ABBATH DOOM OCCULTA to Perform Classic Set on 'Return to the Raven Realms' Summer EU Tour

You've been asking for it, and now the time has come! ABBATH DOOM OCCULTA and his band will revisit the past and pay tribute to his legacy by performing a carefully selected set of old fan favorites and iconic metal anthems he co-wrote and recorded in the period 1992 - 2009 during the upcoming "Return to the Raven Realms" tour that will be coming to the EU and UK this summer!

Abbath comments, "I can’t wait to get back on stage this summer to perform some old favorites that I haven’t played for a long, long time. Mark my words – It’s going to be loud and epic!"

ABBATH DOOM OCCULTA is widely regarded as a prominent and iconic figure within black and extreme metal. For nearly three decades he helmed one of the most influential metal bands ever to emerge from Norway - IMMORTAL. With his characteristic voice, signature guitar riffs and undisputed talent as a stage performer, the charismatic singer helped spearhead the Norwegian trio from local clubs to the biggest festival stages in the world.

From the early beginnings with albums such as 'Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism' and 'Battles in the North,' to chart toppers 'At the Heart of Winter' and 'Sons of Northern Darkness,' Abbath has through his work with the group left a major imprint on the worldwide phenomenon that is Norwegian Extreme Metal.

‘Return to the Raven Realms Tour’ will be framed by the most spectacular stage show that Abbath ever has undertaken in his nearly 40-year long career.

Live Lineup: Abbath – Guitar & Vocals

Ole Andre Farstad – Guitar

Andreas Salbu – Bass

Ukri Suvilehto - Drums

Smartpunk Labelmates Virginity and The Dreaded Laramie Announce Co-Headlining Spring Tour Dates

ALT-ROCKERS VIRGINITY AND FEMMECORE BAND THE DREADED LARAMIE ANNOUNCE SPRING 2024 TOUR DATES

The tour, which the bands jokingly call "The Dreaded Virginity Tour," spans Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. The shows are an exciting run of dates following their appearances at Smartpunk Records' showcase at SXSW, which is being held in March. 

Their setlists will feature new songs and old fan favorites as both bands anticipate a big year ahead.

"We're so excited to get out on the road with The Dreaded Laramie. We've had the pleasure of sharing the stage with them several times and it's always a blast. I feel like every band has a band or two they really get along with and connect with and TDL is definitely one of those bands for us. We're buds. They are also just one of the best live bands to see right now. They're so energetic and good at setting an atmosphere of fun. Virginity doesn't get the opportunity to tour that often, so to be able to do it with folks we really like is great. We have a new record coming out this summer and we’re really looking forward to road-testing some of these new tunes and going to quite a few cities we’ve never been to." —Casey Crawford, Vocalist of Virginity

Guitarist Chris Pfister followed up with "I'll be there — just tell me what song is next."

"This is a total dream tour. We were actually big fans of Virginity before we met them. I've been keeping up with the band since I heard their incredible album POPMORTEM a few years ago. Last year it was really exciting (and I was kind of starstruck) when we were planning a tour in Florida and they agreed to play the Orlando date with us. We totally hit it off at that show--on top of being an amazing band, they're wonderful people--and it's unbelievably cool that we now get to call Virginity friends, labelmates, and tourmates!" — MC, Vocalist of The Dreaded Laramie

4/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Ideal Sports Bar w/ New Junk City + Big Computer

4/20 - Greenville, SC @ Swanson’s Warehouse w/ Sawyer Norman + Sitris

4/21 - Savannah, GA @ The Sentient Bean w/ Off Work + Crimson Fever

4/22 - Charleston, SC @ Tin Roof w/ Newgrounds Death Rugby + Never Any Ordinary

4/23 - Daytona, FL @ Tir Na Nog w/ Porch Coffin + Orange Blossom Trail 

4/24 - Tampa, FL @ Hooch And Hive w/ Post Sex High + NowInColor*

4/26 - Gainesville, FL @ Loosey’s w/ Mikey Erg! + Off Day + Trust Fall

4/27 - Orlando, FL @ Will's Pub + Lil Indies - Fanarchy Fest w/ Mikey Erg! + Tightwire + Rational Anthem + Vicious Dreams + more!

4/29 - Nashville, TN @ The East Room w/ Arbor & 76th Street*

* = No Virginity

ABOUT SMARTPUNK RECORDS:
Smartpunk has been a recognizable name in the scene for a long time (Remember that sponsored Warped Tour stage?!). After exchanging several hands and countless ideas of what it could and should be, they decided to start a record label in 2016 with the main idea of focusing solely on reissuing records that have been out of print or never on vinyl. After all, they're a label of vinyl dorks themselves! After releasing Set Your Goals' Mutiny and Gameface's Good, they started to venture into signing newer bands. They actively balance in between many worlds — putting out amazing music from friends and bands that rock, reissuing older titles, and partnering with other incredible labels in our scene and doing exclusive color variants of their releases.

"Since forming the record label, Smartpunk Records has released timeless albums such as Less Than Jake's Anthem, Nominee's Lowlife, RIVALS' Sad Looks Pretty on Me, Virginity's POPMORTEM, and melodic skate punkers The Swellers' My Everest.

ERRA Share "Crawl Backwards Out of Heaven" Video

Prolific metalcore progressives ERRA recently announced their new album CURE, which arrives on April 5 via UNFD. Pre-order it here.  

Today, the band has shared the visualizer for "Crawl Backwards Out of Heaven." Watch it below.

The visualizer captors the raw, explosive, and forward-thinking intensity of the song, which doesn't let up from the first note. 

CURE is the band's sixth album and it highlights and expands on the forward-thinking sound and guitar-driven style that the band has built its reputation on. Following 2021's self-titled release, CURE is a stunning execution of both raw talent and surgical technicality. It's as emotional powerful as it is musically proficient, which is not an easy feat to achieve. Yet ERRA make it look and sound easy. CURE is a sonic thrill ride — one that you hope will never end.

Additionally, the band has announced its upcoming Spring 2024 headline North American tour, with Make Them Suffer, Void of Vision, and Novelists as support. The tour kicks off on April 23 in Philly and runs through June 2 in NYC. All dates are below, with several major markets already sold out. Get tickets here.

ERRA ON TOUR:
WITH MAKE THEM SUFFER, VOID OF VISION, + NOVELISTS:
4/23 — Philadelphia, PA — TLA
4/24 — Baltimore, MD — Soundstage (SOLD OUT)
4/26 — Nashville, TN — Brooklyn Bowl
4/27 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade (Heaven)
4/28 — Birmingham, AL — Iron City
4/30 — Ft. Lauderdale, FL — Revolution
5/01 — Tampa, FL — Jannus Live
5/03 — Houston, TX — Rise Rooftop
5/04 — Dallas, TX — South Side Music Hall
5/05 — San Antonio, TX — Vibes Event Center
5/07 — Albuquerque, NM — Sunshine Theater
5/08 — Las Vegas, NV — House of Blues
5/10 — Mesa, AZ — Nile Theater
5/11 — Santa Ana, CA — Observatory
5/12 — Los Angeles, CA — Echoplex
5/13 — Santa Cruz, CA — Catalyst
5/15 — Sacramento, CA — Ace of Spades
5/17 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
5/18 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theater
5/20 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Complex
5/21 — Denver, CO — Summit Music Hall
5/23 — Lawrence, KS — Granada Theater
5/24 — Minneapolis, MN — Varsity Theater
5/25 — St. Louis, MO — Red Flag
5/26 — Chicago, IL — House of Blues
5/28 — Detroit, MI — Saint Andrews Hall
5/29 — Toronto, ON — Danforth Music Hall
5/31 — Montreal, QC —  Beanfield Theatre (SOLD OUT)
6/01 — Boston, MA — Paradise (SOLD OUT)
6/02 — New York, NY — Irving Plaza (SOLD OUT)

ERRA ARE:
J.T. Cavey — Vocals
Jesse Cash — Vocals + Guitars
Conor Hesse — Bass
Alex Ballew — Drums
Clint Tustin — Guitar

BAT ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM UNDER THE CROOKED CLAW + RELEASE MUSIC VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE, 'RITE FOR EXORCISM'

Richmond, Virginia metal-punk trio BAT has been delivering their own blood-spattered horror since ascending from the underground a decade ago on a dark, leather-winged trajectory. The brainchild of MUNICIPAL WASTE guitarists Ryan Waste & Nick Poulos, BAT leans heavily on the dirtier side of speed metal. On May 17th, the band welcomes the release of their second full-length album Under The Crooked Claw via Nuclear Blast Records.

Jam-packed with tight, concise songs loaded with punchy choruses and lightning-laced leads, each of the 13 tracks offers a new horror short story mixing the perfect blend of heavy metal, punk, and rock ‘n’ roll or as Waste coins it "primitive heavy speed". 

The band offers the first single entitled, 'Rite For Exorcism' along with a video clip directed by Norman Cabrera, produced by Maya Kay, and cinematography by Rob Lucas at Wolfpack Studios.
 
BAT's Ryan Waste states, “This record came together during dark times and its aggression is surely a reflection of that. Nick, Chris, and I hammered out song after song in a grimy, mold-ridden warehouse, turning our anger at the state of the world into what became 'Under the Crooked Claw'. To set the tone for the album, I called upon legendary Italian horror maestro Fabio Frizzi to compose an intro, just before BAT’s raw force assaults your ears. While simultaneously working on a heavy metal horror script with Norman Cabrera, I shared some of the new BAT songs with him. With our shared taste in film and vision, we devised two video concepts for the upcoming record based on my lyrics. The first offering is our twist on a tale of an exorcism gone awry, that Norman completely nailed to the cross.”

