VOYAGER Premieres Guitar Play Through for "Dreamer," Announces Signature Beer and Meet & Greet Contest

Guitar duo Simone Dow & Scott Kay of Perth's premier electro power prog sensation VOYAGER are now sharing a joint guitar play-through for the band's new song, "Dreamer!" The single has been selected to compete in prestigious song contest, Eurovision - Australia Decides! Watch the play-through, which was filmed by Mike Dann at Hopping Mouse Studios, at THIS LOCATION.

In addition, VOYAGER is now announcing their very own signature beer along with a very special contest! ‘𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙮' is a juicy IPA brewed by Bright Tank Brewery and will go on sale on February 23 at THIS LOCATION! The band and brewery have also partnered with Lumber Punk Axe Throwing for a very special contest. With every purchase of ‘𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙠𝙮,' fans can grab a chance to join the band for an axe-throwing session courtesy of Lumber Punks Axe Throwing, and then on to Bright Tank to drink beer and do a meet and greet with all members of Voyager! More info can be found HERE.


VOYAGER has also recently premiered the official music video for "Dreamer," which can be seen THIS LOCATION.


For several years, VOYAGER has been petitioning to be selected as one of Australia's musical representatives in Eurovision - Australia Decides. After being shortlisted in the previous year's competition, the band has finally been tapped to represent Western Australia, making it the first time that the region has hope of winning the Eurovision title! The band will soon reveal the song that has been selected in the contest!

"Dreamer" can be streamed HERE.

"Integrating new-romantic 80s vocals against intricate textures of flashy synth, technical Opeth-esque riffs and ambient soundscapes, Voyager are a genre-defying cosmic melting pot of prog metal, djent and power pop." - Metal Hammer

In 2020, VOYAGER's music video for "Runaway" was exclusively premiered via 'Eurovision - Australia Decides!' Following an application via the Song Portal, the band finally received recognition for submitting a track and were paid tribute on the live television broadcast that aired on Saturday, February 8 on the Gold Coast. The can be seen at THIS LOCATION.

The song was taken from VOYAGER's 2019 release 'Colours in the Sun,' which received a wealth of international accolades. Recently, the single "Brightstar" was the first place winner in the Rock / Alternative category of the USA songwriting contest! Last year, 'Colours in the Sun' was the winner of The Independent Music Award in the Rock/Hard Rock Album category. The record was released in November of 2019 and landed a coveted #1 placement on the Australian Independent Albums chart! 'Colours in the Sun' also debuted at #7 on Independent Label Albums as well as #27 on Official iTunes Australia.

'Colours in the Sun' can be downloaded and streamed HERE.

Since their 1999 formation, whatever genre norms, boundaries and regulations thrust upon Perth, Australia’s Voyager have been smashed. They embrace, if not brandish pop; employ a keytar on stage, and, bring forward a positive, if not uplifting feeling to their music, running head-first into the endless parade of heavy bands who see the world in a different light. It’s perhaps why the title of their seventh full-length and first for Season of Mist, Colours in the Sun, is apropos: Voyager simply prefers to see the bright side of things.

“Observations of the malaises of the modern world and the baffling obsession with purity and difference all make me think,” says frontman and founding member Danny Estrin. “We’ve never had it better and we’ve never had it more colorful. To me that’s progress, it’s adaptation, it’s evolution and it’s astounding.”

The follow-up to 2017’s Ghost Mile, Colours in the Sun finds Voyager enmeshed in rich, melodic, song-first tapestries, led by Estrin’s smooth, capable clean vocal delivery. Estrin is self-aware of his vocals, calling them “unique and ‘80s.” But whatever tag Estrin affixes to his voice, they are the propellent throughout Colours in the Sun, serving up a steady diet of soaring, emotive choruses, where melody is paramount and along the way, even getting some help from another distinctive belter, Leprous’s Einar Solberg on “Entropy.”

“Einar and I became good friends on our tours through Europe and Australia,” notes Estrin. “I couldn’t help but ask him to guest on the album. He is a fantastic musician and vocalist. I sent him a reference track which he swiftly ignored and laid his own tracks down. The result is stunning!”

The kaleidoscope of sounds that comprise the album’s ten cuts is the result of Voyager’s far-reaching influences, many of which go beyond the traditional realms of metal and rock. Estrin calls it “catchy at the top, proggy at the bottom, as if Dream Theater and Depeche Mode had a baby.” It’s almost as if the term “progressive” is too limiting for Voyager, particularly when the guitar tandem of Simone Dow and Scott Kay merge for complex rhythms while doing battle against Estrin’s vaudeville-like keyboards (!) on “Reconnected.”

