kjellson | vocals
Arve 'Ice Dale' Isdal | guitar
Håkon Vinje | keyboards, clean vocals
Iver Sandøy | drums

THE TRAGICALLY HIP ANNOUNCE LIVE RECORDING OF THE BAND’S 1993 SHOW AT CBGB’S, AVAILABLE ON VINYL ON RECORD STORE DAY APRIL 20TH

THE TRAGICALLY HIP NAMED 2024 RECORD STORE DAY CANADA AMBASSADORS

LIVE RECORDING OF THE BAND’S 1993 SHOW AT CBGB’S AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON VINYL ON RECORD STORE DAY, APRIL 20

2024 MARKS 40 YEARS OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP, A MILESTONE YEAR HONORING FOUR DECADES OF MUSIC, FRIENDSHIP AND PHILANTHROPY
 

Today, The Tragically Hip are proud to be announced as the Record Store Day Canada 2024 Canadian Ambassadors, releasing an exclusive standalone live album, Live at CBGB’s, on Record Store Day. The global celebration of the culture of independent record stores takes place this year on April 20, 2024, as it has annually for the last 17 years. This announcement marks the first of many moments this year for The Tragically Hip as they celebrate 40 years as a band.

Live At CBGB’s features nine live songs that were originally recorded on January 14, 1993, from the legendary New York venue CBGB’s as The Tragically Hip launched their third studio album, Fully Completely, in America with a private event from the intimate space. The band performed the record in full, omitting a few tracks that didn’t fit the bill. This concert recording will be available on April 20 for the first time as a 12” pink vinyl at participating record stores in Canada and the US.
 

WATCH THE RECORD STORE DAY AMBASSADOR ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW;

“Record Store Day Canada is overjoyed that legendary Canadian band, The Tragically Hip, will be the Record Store Day Canada 2024 Canadian Ambassadors,” says Ryan Kerr from Record Store Day Canada. “There are few bands that represent Canadiana; our traditions, values and pastimes the way The Tragically Hip does. The band is woven into the fabric of our culture and the annals of our beloved rock radio with innumerable hits. Fans continue to honor the legacy of The Tragically Hip, who brought a genuine and unique passion to their music. RSDC is looking forward to contributing to the band’s ongoing legacy by releasing Live at CBGB’s for Record Store Day 2024. Pressed for the very first time, it will be a great addition to collections of The Tragically Hip fans nationwide."

Established in 1984, this year marks 40 Years of The Tragically Hip – a milestone for the beloved band.  2024 sees The Tragically Hip break open the archives; reminiscing with fans on four decades of music, friendship and philanthropy. The band’s legacy will be honored with a yearlong celebration, starting with the designation of the Record Store Day Canada Ambassadors, then a deluxe package of their breakthrough album, Up To Here, the latest installment of a series of special deluxe packages released over the last few years– Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe Boxset (2021), Fully Completely Vinyl Release (2022), Phantom Power 25th Anniversary Deluxe Boxset (2023). Plus, a four-part Amazon documentary, and much more.

Past Canadian Ambassadors include Triumph, The Sheepdogs, Our Lady Peace and globally, Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam have held the title - among others. Record Store Day Canada thanks the following sponsors: Return to Analog Records, Warner Music, Microforum Pressing, Org Music, Sony Music Canada, GrooveWasher, Universal Music Canada, Audio-Technica Canada, Paranoid Print Co, Megaforce Records, Unidisc Music, Aquarius Records, Godin Guitars, Tacca Musique, Vans Off the Wall, AMS All Media Supply, Brave Words, Redeye Distribution, The Orchard, Sing, Edifier, Show & Listen, Vylumi, Amped Distribution. 