Stream the new single 'Rite For Exorcism' on all platforms now at:  
https://bat.bfan.link/rfesg

Pre-order/pre-save Under The Crooked Claw:  
https://bat.bfan.link/utcclp

Watch the music video for 'Rite For Exorcism' below

The power trio, completed by drummer Chris Marshall, decamped to Philadelphia in June 2021 where Arthur Rizk recorded the basic tracks for Under The Crooked Claw. Yavé Rust tracked lead guitars and vocals later when the band was back in Richmond, ultimately to be mixed by Rizk and mastered by Joel Grind. The artwork for the album was inked by Brandon Holt and colored by Margaret Rolicki.

This Spring, BAT is joining forces with their friends in the legendary EXCITER to play for all the Heavy Metal Maniacs in Latin America for the first time!

More information:
https://bewareofthebat.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bewareofthebat/
https://www.instagram.com/bewareofbat/
https://www.youtube.com/@BATBAND

BAT is:
Ryan Waste | Bass & Vocals
Nick Poulos | Guitar
Chris Marshall | Drums

BLACKBRAID to Perform at SOULCRUSHER FESTIVAL in The Netherlands

"To get right to it, Blackbraid II is an early contender for black metal record of the year... able to take the traditional sounds of black metal and then further shape and move them in a very distinct and novel direction." - Metal Injection (10/10)

GET TICKETS HERE

Blackbraid Live 2024 (EU/UK):

06/02: Scarborough (UK) @ Fortress Festival

06/21: Kauhajoki (FI) @ Nummirock Metal Festival

06/23: Ukmergė (LT) @ Kilkim Zaibu Festival

08/10: Helsinki (FI) @ Helsinki Metal Fetsival

10/11-12: Nijmegen (NL) @ Soulcrusher Festival

Blackbraid Live 2024 (US):

09/21: Los Angeles, CA @ C.Y. Festival

"...you can hear a delicately strummed acoustic guitar here, a traditional flute there. Catchy riffs, most notably on the single 'The Spirit Returns,' coexist with ambitious tracks like the 13-plus-minute 'Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon,' which waxes and wanes like an epic saga." - The New York Times

"To get right to it, Blackbraid II is an early contender for black metal record of the year... able to take the traditional sounds of black metal and then further shape and move them in a very distinct and novel direction." - Metal Injection (10/10)

"...one of the finest albums to grace black metal in years and you just get the feeling there is still more to come from this truly special band." - Distorted Sound Magazine (10/10)

"Sgah’gahsowáh channels his heritage and love for the earth through his music, and with that, he also brings a certain energy that conjures up desert dunes and rolling planes from North America just as well as a Norwegian black metal band conjures up snowy, bleak hills." - Metal Sucks (4.5/5)

"...forging a new path forward for black metal in 2023, one that will likely continue to set him apart from his contemporaries and become one of the biggest new faces in the genre for years to come." - Heavy Music HQ (4.5/5)

'Blackbraid II' follows up the solo black metal project's critically-acclaimed debut, which was named among one of the best metal albums if 2022 by Rolling Stone (#14), Decibel Magazine (#4), Metal Hammer UK (#7), and more!

BLACKBRAID E-SHOP

Indigenous black metal master BLACKBRAID will be performing in The Netherlands for the first time this October! The project will be appearing at this year's edition of Soulcrusher Festival, which will take place from October 11-12 in Nijmegen (NL), alongside an eclectic mix of artists such as ZEAL & ARDOR, LAMP OF MURMUUR, PHARMAKON + more! Tickets can be found HERE.

This will not be Blackbraid's only appearance across the Atlantic this year as other festival appearances have been confirmed such as Fortress Festival (UK), Nummirock Metal Festival+ Helsinki Metal Festival (FI), and Kilkim Zaibu Festival (FI). For American fans who are looking for their fix, Blackbraid will also be performing at C.Y. Festival in Los Angeles, CA on September 21. The full itinerary can be found below while tickets can be found HERE.

'Blackbraid II' can now be streamed everywhere or ordered via Bandcamp or The Official Blackbraid Merch Store!

Blackbraid is a solo indigenous black metal project from from the depths of the Adirondack wilderness creating music as raw and powerful as the mountains from whence it came… 

'Blackbraid II' Album Credits:

- Composed & performed by Sgah'gahsowáh

- Drums, recording, mixing & mastering by Neil Schneider

- Visual development & graphic design by Wolf Mountain Productions 

- Guitar solo in “Twilight Hymn of Ancient Blood" performed by Randy Moore

- “A Fine Day to Die" originally composed by Quorthon (Bathory)

Album Art: Adrian Baxter

Photographer: Wolf Mountain Productions

Follow // Listen:

Bandcamp

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube

Instagram

Shop/Pre-order:

Official Merch Store (USA)

Blackbraid is an independent artist and is not contracted to or owned by any music label. 

Management: Ashley @ Wolf Mountain Productions

CHAYCE BECKHAM SETS DEBUT ALBUM, BAD FOR ME, FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 5

Nominated at this year’s CMT Music Awards for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year for his PLATINUM hit single “23” that's surging toward #1 on country radio, Amazon Music’s “Breakthrough Artist to Watch” Chayce Beckham tonight releases the first track from his highly anticipated debut album - Bad For Me - coming Friday, April 5, with the rowdy anthem “Waylon in ‘75.” Tonight, listen to the new song HERE and pre-order/pre-save/pre-add the album HERE. 

“Once I finished recording this album and had time to live with it, I felt the title Bad For Me fit perfectly. It sums up a lot of my own faults,” says Beckham. “I like a lot of stuff that’s bad for me, even though it ends up being kryptonite but that’s all a part of being human. I am so proud of this record. I just hope there’s a song on this album that makes somebody feel something.”

Produced by Bart Butler (Jon Pardi, Midland, Warren Zeiders), apart from “23” (Ross Copperman), Bad for Me puts Beckham’s wild card under a microscope as his soul-searching songwriting takes centerstage. Carefully crafting a series of deeply personal stories, his true-to-Beckham mix of dusky Western sonics and smoldering rock energy come to the forefront, as fiddle, steel and loping rhythms stand beside a rebellious, untamed spirit and his rustic vocal. 

Continuing to open his soul like most would never dare, Bad For Me’s themes like substance abuse, guilt and romantic remorse are in plain view, joined by the inner struggle of a man wishing he was more. Battling the bottomless pit of wondering how things got the way they are, this album also shows an appreciation for life itself, and a promise to keep up the fight. 

Featuring the 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse Records/BMG artist’s solo-written, PLATINUM hit song “23” that’s streaming over 4.6M per week and surging toward #1 at country radio, the former fork-lift driver’s debut features 13 tracks, including several he wrote entirely by himself before he won American Idol, including the poignant fan-favorite “Mama” that he actually performed on the show, along with the propulsive barroom rocker “Drink You Off My Mind.”

Currently on his own headlining “Bad For Me” Tour, Beckham will join Luke Bryan on his “Mind Of A Country Boy” Tour this summer. For tickets and all touring updates, visit www.ChayceBeckham.com. 

Photo Credit: Robby Klein

Upcoming Tour Dates:

3/16 - Bendigo, Australia - Meatstock Festival (Bendigo City Centre)

3/23 - Alpine, CA - Country Fest

3/28 - Rootstown, OH - Dusty Armadillo 

4/4 - Catoosa, OK - Track 5 

4/5 - Pocola, OK - Choctaw Casino 

4/6 - Manhattan, KS - The Hat

4/11 - Ft Worth, TX -Tannahill's Tavern and Music Hall

4/12 - Grant, OK - Choctaw Casino

4/13 - Stillwater, OK - Tumbleweed Dance Hall

4/17 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome*

4/18 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place*

4/19 - Vancouver, BC - Coastal City Country Fest

4/24 - Saskatoon, SK - SaskTel Centre*

4/25 - Winnipeg, MB - Canada Life Centre*

5/2 - Columbus, OH - The Bluestone

5/3 - Warrendale, PA - Jergels

5/4 - Winchester, VA - Shenandoah Valley Apple Blossom Festival (Discovery Museum)

5/9 - Schenectady, NY - Frog Alley

5/10 - Binghamton, NY - Touch of Texas

5/11 - Jordan,NY - Kegs Canalside

5/16 - Asheville, NC - Salvage Station

5/17 - Barco, NC - Morris Farm

5/18 - Charlotte, NC - Coyote Joe's

5/23 - Bishop, CA - Mule Days

5/24 - Apple Valley, CA - HillTop Tavern and Inn

6/6 - Fargo, ND - Happy Harry's Ribfest @ Fargo Dome

6/9 - Greenwood Village, CO - Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre/KYGO

6/14 - Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf Amphitheater*

6/15 - Orange Beach, Al - The Wharf Amphitheater*

6/18 - Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere

6/21 - Buffalo, NY - Taste of Country (Sahlen Field)

6/27 - Cadott, WI - Country Fest 2024

6/29 - Brainerd, MN - Lakes Jam

7/12 - Rhinelander, WI - Hodag Country Festival

7/18 - Ankeny, IA - The District at Prairie Trail

7/19 - New Berlin, IL - Danenberger Family Vineyards

8/9 - Oro Station, Ontario - Boots and Hearts

8/15 - Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center*

8/16 - Montréal, Québec - Parc Jean-Drapeau/ Lasso Fest

8/17 - Atlanta, GA - Truist Park*

8/22 - Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center*

8/24 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena*

8/25 - Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field*

10/20 - Sacramento, CA - Discovery Park

*with Luke Bryan

About Chayce Beckham: 

Three years after becoming the only artist to win American Idol singing his own songs, 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse Records/BMG country artist Chayce Beckham is living proof of his belief that “You can’t tell someone how to write a song.” Currently nominated at this year’s CMT Music Awards for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year for his PLATINUM hit single “23” surging toward #1 on country raadio, the fiery singer-songwriter laid out a course only he could follow, and today remains even more dedicated to his unique creative compass. A California native schooled on tough times and a mix of country, rock, hip hop and beyond, Beckham started a habit of heart-on-his-sleeve songwriting after some hard times when he felt he had nothing left – and when combined with his warm vocal rasp on “23,” that drive helped him charm the nation on Idol's 19th season in 2021. With more than 358 million streams and counting, the bluesy and brutally honest anthem debuted at #1 on both iTunes’ Country and All Genre singles charts, and now leads Beckham’s first album, Bad for Me, as the emerging star finds his stride. Co-writing nine of 13 songs (three solo), the project shows Beckham opening his soul like most would never dare and embracing a timeless country-rock sound defined by fiddles, steel guitar, and plenty of against-the-grain attitude. With dusky shades of heroes like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, the set aims to reinforce next-big-thing predictions from CMT, Amazon Music, MusicRow and more, while Beckham hits the road this summer on Luke Bryan’s "Mind Of A Country Boy" Tour and his own headlining 2024 “Bad for Me” Tour.