The “proggy at the bottom” notice is served by way of the rhythm section of bassist Alex Canion and drummer Ashley Doodkorte, who stretch their musical tentacles across busy, active cuts such as “Saccharine Dream” and the syncopated “Water Over the Bridge.” “I think we found our ‘voice’ on V (2014) and have been building on that ever since,” says Estrin. “The synthwave prog sound is really something that has naturally developed and has been refined even more on the new album. Every record is progress — that’s what progressive music is all about!”

According to Estrin, the Colours in the Sun album title encompasses a “vibrant multitude of people coming together under the hot Australian sun to create a beautiful and colorful soundscape.” It’s capped off by artwork courtesy of Doodkorte, who made the piece out of photographs near his house in Perth. A closer inspection reveals there are seven suns on the cover, one for each Voyager album, topped off by an updated version of the band’s logo comprised of five strokes, one for each member. No doubt a fitting visual summation of a band whose progress can be the described in the most literal and figurative of terms.

“It’s been a slow steady growth over the years,” concludes Estrin. “Other bands come and go after a year of fame. I really feel like we’ve built up an incredible fanbase, especially over the last decade, and the deal with Season of Mist seemed the logical step to take it to the next level together.”

Style: Electro Progressive Metal

Line-up
Danny Estrin - Vocals
Simone Dow - Guitars
Alex Canion - Bass
Scott Kay - Guitars
Ash Doodkorte - Drums

Recording studio:
Sumo Studios - Drums
Templeman Audio - Guitars and Bass

Producer / sound engineer:
Aidan Barton - Vocal Producer

Mixing studio and engineer:
Matthew Templeman
Fraser Cringle (assistant engineer)

Mastering studio and engineer:
Simon Struthers

Guest musicians:
Einar Solberg from LEPROUS on ‘Entropy’.

Cover artwork artist:
Ashley Doodkorte

Bio:
David E. Gehlke

Shop: https://smarturl.it/Voyagerinthesun
Download/stream 'Colours in the Sun': https://som.lnk.to/Voyagerinthesun
Download/stream "Dreamer": https://orcd.co/voyagerdreamer

Available formats:
CD Digipak
LP in various colours

For more on VOYAGER, visit the band's official FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, WEBSITE, and BANDCAMP.

HEILUNG Announces Signature Mead and Beer

Enigmatic world music outfit HEILUNG are proud to announce their personally created, limited edition mead and beer! The specially developed signature beverages, which were created in collaboration with mead developer Mjødgård and beer brewery Nevel, are now available HERE.

HEILUNG comments:
"It´s feasting time! We wish you all a pleasant autumn equinox, the time where we reap what we have sown and enjoy the bounty of the harvest. This year, we have a special sort of harvest to share with you: Our very first batch of our very own ALU and MJØDR. We have always liked the idea of creating a beer and a mead, and thanks to our dear collaborators in Doomstar Bookings it all got set in motion this year. The choice of breweries landed on one of the oldest Danish mead breweries Mjødgård and the well renowned Dutch beer brewers Nevel Wild Ales. Please note: This is by no means a cheap, mass-produced product with a band logo on top, this is something we have been developing after our own taste for quite some time, and pored all our love into, like with everything we do. Skåååååål!"

Doomstar Bookings comments on the collaboration:
"Doomstar Bookings is utterly proud to unveil a project that combines two of our passions; music and tasty thirst quenchers! Upon touring together late 2019 with Heilung, the idea was put forward to create a Heilung beer. That idea started a life of its own and resulted in two beautiful products, the Heilung beer named Alu and the Heilung mead named Mjøðr, respectively created by the Dutch (award winning) artisanal ale expert Nevel and the renowned Danish meadery Mjødgård Bryggeri. Both have created an excellent alcoholic beverage that totally fits the artist's flavour desires and their historical image. A limited amount of 3500 75CL bottles of this herbalized saison tripel beer and 1100 70CL bottles of the herbalized honey wine will be released to the world this autumn equinox through our partners at Spirits for Rock, we hope you can get spiritual after indulging in this amplified tastery!"

Mead developer Mjødgård comments:
"Mjødgård develops mead from passion. We look back in time for inspiration, and we want to show that mead is modern and, as then, still a luxurious drink. Making Heilung mead with the band's historical and natural inspiration are completely in line with Mjødgård. To combine the essence of Heilung with our modern mead we had to use Meadow Sweet as the main spice, with its roots dating back to the Bronze Age, combined with hemp, with its thousands of years of history. Nature is our greatest source why our ingredients are all local. We want to support the preservation of biodiversity. We are therefore really proud to present a mead that builds a bridge between the world of the past and the present."