40 YEARS OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP:
The Tragically Hip has been at the heart of the Canadian musical zeitgeist, evoking a strong emotional connection between their music and their fans that remains unrivalled. A five-piece group of friends including Rob Baker (guitar), Gord Downie (vocals, guitar), Johnny Fay (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar) and Gord Sinclair (bass), who grew up in Kingston, Ontario, The Tragically Hip have achieved both mass popularity with more than 10 million albums in Canada and over 1.5 million sold in the U.S, as well as peer recognition through 17 Juno Awards – picking up the distinguished Humanitarian Award in 2021 at the 50th annual JUNO Awards, which recognizes Canadian artists or industry leaders whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada and beyond. In 2022, they were inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame for Humanitarianism in pursuit of social and environmental justice. They had previously received a star on the Walk Of Fame in 2002 for Arts & Entertainment. Most recently, the band along with their manager, Jake Gold, received the War Child Canada Founder’s Award celebrating over 20 years of support for the global humanitarian organization. The Tragically Hip's tireless activism and philanthropic pursuits have raised millions of dollars for multiple social and environmental causes, such as Camp Trillium, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Sunnybrook Foundation, WAR Child, the Special Olympics, and the Unison Benevolent Fund. Their studio catalogue includes their self-titled debut album The Tragically Hip (1987), Up To Here (1989), Road Apples (1991), Fully Completely (1992), Day For Night (1994), Trouble At The Henhouse (1996), Phantom Power (1998), Music @ Work (2000), In Violet Light (2002), In Between Evolution (2004), World Container (2006), We Are The Same (2009), Now For Plan A (2012), Man Machine Poem (2016) and Saskadelphia (2021).  A National Celebration was the final show of The Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem Tour recorded on August 20th, 2016, at the K-Rock Centre in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, and is their last performance as a five-piece band. Through their career the band became a cultural touchstone in Canada, who despite their accolades and numerous recognitions, will always be proudest of the humanitarian work they have done over the years through numerous charitable organizations and causes. The legacy of the band's frontman, the late Gord Downie, continues with The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, which aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

 

Follow The Tragically Hip:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tik Tok

Berlin's CIRCOLO VIZIOSO channel outrage at Russian invasion of Ukraine into 'Walls' single. Debut album out March 1

"From Sonic Youth, The Black Angels to Fugazi and Nirvana, this is a band who wears their inspirations on their sleeves, blending these in a fascinating way. Raw and visceral, Circolo Vizioso makes for a highly recommended listen, presenting groundbreaking music with a signature sound" ~ The Spill Magazine

"Hailstorm distortion... that great feel like it has its own time signature; speeding up and slowing down depending on their anger levels or the nervous urgency that bubbles to the surface. It sounds fresh and in the moment, in part due to it being written in a little over an hour" ~ Joyzine

"Cathartic, a taste of the actual sound of the grassroots music makers, a reminder of just how false the world we are offered through advertising, media, marketing, branding... A timely, sonic wake-up call" ~ Big Takeover Magazine


Kraut-inspired punk rock duo Circolo Vizioso presents their new single 'Walls', a song written in outrage over the Russian invasion in Ukraine. This is the second taste from their debut album 'Verrueckt' (out March 1), a potent chaser to the first single 'Choppy', a high-octane song spawned from a bout of depression brought on by a failed love story.

This album arrives four years after releasing their 5-track 'Isolation' EP (2020). Here they offer a potent taste of their unique brand of high-intensity, lyric-driven punk, created mainly with electric violin, guitar and drums.

Hailing from Berlin, Circolo Vizioso is made up of Tony Scafidi (guitar, bass, drum, hi-hat, vocals) and Paul Geigerzaehler (violin, snare drum, vocals). The band plays abrasive, groovy punk music that is influenced, on the one hand, by the sound of 1990s New York, Chicago and Washington embodied in such bands as Fugazi, Blonde Redhead and Sonic Youth, and by the sound of early 80's and 90's Eastern German and Eastern European punk bands like Dezerter, Sandow and Schleimkeim on the other.

About this new single, Tony Scafidi explains, "The Bluesy guitar line let the cat completely out of the bag I guess. I was listening to a tonne of Blues and amazing bluesmen like Cedell Devis, R.L. Burnside, Johnny Farmer, who I learned about from an old Fat Possum Records documentary, and my bandmate Paul had an amazing text he had written against the war in Ukraine and the filthy growth of the extreme right wing movements in Washington and shortly later in Berlin, attacking Capitol Hill and the Reichstag. Paul walked into the rehearsing room while I was having a massive solo blues jam, started singing to it and off we went on to finish 'Walls' an hour later."