KEEP UP WITH CHAYCE BECKHAM

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | YOUTUBE | FACEBOOK | X

BLOODSTOCK reveal Lemmy Forever Memorial, Lemmy's Ashes to Live At BLOODSTOCK in 2024

BLOODSTOCK, by arrangement with Motörhead management, have announced that the legendary, late, great Lemmy Kilmister will be permanently memorialised at the heavy metal festival.  Some of Lemmy’s ashes will be housed at BLOODSTOCK- one of only a few places globally - in a unique urn, with the festival commissioning a Bust of Lemmy to incorporate the ashes.  Fans will be able to view the installation and pay tribute to Lemmy and his legacy in the RAM Gallery on site.  Once the festival is over, the Bust of Lemmy will move to Nottingham’s Rock City venue, where fans will have access to the ashes; they will return each and every year to their primary home on the hallowed turf of BLOODSTOCK at Catton Park. 

Motörhead’s manager, Todd Singerman comments: “BLOODSTOCK has always been a special place for Motörhead and for Lemmy. The people and the energy matched Lemmy’s values perfectly. Alan and Vicky were also great friends, and basically family of Lemmy, as he was the reason that they originally got together. This is definitely a fitting honor in the continuing series of enshrinements of Lemmy’s ashes in his most loved places.”

BLOODSTOCK’s Vicky Hungerford adds “We were humbled and honoured to be approached by Motörhead management to have Lemmy’s ashes at BLOODSTOCK. Lemmy holds a very special place in everybody’s heart, but to myself and my husband he was the reason we met and fell in love. Nothing will mean more to us and the BLOODSTOCK family than to honour his legacy  and have Lemmy forever at BLOODSTOCK “

The memorial will be part of a bigger picture theme for the festival this year to commemorate this special news and celebrate the remarkable legacy of Lemmy and Motörhead.  The RAM Gallery on site will be extended this year to accommodate an expanded Motörhead theme, including a full wall of Motörhead artwork, as well as archive memorabilia, plus you can relive a moment in time by visiting a recreation of Lemmy’s touring dressing room (attached on to the gallery, accessible from within the gallery marquee).  On site this year,  BLOODSTOCKers will see the Motörhead Bomber in the arena, witness various bands paying tribute to Motörhead in their live sets, and the opening and closing of the festival will be marked with a sounding of the famous Motörhead air raid siren.  BLOODSTOCK will also welcome Motörhead’s Phil Campbell to the festival this year and are thrilled to have his participation in these special celebrations. Even more Motörhead themed activations are still in the works, so stay tuned as this exciting development continues coming together. 

Standard weekend tickets to BLOODSTOCK, priced at £185 (+ bkg fee) are available now in the 2024 ticket store. Early Bird, VIP and campervan tickets are already sold out.  

BLOODSTOCK’s 2024 Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are AMON AMARTH, OPETH, and ARCHITECTS. Across the weekend you can also expect to see CLUTCH, HATEBREED, CARCASS, ENSLAVED, MALEVOLENCE, SATYRICON, ROTTING CHRIST, SYLOSIS, WHITECHAPEL, DEICIDE, GRAND MAGUS, DESERT STORM, THE VINTAGE CARAVAN, SOEN, GREEN LUNG, COMBICHRIST, XENTRIX, EXIST IMMORTAL, ETERNAL CHAMPION, GROVE STREET, MIMI BARKS, CRYPTA, FORBIDDEN, NERVOSA, BEAST IN BLACK, KORPIKLAANI, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, FLOGGING MOLLY, SEPTIC FLESH, IGORRR, RUIJIN, GROVE STREET, UNPEOPLE, NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, HELLRIPPER, INFECTED RAIN, CULTURA TRES, SADUS, LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE, BURNER, RED RUM, EVERGREY, RAISED BY OWLS, TAILGUNNER, SOUTH OF SALEM, and ANKOR with more still to be announced. 

Get full festival information over at bloodstock.uk.com.  BLOODSTOCK will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 8th-11th August 2024.

SACRAMENTO’S SIMON SAYS ANNOUNCE SPRING HEADLINING RUN, DIGITAL REISSUE OF ‘PERFECT EXAMPLE’

Reunited Sacramento Emocore/Nu-Metal pioneers Simon Says have announced they will hit the road this Spring for a string of dates, the band’s first in over 20 years, kicking off with a hometown Sacramento reunion show at Goldfield Roseville on 3/22. Simon Says will hit the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood on 4/4, before a string of cross country dates in May, supported by LA rock act Oceans On Other Planets.

3/22 | Roseville, CA | Goldfield - Roseville

4/4 | West Hollywood, CA | Whisky A Go-Go

5/5 | Des Moines, IA | Lefty’s*

5/7 | Joliet, IL | The Forge*

5/8 | Pittsburgh, PA | Crafthouse*

5/10 | Lakewood, OH | The Winchester Music Tavern*

5/11 | Hanover, PA | Rock On The Hill Music Festival*

(w/ Jimmie’s Chicken Shack)

5/12 | Toledo, OH | Ottawa Tavern*

8/10 | Three Forks, MT | Rockin' The Rivers (w/ Stone Temple Pilots, Hoobastank)

(* w/ Oceans on Other Planets)

Simon Says has also announced the digital release of their breakthrough independent release Perfect Example, remastered by Richard Easterling (Taproot)which will be available on digital outlets for the first time on Friday, April 5th via THC: Music.

The band announced in September they had reunited with their original lineup - Vocalist Matt Franks, Guitarist Zac Diebels, Bassist Mike Arrieta, and drummer Mike Johnston, for the first time in over 20 years, and are working on material for a new studio album to be released in 2024 via THC: Music/Amplified Distribution.

Additionally, the band’s 2 major label releases Jump Start and Shut Your Breathhave both been made available on all digital and streaming platforms for the first time.

Simon Says formed in the buzzing Sacramento scene of the early 90s, among the ranks of contemporaries like Far, Papa Roach, Will Haven etc, and released their first demo EP in 1994, followed by two independent LPS, the cassette only Little Boy, and the follow-up Perfect Example, which would sell more than 5000 copies, and define the sound that would see the band signed to Hollywood Records a short time later. In 1999 Simon Says released their major label debut Jump Start, which yielded the hit modern rock singles “Life Jacket”, and “Slider”, which both charted in the Top 40 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.

The band would go on to release their darker and heavier fan favorite sophomore LP Shut Your Breath in 2001, which spawned the single “Blister (Nothing)”, which again found its way onto the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and saw the band touring Worldwide performing alongside Creed, Staind, Filter, Limp Bizkit, Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Deftones, Monster Magnet, Rollins Band, Kid Rock, Type O Negative, and many more, before disbanding in 2001.

Franks, Diebels, and Arrieta, with drummer Dave Marich, formed the short-lived Key To Arson, which released the independent LP Light ‘Em Up, before disbanding in 2004.

Despite the 20+-year hiatus, the members of Simon Says have stayed active, not veering far from their musical roots, with guitarist Zac Diebels producing music in his Sacramento studio, and dabbling in his project Automatic Static with Simon Says vocalist Franks, who also plays bass in progressive Sacramento band SAGES, with Far drummer Chris Robyn. Bassist Mike Arrieta had a brief stint in Cleanse, while drummer Mike Johnston found a niche as one of the top internet drum instructors with mikeslessons.com, spawning the celebrated Youtube drum instruction page “mikeslessons” with over 230k followers.

Says vocalist Franks, “It really happened by accident. We got back together and got in a room to even discuss this stuff, because of the huge amount of fan interest in the first two records, which, at the time, were not even available digitally. So, we got together to discuss that, and try to figure out how to reconnect with our former label, Hollywood, and find a path to release for those records, which really sparked a renewed interest and friendship for all of us, after getting in the same room after so long.”

He adds, “As so much time had passed, you realize hurt feelings from 20 years ago don’t really matter anymore, and I think we all have kind of a renewed appreciation and respect for each other, and the ability for us to even be able to play music together. We’re just thankful there are so many fans still pulling for us, and looking forward to whatever new experiences this next chapter will bring, for us, and the fans.”

Visit Simon Says on the web at simonsaysus.com, or at facebook at facebook.com/simonfnsays.

Poolside At The Flamingo Drop New Track "Hell On Earth"; Announce Run of Headline Shows This Spring

Colorado's obnoxiously heavy grindcore 4-piece, Poolside At The Flamingo have dropped the second single from their upcoming EP, 'Accabadora' out via Blood Blast Distribution on May 22nd. The new track, titled "Hell On Earth", can be streamed HERE and the visualizer can be found Below.