Formed in March 2020 on a balcony in Friedrichshain, Berlin during the first Covid-19 lock-down, Circolo Vizioso was born as an attempt to keep art and music alive and to provide support to their neighbours during a time when no concerts were happening and no cinemas, museums or galleries were open.

In spirit, Circolo Vizioso is a last ditch effort by these artists to resist the isolation and the lack of social and human contact, as well as the hunger for music and art during this unusual time.
:
About the upcoming 'Verrueckt" album, Paul Geigerzaehler explains, "We wanted an album that could express anger, frustration and disaffection against an unfair world and all the discomfort entwined with that and we wanted to do it with direct and bare lyrics, abrasive violin lines, fat distorted guitar solos, and big fuzzy riffs. Yet we wanted people to dance to all this batshit crazy world in a sort of self-exorcising dance, where one can head to bed with the feeling that they have at least sweat their daily demons out for the night."

'Walls' is available via Bandcamp (with other platforms to follow), while 'Choppy' is available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify. The full 'Verrueckt' album, which will be released on March 1, is available for pre-order directly from the artist via Bandcamp.

CREDITS
Music and Lyrics by Paul Geigerzaehler and Tony Scafidi
Tony Scafidi - guitar, bass, drum, hi-hat, vocals
Paul Geigerzaehler - violin, snare drum, vocals
Audrey Quillons - backing vocals on 'Walls' and 'Verruecht'
Produced by Paul Geigerzaehler and Tony Scafidi
Sound Engineer - Smail Shock Production at B Studio in Berlin
Mixed and Mastered by Sacha Tilotta in Catania, Italy
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR


Keep up with Circolo Vizioso
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

Benighted Crawl Under Your Skin on New Album

BENIGHTED weave a writhing tale of psychological horror on their new album, which was recorded at Kohlekeller Studio. Famous for working with bands like Aborted and Powerwolf, producer Kristian Kohlmannslehner helped Benighted twist their brutal brand of death metal into something truly tormenting.  

Ekbom refers to delusional parasitosis, a real-life phenomenon that makes people believe their skin is infested with bugs. Just try not to shiver while watching the  creepy-crawly music video for lead single "Scars".  

Watch Below:

Ekbom comes out April 12, 2024.

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/BenightedEkbom
Pre-save: https://orcd.co/benightedekbompresave   

"Scars" will make the hairs on the back of your neck jump. The song blasts straight into Julien Truchan's signature pig squeal. The riffs are as fast as they are nimble, but Benighted compliment their grinding technicality with clever drum breaks and harmonic passages. Creepy, gruesome and still absolutely brutal, the French band are back to crack open the deepest, darkest recesses of our skulls. 

Video created by Kick Your Eye Productions.

Benighted are hitting the road in April for the Hellfest Warm-up Tour. Along with their signature style of brutal death metal, the French band are bringing along the support of Ten56 for these 13 lucky shows. Rise of the North Star, Stinky & KAMIZOL K will also join them on select dates.

Dive into the darkest realms of the human psyche as Benighted, the French purveyors of brutal death metal & grindcore, unleash their tenth full-length album Ekbom in April 2024. The madness that has defined their discography continues with this radical soundtrack to the twisted times we inhabit.

Born from French Death and Black metal bands Dishumanized, Darkness Fire, and Osgiliath, Benighted emerged in 1998 with a mission to explore a more brutal, heavy, and modern form of musical expression. The impact of their first self-produced and self-titled full-length album in 2000 transformed BENIGHTED from a side-project into a main act, quickly amassing a devoted fan base. Subsequent albums like Psychose (2002), Insane Cephalic Production (2004), Identisick (2006), and Icon (2007) further cemented their visceral, skull-breaking sound into extreme death metal history.

After a detour into the realms of Necrobreed in 2017, Benighted celebrated their 20th anniversary by capturing the live madness with Dogs Always Bite Harder Than Their Master in 2018.

With Obscene Repressed, they once again took sadistic pleasure in pushing the boundaries of brutality, delving into the disturbed mind of little Michael. His relentless battle against demons, fueled by unresolved oedipal issues with his mother, provided a grotesque tableau for Benighted's sonic butchery. Not content with merely slaughtering everything in their auditory path, Benighted crafted thematically explorative pieces, each turn in their music revealing new layers of horror and despair.