Speaking on their new release, Poolside At The Flamingo share "This may be our favorite song on the EP. There's a hint of melody as dueling guitars blend tremolo riffs. The series of breakdowns at the end will make you want to hurt something.”

"Hell On Earth" is the second single from the band's upcoming EP, 'Accabadora', a bold statement from Poolside At The Flamingo, showcasing their growth as musicians and their commitment to pushing the boundaries of extreme music. The first single, the EP's title track, was released last month along with an epic music video. Speaking on the upcoming EP release, the band share

"The Accabadora EP is the first release that we're truly proud of and feel embodies the sound that we're looking to achieve. The songs on this EP were written with more care and attention than any other album/ep we've released. To us, it's the perfect blend of erratic grindcore and soul-crushing breakdowns."

Poolside At The Flamingo have also announced a sting of headline shows this spring. Full list of shows and tickets are available from poolsideattheflamingo.com

Stay tuned for more from Poolside At The Flamingo soon and get ready for sheer, unbridled brutality on May 22nd when they release the 'Accabadora' EP.

About Poolside At The Flamingo

Poolside at the Flamingo is a 4 piece deathcore/grindcore band based in Colorado, USA. Formed in 2005, Poolside At The Flamingo toured extensively in the "Myspace" days playing with the likes of Through The Eyes of the Dead, The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, See You Next Tuesday and MANY more. 

Their debut album "This Will End Badly..." (2006) was recorded live in a residential basement. Their next official album, "The Sound Below" (2017), was produced by Dave Otero at Flatline Audio and more recently they released "Self Titled" (2023).

Poolside At The Flamingo Are:

Scotty Bohnen: Vocals

Danny Bohnen: Guitar

Rudy Garcia: Drums

David French: Bass

ONErpm's William Michael Morgan Readies New EP 'Onto Something' for This Friday, 3/15

Six-Song EP Available This Friday, March 15 via ONErpm on all Platforms
Pre-Save HERE
 
Set to Perform at Ole Red Nashville Tomorrow, March 14

Country neo-traditionalist William Michael Morgan is bringing ’70s swagger back to Nashville with his brand new, six-song EP Onto Something, set for release Friday, March 15, on all platforms via ONErpm Nashville. Pre-save Onto Something HERE. Morgan will celebrate the release on the eve of its arrival with a one-hour pop-up set at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red in downtown Nashville, Thursday, March 14.
 
“I couldn’t be more excited to get this EP out,” says the hard-working Morgan, with his famous mustache grin. “Tracking with (multiple CMA, ACM and Grammy Award-winning producer) Keith Stegall was an incredible experience, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear what we put together.”
 
“William’s new music is a welcome addition to the increasingly popular neo-traditional movement that websites like Saving Country Music have credited him with starting,” notes Ryan Cunningham, A&R director of Country Music for ONErpm. “This EP will stand out amid the pop influences that currently define modern country.”

And there’s plenty to notice. The two pre-released tracks, the mid-tempo “In Walked You” with its breezy barroom vibe—In walked you on a Saturday night/Neon blue lightin’ up your eyes—countered by the wistfulness of the bittersweet “Not Letting Go”—We’ve gone too far to get back to where we were before—sets the tone for a free-flowing, six-song set with fiddle and steel guitar licks evocative of the lyrical stylings of decades past.
 
“Country music is alive and well,” states one of Nashville’s most celebrated men behind the scenes and multi-award-winning producer Keith Stegall. “It lives and breathes when William Michael Morgan picks up a guitar and tells us stories of love lost and honky-tonks found. Country music at its finest.”
 
Morgan’s current single, “Pour A Little Whiskey On It,” is like a salve for the EP’s more vulnerable moments. When he croons, If it’s gonna be a lonely night/Might as well put her memory on ice, you know what’s coming—a straight-up drinking song that seeks to right the wrongs with every cowboy (and cowgirl)’s favorite libation:
 
      If she’s really adios,
      I guess it’s easy come, easy go;
      I might as well honky tonk it,
      Maybe all night long it;
      Take this heartache to town,
      And pour a little whiskey on it

The EP’s release will be capped off by the premiere of Morgan’s music video for the track “Pour A Little Whiskey On It” coming later this month.

Morgan and Stegall round the album out with the title track, a gentle nod to the promise of a new relationship; the regret-tinged “She Don’t Like Old Country”; and a goodbye/destination song that, despite the lyrics, isn’t quite as sad as it could be—and maybe that’s the point.

Photo Credit: Sean McGee

About William Michael Morgan
30-year-old Mississippi native William Michael Morgan has built an enthusiastic fan base by touring the country and releasing music that remains true to his Vicksburg roots in a voice that “resonates with the flawless timbre of someone who has been singing country music for decades beyond his years,” according to Pandora. Morgan, who has already accumulated over 100 million on-demand streams, has been dubbed a modern-day traditionalist. He earned his first No. 1 single with “I Met a Girl,” described by Rolling Stone as a “laid-back ode to the joy of romantic discovery” that was named one of NPR Music’s Top 100 Songs in 2016 and paved the way for a Top 5 debut of Morgan’s first album, Vinyl, on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
 
About ONErpm 
ONErpm is a leading next-generation music company and record label operating globally in 43 locations powered by a staff of 600. At its core ONErpm offers label services to artists seeking to elevate their careers and operates one of the world’s largest music distribution platforms and YouTube Multi-Channel Networks. Offering a full suite of services that includes marketing support, supply chain tools, SAAS, business intelligence, publishing, accounting and global payment solutions, ONErpm provides the infrastructure needed to help creators and content owners succeed. As a trusted partner, ONErpm emphasizes transparency in everything it does, from executing a marketing campaign to making payments.

"Eric Church: To Beat The Devil" 19-Show Chief's Residency Announced; Grand Opening Set: 4/5/24

Eric Church, together with Ben Weprin, founder and CEO of Adventurous Journey’s (“AJ”) Capital Partners, intentionally designed his six-story downtown Nashville establishment Chief’s, located at 200 Broadway, to accommodate a two-story live music venue when renovating the 19,350 SF building. Named “The Neon Steeple,” this venue is aimed in part to house intimate pop-up shows from the singer/songwriter/entertainer. On the heels of giving the building to his fans last week, Church shared the details of Chief’s grand opening directly with the Church Choir this morning (March 12), noting that he’ll kick the celebrations off with a 19-show Eric Church: To Beat The Devil residency run at The Neon Steeple in Chief’s beginning April 5, 2024.
 
“These shows at Chief’s will be one of a kind, only for Chief’s and with some songs that will only ever be performed during these shows,” says Church. “It's the most unique show I'll probably ever do, and I'm excited to enjoy this chapter of what Chief’s will be.”
 
Having historically taken extra precautions to protect fans from scalpers, Church is approaching this on-sale differently as well. Tickets will be offered initially to premium Church Choir members via a sign-up system beginning today, March 12. Become a premium Church Choir member here.*
 
Tickets are non-transferable and will be available for pickup at the venue box office the evening of the show immediately prior to entering the venue. Name changes on orders will not be permitted.  
 
All seats are reserved seating with pricing ranging from $99 to $499 (with no additional ticketing fees) and a portion of proceeds from every ticket benefits Church’s non-profit, Chief Cares. 

Key Dates To Know:

• Tuesday, March 12 – Presale sign-up opens for premium Church Choir members.

• Sunday, March 17 at 11:59 p.m. CT – Sign-up closes.

• Wednesday, March 20 at 10:00 a.m. CT – Church Choir presale begins. 

• Friday, March 22 at 10:00 a.m. CT – Public onsale if tickets remain.

 
Eric Church: To Beat The Devil Dates:
        Friday, April 5 (Grand Opening)
        Wednesday, April 17
        Thursday, April 18
        Monday, April 29
        Tuesday, April 30
        Wednesday, May 1
        Tuesday, May 7
        Wednesday, May 8
        Friday, May 10
        Saturday, May 11
        Tuesday, May 14
        Wednesday, May 15
        Friday, May 17
        Tuesday, May 21
        Wednesday, May 22
        Thursday, June 6
        Friday, June 7
        Saturday, June 8
        Sunday, June 9
 
*PLEASE NOTE:  Signing up for the presale does not guarantee that every premium Church Choir member will get access to the sale. Additionally, getting selected from the sign-ups and getting access to the sale doesn’t guarantee tickets. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
Tixr is the official ticketing company of Chief’s on Broadway. For more information, visit ChiefsOnBroadway.com.

Rendering of The Neon Steeple at Chief’s, set to open at 200 Broadway in Nashville, Tenn. | Rendering Courtesy of Chief's / AJ Capital

About Eric Church:
A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner (including the 2020 award for Entertainer of the Year) and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fan base around the globe known as the Church Choir, plus a critically acclaimed catalog of music. Known for his tenacity on the road, his recent The Outsiders Revival Tour earned rave reviews as he brought a rotating lineup of emerging artists along for the first fully-outdoor tour of his career. His prior outing, the 55-city The Gather Again Tour, offered fans an in-the-round arena show and earned the 2022 Billboard Music Award for Top Country Tour. Church is currently working on new music as the follow up to his most recent chart-topping project, the Heart & Soul triple album, which featured the results of a marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day while sequestered in rural North Carolina. This followed his Gold-certified Desperate Man, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and prior releases including the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”), as well as 30 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified songs. Church is also a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, a co-owner of the iconic Field & Stream brand, has his own SiriusXM music channel, “Eric Church Outsiders Radio,” his own liquor offering, Whiskey JYPSI, and open Chief’s, a six-story venue on Nashville’s famed lower Broadway, on April 5, 2024. 
 
For more information, visit www.ericchurch.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter/X @ericchurch and Instagram@ericchurchmusic.
 
About Chief’s:
Chief’s is a six-story bar, restaurant, and live music venue designed to celebrate Eric Church’s ever-expanding musical legacy. Located in historic downtown Nashville, Chief’s will feature a ticketed music venue, inspirational interiors, and a thoughtful focus on unique live performances, offering fans an unparalleled entertainment experience in Music City. Chief’s will house a studio for live broadcasting, inclusive of Church’s Outsiders Radio SiriusXM channel, with the capability of hosting broadcasts by various media partners. Chief’s will also feature a restaurant partnership with James Beard Award Winning Pitmaster Rodney Scott. Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ will overlook downtown with its ‘Hell of a Q’ rooftop offering. Situated at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Broadway, Chief’s is set to open at 200 Broadway.
 
About Adventurous Journeys (“AJ”) Capital Partners:
Adventurous Journeys ("AJ") Capital Partners is a vertically integrated real estate investment manager founded by Ben Weprin in 2008. The firm specializes in creating distinctive, design-forward properties in high-demand yet underserved locations. The multi-disciplined team at AJ brings expertise in placemaking, inspired design, and hospitality to fuel a diverse portfolio, currently valued at $5.3 billion across 100+ properties in 50+ markets. The company focuses on hospitality, mixed-use, and residential sectors. Learn more at www.ajcpt.com.

Darkest Hour Announce Perpetual | Terminal Ale Available at DC Show

DARKEST HOUR — Mike Schleibaum [guitar], John Henry [vocals], Aaron Deal [bass], Travis Orbin [drums], and Nico Santora [guitar] — are pleased to announce their new beer collaboration with DC Brau. It arrives in celebration of the band's recently released 10th album Perpetual | Terminal, out now via MNRK Heavy. 

Perpetual | Terminal-Ale, an Amber Ale, is a true collaborative effort. Schleibaum even dropped the hops into the kettle with his own hands.

The beverage will be available at the band's April 6 hometown show at the Black Cat in Washington, DC. So come out and raise a glass!

DARKEST HOUR ON TOUR:
WITH MOUTH OF WAR, FILTH IS ETERNAL, I AM, + SOMNURI:
3/13 — Mesa, AZ — Nile Theater
3/14 — Los Angeles, CA — 1720
3/15 — San Diego, CA — Brick By Brick
3/16 — Sacramento, CA — Goldfield Trading Post (Roseville)
3/18 — Portland, OR — Dantes
3/19 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon
3/21 — Salt Lake City, UT — Metro Music Hall
3/22 — Denver, CO — Marquis
3/23 — Wichita, KS — Lodge Room @ TempleLive
3/25 — Minneapolis, MN — Turf Club
3/26 — Chicago, IL — Reggies
3/27 — Detroit, MI — The Sanctuary
3/28 — Cleveland, OH — Asylum Room @ Templelive
3/29 — Pittsburgh, PA — Preserving Underground
3/30 — Toronto, ON — Axis
4/01 — Ottawa, ON — Brass Monkey
4/02 — Montreal, QC — Fairmount Theatere
4/03 — Quebec City, QC — La Source de la Martiniere
4/04 — Cambridge, MA — Sonia
4/05 — Brooklyn, NY — The Meadows
4/06 — Washington, DC — Black Cat

ABOUT DARKEST HOUR:
Darkest Hour, as a whole, have weathered time, trends, and tides of change and stand stronger nearly three decades since their formation. Their unique sonic style incorporates death metal exorcisms, thrash recklessness, hardcore punk attitude, and melodic catharsis at the speed of a circle pit.
  
"The record's theme centers around the duality of survival while embracing rebirth,'" says Schleibaum. "We keep killing parts of ourselves to make new parts and survive. The story of the record is the story of the band. We're still here, and we're giving the world a body of work that's representative of our music today. We've realized relationships, tours, good times, everything that seems to give life meaning, is terminal — and will inevitably end. Nevertheless, we're 46-year-old dudes who love this music enough to put up with the trials and tribulations of being artists in a touring band."
 
Darkest Hour clawed their way out of the DMV area in 1995. Throughout the ensuing years, they tallied tens of millions of streams and quietly built a diehard fan base. Canvasing the globe, they packed thousands of shows and touched down on every continent, save Antarctica. Along the way, they notably notched five Top 3 debuts on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart. 2017's Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora marked the group's third #1 bow on the latter in addition to crashing the Top 10 of the Top Vinyl Albums Chart. It also represented a creative and critical high watermark. Beyond praise from Revolver, EXCLAIM!, and more, MetalSucks rated it a rare perfect score of "5-out-of-5" and hailed it as "the best album Darkest Hour have ever made." New Noise cited it as "one of the best of 2017," and Metal Hammer dubbed it "a monumental return." PopMatters crowned it "a masterclass in following your beliefs no matter where they might take you."

The latest album from Enterprise Earth is out now

Enterprise Earth has unleashed upon the world their hotly-anticipated new album 'Death: An Anthology'. 

In celebration of the news, the band shared their intensely brutal yet deeply poignant latest offering "Blood and Teeth" along with the accompanying music video. Speaking about "Blood and Teeth", the band shared:

"'Blood and Teeth' lays out a gut-wrenching story of poisonous attachment, a cycle of self-harm and submission to the tragic realization of how much pain one can put themselves through for the sake of another’s admiration. Musically, this is the most elaborate song on 'Death: An Anthology'.

Moving through a clean piano intro, to blazing leads over a catchy groove, to death metal riffage, to a catchy metalcore adjacent chorus, to a dare we say sexy bridge, only to unleash the filthiest breakdown of the album at the end. The video is a direct visual representation of this and we hope it evokes an emotional response similar to the ones felt in its production."

When asked about the album, guitarist, backing vocalist, and producer Gabe Mangold commented:

"I consider 'Death: An Anthology' to be our most expressive, intense, diverse, and finest work that Enterprise Earth has ever achieved so far and I hope I can say that with every body of music that we release. This album was SO much fun to create from every facet and while there are many peaks of brutality and valleys of melodic expressiveness, I hope the listener experiences the same emotions while listening that we did while creating: sheer enjoyment, empowerment, unity, catharsis, and so much more. Drown in Abyss, let it take us." 

Enterprise Earth will be touring with Inferi, Crown Magnetar, and Tracheotomy starting March 11th. Tickets available now!

4/11 Phoenix, AZ Nile Underground

4/12 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick

4/13 Anaheim, CA Chain Reaction

4/14 San Francisco, CA Neck of The Woods 4/16 Portland, OR Dante's

4/17 Seattle, WA Madame Lou's

4/18 Spokane, WA The Big Dipper

4/19 Missoula, MT ZACC

4/20 Calgary, BC Dickens

4/21 Edmonton, BC Starlite

4/23 Winnipeg, MB Park Theatre

4/24 Minneapolis, MN Amsterdam Bar

4/25 Des Moines, IA xBk

4/26 Chicago, IL WC Social Club

4/27 Cleveland, OH TempleLive (Jester's)

4/28 Detroit, MI Sanctuary

4/29 Toronto, ON Hard Luck

4/30 Montreal, QC Fairmount Theatre

5/01 Portland, ME House of Music 

5/02 Worcester, MA Palladium Upstairs 

5/03 Mechanicsburg, PA Lovedraft's

5/04 Brooklyn, NY Meadows 

5/05 Albany, NY Empire Underground

05/07 Virginia Beach, VA Scandal's Live

05/08 Greensboro, NC Hangar 1819

05/09 W. Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern

5/10 Tampa, FL Crowbar

5/11 Orlando, FL Conduit

5/12 Fort Walton Beach, FL Downtown Music Hall

5/14 Houston, TX Scout Bar

5/15 Austin, TX Come and Take It Live

5/16 Ft. Worth, TX Haltom Theater (Side Stage)

5/17 Lubbock, TX Jake's

5/18 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad

5/19 Denver, CO HQ

GET TICKETS & VIP HERE

Enterprise Earth - Death: An Anthology Ghostly 2LP

SHIPPING NOW

Enterprise Earth - Death: An Anthology Copper Nugget 2LP

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Enterprise Earth - Death: An Anthology CD

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Enterprise Earth - Casket of Rust Longsleeve Shirt

SHIPPING NOW

SHOP ALL ENTERPRISE EARTH MUSIC AND MERCH

GET TICKETS & VIP HERE

 WATCH ENTERPRISE EARTH VIDEOS HERE

Randall King, Kevin Fowler & Aaron Watson Unite for 'PanHandle Boys: West Texas Fire Relief Concert'

In response to the devastating wildfires that have swept through West Texas, three renowned Amarillo-native country artists, Randall King, Kevin Fowler and Aaron Watson have joined forces to present "THE PANHANDLE BOYS: West Texas Fire Relief Concert." The fundraiser is set to take place on Sunday, March 24, at the picturesque Starlight Ranch in Amarillo, TX and all of the proceeds will benefit The Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund. Tickets are on sale now at PanHandleBoys.com.
 
This intimate acoustic ‘in-the-round’ event will allow attendees to experience heartfelt performances in a stripped-down, soulful setting, creating an atmosphere of unity and support for the West Texas communities in need. The trio of artists, each deeply rooted in their love for the Texas Panhandle, showcase their Texan spirit and genuine concern through the swift organization of this benefit concert, demonstrating the power of solidarity in times of need. 
 