As the relentless journey continues, Benighted is set to unleash Ekbom in April 2024, an album that draws inspiration from the nightmarish 'Ekbom syndrome.' This rare neurological disorder, also known as Delusional Parasitosis, forms the thematic core of the upcoming release. A feeling of having a vile concoction of parasites, worms, and insects crawling under your skin is an apt description of what BENIGHTED have to offer on this newest release. The auditory assault mirrors the repulsive sensations of the syndrome, a visceral and unsettling journey into the abyss of the human mind.

Madness reigns yet again, this time intertwining with the haunting echoes of Ekbom syndrome. Brace yourselves for another mind-shattering chapter in the Benighted saga as they continue to carve their niche in the putrid annals of extreme metal, leaving a trail of sonic disgust in their wake.

Line-up
Julien Truchan - Vocals
Emmanuel Dalle - Guitars
Pierre Arnoux - Bass
Kevin Paradis - Drums

Recording studio
Kohlekeller Studios, Germany (Powerwolf, Aborted, Crematory)

Producer, Sound, Mixing & Mastering engineer
Kristian Kohlmannslehner

Guest musicians
Oliver Peters (Archspire) on "Nothing Left to Fear"
Xavier Chevalier (Blockheads) on "Fame of the Grotesque"

Biography: Sébastien Gamez

Cover art: Grindesign (Rob Borbas)

Pre-save: https://orcd.co/benightedekbompresave

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/BenightedEkbom

Links:
Official Website: https://www.benighted.fr/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brutalbenighted
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benighted_band/
Bandcamp: https://benighted.bandcamp.com/music
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/brutalbenighted
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@benighted_band
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@_BENIGHTED
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dUwIwaPc6UukkCZTaaf7J
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/benighted/267088245
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/3919180 

Booking Contact:
France: Rage Tour - philippe@ragetour.com
Worldwide: Redback Promotion - ronny@redback-promotion.com

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12" Vinyl Gatefold - Black
12" Coloured Vinyl Gatefold - Crystal Clear
12" Coloured Vinyl Gatefold - Transparent Yellow & Black Marbled
12" Coloured Vinyl Gatefold - Golden
12" Liquid Vinyl Gatefold - Blood Red Liquid-Filled

STEVE HACKETT LAUNCHES 'CIRCO INFERNO'; THIRD SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM 'THE CIRCUS AND THE NIGHTWHALE'

Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett is set to release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on Friday, February 16th, 2024, via InsideOut Music. A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’s’ 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about his 30th solo release: “I love this album. It says the things I’ve been wanting to say for a very long time.”

With just a week and a half to go till the albums release, Steve has launched the track ‘Circo Inferno’, and you can now listen to it below.

Steve said of the track: “Circo Inferno is the most frenzied point in this album’s narrative… A plea for rescue within the maelstrom of a Dantesque circus, involving swirling Phrygian runs, insistent sax, full on vocals and blistering guitar…”

The albums opening track ‘People of the Smoke’ was released in December. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iujNWzPL0
Watch the video for ‘Wherever You Are’ HERE: https://youtu.be/6LwYc8_orY8

The new album is available to pre-order on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh.
Pre-order now here: https://stevehackett.lnk.to/TheCircusAndTheNightwhale

‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ is Steve’s first new music in over two years. Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark, the line-up for ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.

Summing up ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’, Steve says: “It’s a lovely journey that starts dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you resist it?”