“As the news broke about the wildfires raging across the panhandle, the place I was born and raised, I knew we had to do something to help. Amarillo is my hometown,” shares Kevin Fowler. “These are my people. I’m so excited to join forces with my fellow panhandle boys, Aaron Watson and Randall King to do what we can to help support all the families affected by these fires and the heroes out there on the front lines.”
 
Additionally, Randall King said, “My heart goes out to my homeland. So many families, lives and ways of living have been affected by these fires and I want to do my part to help in the best way I know how. When Kevin reached out for this opportunity, I absolutely had to jump on the chance to help heal the panhandle through the power of music.”
 
“As devastating as all of this has been, it’s hard to not feel hopeless but for one night, we’re going to do our part to try and bring a smile to people’s faces,” Aaron Watson explains. “I’m honored to be joining the boys for this incredible benefit and to raise money to try and help these families get back on their feet.”
 
For those unable to attend the concert but still eager to contribute, donations can be made directly to the Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund at PanHandleBoys.com.

ABOUT PANHANDLE DISASTER RELIEF FUND:
The Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund is an initiative by the Amarillo Area Foundation dedicated to providing vital assistance to those affected by disasters in the Panhandle region. With a commitment to supporting our community during times of crisis, the Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund aims to offer immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts to individuals and families impacted by natural disasters, such as wildfires, floods, and severe storms.

EXHORDER RELEASES NEW ALBUM, 'DEFECTUM OMNIUM,'

NOLA thrash legends EXHORDER have released their long-anticipated new album, Defectum Omnium, today with Nuclear Blast Records. Sonically unrelenting, the band’s 4th record in a career spanning nearly 4 decades is classic EXHORDER. Revisiting their early influences of punk, hardcore and thrash, the band self-produced 12 merciless tracks that sound as vital as when they  first carved their groove in metal in 1985. Featuring crushing songs like ‘Year of the Goat’ and ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’ and ominous cover artwork by Travis Smith (Katatonia, Opeth), Defectum Ominum finds EXHORDER at the top of their game with one of the year’s most vicious records.

Vocalist/guitarist Kyle Thomas has said of the new record:

“It’s been quite a journey for Exhorder since the 2019 release of Mourn the Southern Skies. Lineup changes as well as the 2020-2021 pandemic and lockdown presented hurdles that weren’t easy to overcome. But we persevered, kept our heads down and went to work with intense focus and real goals. One of those goals was to bring our fourth full length album to our fan base. Defectum Omnium is a collaborative effort in songwriting, much as it was in the early days of Exhorder. We produced it ourselves, as we felt no need or desire to bring in anyone from the outside based upon our shared vision. It was also important to us not only to continue the natural progression this band has been in since the early 90’s, but to put a foot back into our roots. The influence punk and hardcore had on this band from getting our start in the New Orleans punk rock scene has a strong presence. We’ve also made sure to keep plenty of our thrash roots as well in our songwriting process. But we have also managed to keep our doom roots alive, which first surfaced on the song (Cadence of) the Dirge back in 1992. In fact, on one new song we have guest appearances by Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin from Trouble, and they absolutely killed it! 

From the time that we began pre-production until the actual release date, we can promise you that every bit of Defectum Omnium was crafted with great care, and we are really excited about it! Our goal was to make an album that WE loved and gives the experience of a journey.”

With today’s record release, EXHORDER has unveiled a new video for their next standout track, and album opener ‘Wrath of Prophecies.’

Thomas adds on the new single:

“Our third single, Wrath of Prophecies, is the opening track on Defectum Omnium. It is the oldest song title on the album, dating back to 2009. However, it was never truly completed as a song, though it did have its own line of merchandise at the time. Lyrically, it is a nod to the prophecies of Nostradamus, which were much more prevalent topics at that time based upon what many people felt were predicted end times. Regardless, it fit right into the overall theme of despair and hopelessness that Defectum Omnium embodies. Musically, it is a fierce and unrelenting thrasher. With the vocals committing to the song as soon as the entire band kicks in, “Wrath of Prophecies” grabs you by the throat right out of the gates. It is obvious and evident that there is something the listener must pay attention to, or turn away and play ostrich. Lacing melodies in with venomous, spitting aggression, this song is a feature example on this album of our commitment to returning to our roots, and not just the punk ones.”

Purchase/Stream Defectumm Omnium: https://exhorder.bfan.link/defectum-omnium

‘WRATH OF PROPHECIES’ MUSIC VIDEO BELOW

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

KMFDM touring USA in support of new 23rd studio album ‘LET GO’, marking illustrious 40-year career

Iconic music mavericks KMFDM have kicked off their month-long 20-date US tour, launched in support of their new 'LET GO' album, recently released via Metropolis Records. Celebrating 40 years of conceptual continuity in grand style, KMFDM is doin’ it again, rising up lean and mean.

'LET GO' marks the group’s 23rd studio album, with the core lineup of Sascha “Käpt’n K” Konietzko, Lucia Cifarelli, Andy Selway and Andee Blacksugarpresenting their signature onslaught of pulse-pounding rhythms, scorching electronics, blistering guitars, and vocals full of grit, growl, and grind addressing the social, political, and cultural ills of a world in perpetual turmoil.

The album arrives hot on the heels of the banger 'LET GO' and the latest single 'AIRHEAD' with its accompanying 210 Media-produced video taking us on a sentimental joyride down memory lane through a bygone era of American life.

Defying common definitions and shredding pre-conceived notions about who or what KMFDM is or isn’t genre-wise, this unique gem lyrically harkens back to growing up in America during the 70s and 80s. It'll have you reminiscing with a wink and a laugh as Lucia Cifarelli sings: "Born the year of the Chia pet - Blondes were in, but I’m brunette - Vietnam and Donkey Kong - I was busy getting high with Cheech & Chong.”

From the driving techno, dance and funk-infused thrust of 'LET GO' to the airily melodic and swirling vibes of 'AIRHEAD' and 'TOUCH', the grooving revolutionary oratory and percolating spaghetti western guitar and glitch-laden synth leads of 'TURN THE LIGHT ON' to the sneering and seething riot grrl fury of 'WHEN THE BELL TOLLS', the sinister hip-hop injected 'NEXT MOVE', the downright cinematic and Teutonic electro of 'ERLKÖNIG', and the virulent dub warcry of 'WW 2023' – KMFDM continues to break down barriers and immerse audiences in a bold new reality.

Always stylistically diverse, KMFDM continues to bridge the gaps between genres, coalescing into what we know and love as the Ultra Heavy Beat!  Konietzko and Cifarelli prove as vicious a team as ever, equally sharing vocal and lyrical duties, with longtime associate MC Ocelot appearing to give 'NEXT MOVE' an extra touch of raucous rap energy. All the while, Blacksugar’s prowess on six-strings continues to awe and astound, backed by Selway’s dynamic drumming, meshing with Konietzko’s masterful programming.

Mixed and mastered by Benjamin Lawrenz (VNV Nation, Deep Purple, Saga, Mono Inc., Lord of the Lost), at Chameleon Recording Studios in Hamburg, 'LET GO' signals KMFDM’s 40th anniversary loudly and proudly, with Aidan “BRUTE” Hughes’ distinctive cover artwork mirroring the album’s breakneck power. After four decades, the Ultra Heavy Beat simply refuses to rest in pity and regret, raising a sharpened middle finger at a world in chaos.

The 'LET GO' album is out now, available from fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. It is also being offered  on CD and as a Limited Edition Vinyl double LP. Tour tickets are available here.

ALBUM CREDITS
Sascha Konietzko - Bass, Beats, Synths & Vocals
Lucia Cifarelli - Vocals
Andy Selway - Drums
Andee Blacksugar - Guitars
MC Ocelot - Rap
Written by Blacksugar, Cifarelli, Konietzko, Selway
Produced by Sascha Konietzko
Recorded  at Kommandozentrale (Hamburg), Swamp Studios (Florida) & Casa Blacksugar (Brooklyn NY)
Mixed by Benjamin Lawrence & Sascha Konietzko
at Chameleon & Kommandozentrale (Hamburg)
Vocals on 'Airhead' mixed by Veronica Ferraro
Mastered by Benjamin Lawrence at Chameleon (Hamburg)
Art by BRUTE!
Layout by Chris Zander

Artist photos by Bobby Talamine

TOUR DATES
03/06 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
03/07 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03/08 Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
03/09 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
03/10 Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl
03/11 Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg Midtown Arts CEnter
03/12 Boston, MA – Royale
03/14 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater & Ballroom
03/15 Chicago, IL – Metro Chicago
03/16 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/Eagles Club
03/17 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
03/18 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
03/20 Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater
03/21 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
03/22 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
03/23 San Diego, CA – The Observatory
03/24 Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco Theater
03/25 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
03/27 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
03/28 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile


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Fallujah Commemorates 'The Flesh Prevails' with 10th Anniversary Edition and North American Tour

Technical Death Metal artisans Fallujah have announced their plans today to mark a decade of their seminal, landscape-changing album 'The Flesh Prevails' with a remastered 10th-anniversary edition remixed and remastered by Zack Ohren, set for release on July 5th, 2024 available on all formats, via Unique Leader Records. To further celebrate this milestone, the band has also announced the massive, 30-date The Flesh Prevails 10th Anniversary North American Tour this summer featuring support from Persefone, Vulvodynia, and Dawn of Ouroboros.

Jamie Graham of Unique Leader Records reflects on the album's impact: "'The Flesh Prevails' shook the Technical Death Metal world by storm on its initial 2014 release and remains one of the most revered albums in our catalogue. Fallujah’s pioneering hybrid of ethereal, epic soundscapes weaved into their intricacies created a record that stood alone as a supreme body of work. 10 years on, the record feels fresher and more essential than ever. A remaster from the golden ears of Zack Ohren took this superb album to an even higher level."

Fallujah share: “This summer we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of our sophomore album 'The Flesh Prevails'. We will be performing the album in its entirety, featuring songs that have never before been played live. Joining us are torch-bearers of atmospheric prog Persefone, South African slam lords Vulvodynia, and the ever-ethereal Dawn of Ouroboros; we couldn’t ask for a better way to welcome another decade of Fallujah.”

The Flesh Prevails 10th Anniversary Tour will hit the road on Friday, July 5th in Atlanta, GA and will hit a further 28 cities across North America before culminating In Nashville, TN on August 3rd. Full routing below, tickets will go on sale on March 15th at 12am local HERE.

Fallujah | The Flesh Prevails 10th Anniversary Tour

W/ Persefone, Vulvodynia and Dawn of Ouroboros

Fri | 5-Jul | The Masquerade (Hell), Atlanta, GA

Sat | 6-Jul | Hangar 1819, Greensboro, NC

Sun | 7-Jul | Dingbatz, Clifton NJ

Mon | 8-Jul | Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

Tue | 9-Jul | Sonia, Boston, MA

Wed | 10-Jul | Empire Underground, Albany, NY

Thu | 11-Jul | Foufounes Électriques, Montreal, QC

Fri | 12-Jul | Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON

Sat | 13-Jul | Reggies, Chicago, IL

Sun | 14-Jul | Skyway Theater - Studio B, Minneapolis, MN

Mon | 15-Jul | Park Theater, Winnipeg, MB

Tue | 16-Jul | The Exchange, Regina, SK

Wed | 17-Jul | The Starlite Room, Edmonton, AB

Thu | 18-Jul | Day Off

Fri | 19-Jul | El Corazon, Seattle, WA

Sat | 20-Jul | Hawthorne Theater, Portland, OR

Sun | 21-Jul | Goldfield Trading Post, Roseville, CA

Mon | 22-Jul | Neck Of The Woods, San Francisco, CA

Tue | 23-Jul | Full Circle Brewery District, Fresno, CA

Wed | 24-Jul | 1720, Los Angeles, CA

Thu | 25-Jul | Brick by Brick, San Diego, CA

Fri | 26-Jul | Backstage Bar, Las Vegas, NV

Sat | 27-Jul | Nile Underground, Mesa, AZ

Sun | 28-Jul | Launchpad, Albuquerque, NM

Mon | 29-Jul | Granada Theater, Dallas, TX

Tue | 30-Jul | Come and Take it Live, Austin, TX

Wed | 31-Jul | White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX

Thu | 1-Aug | House of Rock, Corpus Christi, TX

Fri | 2-Aug | Southport Music Hall, New Orleans, LA

Sat | 3-Aug | Eastside Bowl, Nashville TN

The anniversary edition and tour are testaments to Fallujah’s enduring legacy, promising fans a refreshed experience of an album that has been a beacon for technical mastery and genre-defying artistry.

Fans can pre-order 'The Flesh Prevails' 10th-anniversary edition starting today HERE and gear up for a tour that will bring Fallujah's expansive sonic universe to life.

The Plot In You Release New Single + Music Video "Don't Look Away" via Fearless Records

Ohio-based powerhouse The Plot In You have released their crushingly-heavy latest banger "Don't Look Away" and the accompanying official music video. Prior to today, the band released "Closure", which is climbing the charts and rising into the Top 40 at Active Rock radio. Both tracks can be found on the band's forthcoming EP 'Vol. 2', out on Friday, May 3rd (via Fearless Records). Speaking about "Don't Look Away", vocalist Landon Tewers shared:

“'Don't Look Away' is a collection of thoughts and feelings about the human experience living in our current world. Dealing with one's personal convictions and strife while comparing the suffering of others."

Stream "Don't Look Away" here, watch the music video below, and pre-save 'Vol. 2' here.

North American fans have their chance to see the band's incredible live show with Beartooth, Invent Animate and Sleep Theory on the final days of this tour. For ticket information please click here.

North American Tour 2024 Dates:

Mar 8: Chicago, IL @ Riviera (Sold Out)

Mar 9: Madison, WI @ The Sylvee (Sold Out)

Mar 10: Sauget, IL @ Pop's (Sold Out)

Mar 12: Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room (Sold Out)

Mar 13: Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works (Sold Out) 

Mar 14: Fort Wayne, IN @ The Clyde Theater

Photo Credit - Wyatt Clough

Through balancing even the most extreme dynamics, The Plot In You consistently overturn and upend expectations. On any given track, it might seem like they’re about to go one way, but the band will turn on a dime and shift course before the crowd can even catch a breath. This uncanny element of surprise has entrenched the gold-selling Ohio quartet—Landon Tewers [vocals], Josh Childress [guitar], Ethan Yoder [bass], and Michael Cooper [drums] — on the cutting edge of heavy music. Whether it be threads of alternative, electronic, pop, or R&B, nothing is off limits, and everything is fair game for their creative process. That process has continued to morph. Following a series of fan-favorite releases, the band made major waves with DISPOSE [2018]. “FEEL NOTHING” surged on social media as a viral phenomenon, generating hundreds of millions of streams and picking up a gold certification from the RIAA. The musicians only maintained this momentum with Swan Song in 2021. Hysteria rated it “9-out-of-10”. Simultaneously, they sold out shows coast-to-coast. During 2023, the band kickstarted another era with Vol. 1. “Divide” generated 9 million Spotify streams right out of the gate followed by “Left Behind”, exploding to the tune of 15.9 million Spotify streams. Upon the arrival of “Forgotten”, Revolver praised it among the “6 Best New Songs Right Now.” They only continue to challenge convention by extending this three-song EP series with Vol. 2 [Fearless Records].

SKELETAL REMAINS Shares Instrumental Play-Through for "Verminous Embodiment," New Album 'Fragments of the Ageless' Out NOW

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American death metal purveyors SKELETAL REMAINS are now celebrating the release of their latest opus, 'Fragments of the Ageless,' with a searing instrumental play-through for the single, "Verminous Embodiment." The clip can be found below.

The band explains that instrumental version is going back to the original idea of the song, “With ‘Verminous Embodiment,’ we originally wanted to do something a little more chaotic and over the top with the original intentions for the song to be an instrumental. But, as the writing process continued, we kept hearing a vocal pattern being sung over the groovy verse riff, so the inspiration for lyrics soon followed after. Heavily inspired by an episode of 'The X-Files' entitled ‘Home.'"

"Verminous Embodiment" is taken from the band's latest opus, 'Fragments of the Ageless,' which has just arrived today, March 8, via Century Media Records! The album is now available HERE.

In addition, SKELETAL REMAINS is currently on the road in the states for a special West Coast run of album release shows! The trek arrive in Los Angeles, CA tonight for a very a special homecoming celebration! The trek will then conclude on March 10 in Las Vegas, NV. The full itinerary can be found below while tickets are available HERE.

"'Fragments Of The Ageless' is a gargantuan effort that is bound to spur gatekeeping purists to uncross their arms and start banging their heads like it's 1993." - Blabbermouth

"The record is sonically incredible, and I don’t believe that there’s a weak track in the bunch." - Decibel Magazine

"...dragging their collective caskets through the underworld, before barnburners of a guitar solo bring the songs to epic climaxes, returning to their flesh-ripping sonic assault without taking a breath." - Heavy Music HQ

"...this is some maximalist ass-kick metal born from the tropes of a genre older than I am and yet Skeletal Remains is proof positive of what’s still possible after these four-ish decades, after refining and polishing, cutting to form and sharpening to a honed edge." - Lambgoat

"With plenty of dense blasting, killer solos, and just the right amount of melodic leads, Skeletal Remains has a little bit of everything for the death metal fan." - Metal Trenches

Photo by Allen Falcon

Skeletal Remains’s ultra-brutal new album, Fragments of the Ageless, is upon us! The Americans—featuring Mike De La O (guitars), Chris Monroy (guitars/vocals), Pierce Williams (drums), and newcomer Brian Rush (bass)—kept busy after their much-hailed The Entombment of Chaos landed into a chaotic world in 2020. Rather than sit idle, the re-energized quartet crafted their penultimate statement. Tracks like “Void of Despair,” which Monroy describes as “aggressive and spastic,” “To Conquer the Devout,” “Relentless Appetite,” and “Verminous Embodiment” are death metal manifested in sound fundamentals, killer musicianship, and the right attitude. While Skeletal Remains have had four full-lengths since forming in 2011, Fragments of the Ageless is the band in their highest grotesque gear yet.

“With every record, we try to push ourselves to make a better record,” Monroy says. “We don’t get into, ‘We need to sound more like this or that.’ What comes out of us is natural. Actually, that’s how it’s been since the first record [Beyond the Flesh]. As death metal fans, we write what we enjoy and want to listen to. Having Pierce and Brian join the band played a big part in the new album. They live in Portland, and the rest of the band is in Los Angeles, so there’s a bit of a gap, but we use technology a lot when we write. They gave us a fresh set of ears.”

The principal songwriting for Fragments of the Ageless started during the pandemic but picked up considerable steam once the band were back on the road in 2022, where they played countless shows and festivals in the U.S., Europe, South America, Central America, and Australia. With Pierce and Brian fully in the fold, Monroy and De La O found themselves, in a way, back to square one, namely the “entire band effort” that comprised their 2012 debut, Beyond the Flesh. The savage DNA of Skeletal Remains is intact, but it’s been altered—no, improved!—iteratively to attack more, devour absolutely, and technically inspire. Tracks like video singles “Void of Despair,” “To Conquer the Devout,” “Relentless Appetite,” as well as deeper album cuts “Forever in Sufferance,” “Verminous Embodiment,” and “Unmerciful” are ravenous.