Steve Hackett & band will tour the world extensively in 2024, including a brand new UK tour ‘Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo’, which will see him return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall. He will also return to North America early this year, with European shows booked in for the Summer. For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html
 

STEVE HACKETT Online:
www.hackettsongs.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Steve-Hackett/123101228589
www.twitter.com/HackettOfficial
http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html

INSIDEOUTMUSIC Online:
www.insideoutmusic.com
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
 www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
www.twitter.com/insideouteu

Renowned UK producer Fran Ashcroft presents 'Waiting For The Britpop Revival', teasing new album

"Liverpudlian psychedelia that’s very soft on the ear and gently melodious" ~  Monolith Cocktail

‘Refreshingly analogue, utterly charming and, by the third or fourth listen, has completely wormed its way into your ear... Waiting For The Britpop Revival’ is built on a chuntering pub-piano with Fran Ashcroft’s softly lilting voice bouncing along as a nice counterpoint to the crunchy guitars colliding in the solo" ~ Joyzine

"A sonic bridge between eras... quite simply superb" ~ Liverpool Sound & Vision


Renowned British producer Fran Ashcroft has announced his forthcoming album 'The Songs That Never Were', to be released on January 23 via Think Like a Key Music. While only his sophomore album as a solo artist, Ashcroft's name stands behind dozens of other albums that have come to grace the music plane over the past few decades. Ahead of this, he presents the lead track 'Waiting For The Britpop Revival', a 2-track offering with a traditional A-side and B-side.

Longtime producer for artists big and small, and formerly of British power-pop trailblazers The Monos, Fran Ashcroft has recorded in some of the world's most renowned studios and with some iconic names, including Damon Albarn (Blur), Abbey Road Studios, Thunderbirds Are Go!, PRT Records and Studios, Spin Jupiter Spin (Dandy Warhols), , Darling Nikkie (Lords of Acid) Big Fish Music in Japan, and Fruits Der Mer Records, to mention a few.

A treasure trove of recordings that defies time, Ashcroft describes this album as "a bridge across time" and "a collaboration between myself and me of fifty years ago", made possible by two broken tape recorders and a little bit of AI technology. Here, he ingeniously constructs a sonic viaduct spanning 50 years to allow something novel to take shape amidst the echoes of his past - one where old and new harmonize in a truly innovative yet delightfully vintage experience.

"I’ve never made a record quite like this one. Nobody has. it was like building a bridge of time between my present day self and me from 50 years ago. The song I heard in my head at 5 a.m. that morning reminded me of one I’d written many years before, which I was never quite happy with.  I thought, you could almost put this new tune right over it. So I dug the old tape out of the archives to see if I was right. And I was - the chords were the same, and it was even in the same key! If I could only remove and replace the vocals on the old mono recording, it would be an entirely new song," says Fran Ashcroft.

"Were there other songs that could be treated in a similar way? Of course there were! I expected these new recordings  to be all be about using AI technology - but that was just a convenient tool, like any other. But this actually turned out to be a collaboration between my present-day self and me from 50 years ago - like some kind of bridge of time had been built between us. It sounds weird, I know - here, each song, whether an old recording or a new idea, was developed and transformed into something completely different from what it was to begin with - as if I were working with a co-writer and a quite strange one at times. But  music exists outside of time and this, I think, makes this record what it is."

This new album shows Ashcroft to be an artist in his own right, following up his self-recorded, written and performed album 'A Tour Of British Duckponds', released in 2023. Ashcroft also recently added author to his credits, publishing 'The Analogue Approach to Digital Recording' last year via the Crowood Press. As a record producer, he is best known for his less-is-more approach to recording, using the minimum number of microphones and tracks to get the best sound.

From the tender age of 8, he knew he wanted to make records. After initial encouragement from Apple Records, he first stepped inside a recording studio in 1973, with a band comprising electric guitar, drums and 2 cellists. This led to securing a publishing deal and forming one of the first British powerpop bands, The Monos, who ultimately endured the inevitable major label traumas. After this, he was able to turn his attention towards producing records, which he has done ever since.

As of February 6, 'Waiting for the Britpop Revival' will be available digitally from online music platforms. The album 'The Songs That Never Were' will be released on February 23, both digitally (as MP3, WAV or FLAC) and on 350g CD with a glossy 6-panel digisleeve. It can be pre-ordered directly from the label.

CREDITS
Music and lyrics written and arranged by Fran Ashcroft
Recorded, produced, mixed & mastered by Fran Ashcroft
Album / single outer sleeve photos by John Drazek
B&W inner sleeve photos by Gez Prior and Min Nolan
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
Artist photos by Rob Clarke


Keep up with Fran Ashcroft 
Website / Store | Book order | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Spotify | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email