“It’s more brutal than the last one,” says Monroy. “We were pushing ourselves to be more extreme—vibing on that as much as possible. Obviously, we’re not tech-death now, but I think we took inspiration from the techier side of things. We took things up a notch and dialed in on the technicality and ever-increasing intensity while maintaining catchiness. We still have songs like ‘Eternal Hatred’ [from The Entombment of Chaos]. There’s always room for super-simple mid-paced songs in Skeletal Remains. On one end, we’ve increased in density and brutality; on the other, we wrote a few songs with longer and more ‘epic’ structures. 'Fragments' is simply the next evolutionary step in our sound.”

Lyrically, Skeletal Remains took the left-hand path. Rather than topics and themes inspiring the cover art, Dan Seagrave’s (Suffocation, Entombed, et al.) famously atramentous detail conversely informed the lyrics and album title. Monroy says they had working titles that they conveyed to Seagrave, but the final painting sparked the title, Fragments of the Ageless. Of course, the usual influx of sci-fi, historical, personal struggles, and fantastical also played a part.

“Seagrave completed the cover art before we had a title,” Monroy says. “That was kind of weird, but it worked in our favor. The cover art directly inspired a few of the lyrics and musical themes, tying multiple pieces together, which is a first for us. We did show him different pieces of art—10 in all, I think—that we liked, so there was direction. We wanted a mixture of things, with the final idea being a creature being taken apart and its DNA extracted. Seagrave’s crazy brain made it all come to life.”

Skeletal Remains recorded Fragments of the Ageless at various home and professional studios. Most of the guitars, bass, and solos were tracked DIY. The band wanted the drums to sound as imposing as possible, so they booked Trench Studios (Intronaut, Hirax) with John Haddad, while the vocals were cut at Birdcage Studios with Allen Falcon (Pestilent Death). Once the album’s core had been recorded, Monroy and the team sent their sick slab to Swedish studio ace Dan Swanö (Asphyx, Incantation) for mixing and mastering. If the blistering leads of “Void of Despair” and “Verminous Embodiment” don’t impress, then check out the blasting drums of “Cybernetic Harvest” and “Relentless Appetite.”

“Dan really gets it,” says Monroy. “He’ll send us mixes, and he’ll automatically add stuff like effects and little details throughout the back and forth. He knows what we want before we can tell him. Dan understands what we’re going for. There’s mutual understanding and respect. Of course, he’s been mixing and mastering for a long time and has made a name for himself, but we’re really happy with the production on 'Fragments.' It jumps out at you.”

Monroy says the band’s goal with Fragments of the Ageless is to continue death metal’s lineage—to honor the past and present. The future, however, is lined with more touring and festivals. Having just come off a stateside run with Suffocation and Incantation late last year, Skeletal Remains are poised to ravage more of the world, with high-profile slots at Wacken (Germany) and Alcatraz (Belgium) festivals already secured.

Death… Is just the beginning with Skeletal Remains’s Fragments of the Ageless.

Line-up:

Chris Monroy - guitars/vocals

Mike De La O - guitars

Pierce Williams - drums

Brian Rush - bass

Album Art:

Dan Seagrave

Album Title Logo:

Kyle Bowen

Bio:

Chris Dick

'Fragments of the Ageless' Formats:

Ltd. CD Digipak

Ltd. Gatefold transp. magenta LP

Ltd. Gatefold lemon colored LP (300x) available at cmdistro.de and Evil Greed

Ltd. Gatefold transp. light blue LP (300x) available at cmdistro.de and various other retailers

Ltd. Gatefold Opaque Spring Green LP (US version)

Ltd. Gatefold Sunspot LP (500x) available from US Indie outlets and SKELETAL REMAINS

Digital album

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INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

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Kurt Deimer Unveils Official Music Video for Single "Dance"; On Tour Now, Featuring Shows Alongside Tesla!

Kurt Deimer's newest single, "Dance," released on March 1, 2024, is a testament to resilience and the ability to find inspiration in challenging circumstances. The single is a precursor to his highly anticipated debut album, And So It Begins..,slated for release later this year.

Today, Kurt unveiled the eagerly awaited music video, a visual masterpiece captured against the stunning backdrop of a Los Angeles rooftop. Directed by the visionary Kurt Deimer himself, the video seamlessly weaves together captivating imagery and dynamic visuals.

WATCH Kurt Deimer - "Dance" (Official Video) Below

STREAM "DANCE" HERE

Kurt comments about the single, "I boarded a Southwest flight in January of 2022. It was a last minute flight, and I was crammed against a window for a 4 plus hours. I convinced myself to endure this flight I was gonna to write a killer song."

He continues, “'Dance' is about life. It has its ups and downs. Life can be quiet and serene. Then it can be turbulent and stormy. It can create a war within your mind, heart and soul. We all have to teach ourselves to dance through the good and bad in life. Enjoy life. Embrace life, escape negativity before it consumes us. Writing this song helped me escape a bad situation on this flight. I did not let the circumstances consume me. I wrote 'Dance' to get me through it."

Kurt's resilience in converting a challenging situation into a creative triumph exemplifies the transformative power of music. "Dance" is a reminder to cherish life's moments and embrace positivity.

In support of the single, Kurt is currently on tour with solo headline performances and special appearances alongside the legendary band, Tesla.

The tour announcement follows Deimer's recent successful single release "Doom," which captivated audiences worldwide with its innovative sound and soul-stirring lyrics. Renowned for his dynamic stage presence and ability to infuse passion into every performance, Kurt Deimer is set to raise the bar yet again with this upcoming tour.

Stay tuned for further updates and announcements regarding ticket sales, additional tour dates, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content by following Kurt Deimer'sofficial social media channels.

In a world that seems to be spiraling out of control, Kurt Deimer is a man with a very clear mission: Work Hard, Rock Hard, Play hard and Spread positivity. In fact, his mantra could be summed up: “Take the high road, do the right thing, encourage others.” It sounds like a tall order these days in a world full of warring factions. And it’s an unusual mission for a singer/songwriter vocalist whose music could be described as hard rock, even heavy metal – genres that are not always synonymous with positivity.

Deimer, for his part, describes his work as good old fashioned rock and roll. “And it’s as good a vehicle as any for spreading good vibes” he says. “I’m here to encourage others to treat people with respect, dignity and kindness,” he says. “I’ve been through a lot of things in my life and I try to share that with others and be a beacon of hope for my listeners.”

That positivity and perseverance has paid off for the native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He’s not only launched a movie franchise, Hellbilly Hollow, by filming and starring in a feature length horror film of the same name. He’s also recorded more than two dozen songs with legendary producer Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, James Brown and the Rolling Stones), his management team includes Brian Wheat, manager of TESLA who discovered him while opening for TESLA.

Chris Lord-Alge says he was drawn to Kurt’s originality as an artist. “I saw something completely different in Kurt, and that was the lure for me. He isn’t a typical rock or country artist – I love hearing him talk and narrating a story, and I was drawn to taking those stories and helping turn them into music. He’s a personality, he’s someone you want to talk to.”

Things have not always been positive in Deimer’s world. At age 20, as a young rock vocalist, he found himself in the grips of drug addiction. He later discovered he was using substances to medicate an underlying anxiety condition. At that young age, he quit drugs, got help for his anxiety and never looked back.

He eventually started buying and selling rental properties and used that money to start the first of several successful companies he owns. Despite making his mark in the business world, Deimer didn’t feel ready to settle down and “join the country club and play golf all day” – so at an age when most people start thinking about slowing down, he started to speed up.

Inspired by the artists that helped shape him – Boston, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley and AC/DC, to name just a few – he started writing song lyrics.

Inspired by his love of movies and acting roles in films including the 2018 ‘Halloween’ remake – where his character was killed by Michael Myers – and John Travolta’s ‘Trading Paint,’ he started hashing out a movie concept that became his eventual Hellbilly Hollow feature film and franchise.

Deimer has supported Geoff Tate on an expansive cross-country tour that highlighted material from his debut EP, that came out on November 19, 2021, which includes a duet with Tate and a trilogy of music videos directed by Scottish filmmaker Paul Boyd [Sting, Deadmau5, The Cult] that spotlight Deimer’s cinematic vision and charismatic presence. Along with many other supporting shows including TESLA, Drowning Pool and Yngwie Malmsteen all this within the first two years of touring.

For Deimer, the inspiration is to make the world a better place one song at a time, singing about the ills of the 21st century and offering solutions instead of excuses. “When people listen to my music, I want to help them decompress and feel better after a brutal day. That’s what music always did for me, and that’s what we need more of today.”

Kurt Deimer Tour Dates:

3-08 Epic Event Ctr in Green Bay, WI with Tesla
3-12 Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN with Tesla
3-13 DPAC in Durham, NC with Tesla
3-15 Zen West in Baltimore, MD
3-16 MGM NORTHFIELD in Northfield, OH with Tesla
3-17 The Blue Note in Harrison, OH with Texas Hippie Coalition
3-22 Cosmic Eye Brewing in Lincoln, NE
3-23 Bigs Bar in Sioux Falls, SD
3-24 The Marquee in Sioux City, IA
5-29 Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs, CO with Tesla
5-31 HOB in Dallas, TX with Tesla
6-01 HOB in Dallas, TX with Tesla
6-04 ACL Live in Austin, TX with Tesla
6-05 The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, TX with Tesla
6-07 HOB in Houston, TX with Tesla
6-08 The Fillmore in New Orleans, LA with Tesla
6-11 Mission Ballroom in Denver, CO with Tesla

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