Beer developer Nevel comments:
"Yup, that's right! We were asked to brew for a neofolk band! Doomstar Bookings approached us, asking whether we wanted to make a traditional Scandinavian beer for Heilung, a band known for reviving traditional Scandinavian music. We could not say 'no' to that. We are very honoured to work together with these amazing artists and we are quite proud of the result. Alu was meant to be a crowd pleaser and we knew the band enjoyed drinking Belgian classics. They opted us to work with historical herbs and ingredients. For this beer, we used a traditional Scandinavian blend of herbs (with a.o. wild bog myrtle and meadowsweet), we added caramelized honey of beekeeper Stevns and we used a traditional Belgian Saison yeast. This boils down to a floral, thirst quencing, crushable beer. This beer is different to what you are used to, especially as this is a first time for us not to use our own house culture. We wanted to make more space for Scandinavian history."

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In celebration of the collaboration, Season of Mist & HEILUNG created special and extremely limited hand-made 'mead cups', which are available in three different colours. These cups are available via the shop HERE.

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ICYMI: following an extremely successful first ever tour of North America, in which every venue sold out, HEILUNG are returning to the states for one spectacular evening! The Danish formation will be bringing their mesmerizing ritual to the historic, century-old Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, CO on October 5, 2021. Tickets for the 2020 show will be honored at the new date. For every ticket sold, One Tree Planted will plant a tree in Colorado. You can purchase tickets HERE.

HEILUNG live:
10/05/2021: Denver, CO (USA) @ Red Rocks Amphitheater [TICKETS]

"Ofnir" was a very masculine album. To create it, HEILUNG took a big part of the lyrics from preserved rune inscriptions on weapons and armour. "Futha" is the counterpart, the balance point, the feminine side. Here, the lyrics originate from old Icelandic poetry, in which the holy women chant magic spells and offer their blessings. Hence, female voices are more prominent on "Futha".

HEILUNG means "healing" in the German language and this also describes the core of the band's sound. The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent.

HEILUNG reach far back in time to the Northern European iron age and Viking period to create their sound experience. The band utilises many means in their songs: from running water via human bones, reconstructed swords and shields up to ancient frame drums as well as bronze rings.

When HEILUNG self-released 'Ofnir' in 2015, the Danish band could hardly have anticipated the breakthrough success of their debut album. Spectacular live shows, strong critical acclaim, and a massive underground buzz added to the constantly high demand for this full-length are the reason why their new label Season of Mist did not hesitate to re-issue 'Ofnir' in several collector's edition formats. HEILUNG's live album, 'LIFA' (2017) was released in parallel.

The word "Futha" is taken from an artefact, that is still controversially discussed. Big names in runology like Düwel and Heizmann can agree neither on the deciphering nor the meaning of the description.…The word is engraved in a gold bracteate from Skåne (SE), which was produced around 500-530 AD. It was discovered in 1831 and these medals or coins were divided into different categories by the Swedish archaeologist Oscar Montelius. The bracteate in question is a so-called C-bracteate named Schonen II-C (Schonen is the German Name of Skåne) with a horse and a face. The rune inscription is between the hind-legs of the horse. Interesting to mention here is the fact that the majority of full rune set inscriptions start with "futh", which also is the first three letters in all runic alphabets. It is considered that our forefathers saw magic potential in engraving the full rune line, but there is also great significance in the beginnings. Science has no key for the meaning of only engraving the first couple of letters yet, but there is a surplus of theories. This brings us to a runic staff found in Bergen, which was given the rather unpoetic archaeological classification B011. It carries the inscription: "felleg er fuþ sin bylli Fuþorglbasm", which means: "Lovely is the cunt, may the cock fill it up". Also interesting is that the Högstena amulet, which we use in the song "Galgaldr", has an alternative deciphering of the word "futh", which in this context means "cunt". All this leaves us with two hints: magic potential and the female genitalia. The great healing power of the female wild strength is evoked in "Futha". Those who have been present at a birth or seen a lioness hunting, know the spirit. The spirit of the "wilde Weiber" (German), the wild wise women. "Futha" endeavours to connect to a time before the female was degraded to a birth-machine and carrier of eternal inherited guilt. 

"Futha" was three years in the making and was finished for production and print at midwinter, the very darkest day of the solar year, the 21st in the 12th month at 21:00.

Any attempt to link the band with or bring their music into a modern political or religious context is pointless, since HEILUNG try to connect their listeners with a time before the coming of Christianity and modern political ideologies. 

Line-up:
Kai Uwe Faust 
Christopher Juul
Maria Franz

www.facebook.com/amplifiedhistory
www.instagram.com/amplifiedhistory
https://som.lnk.to/HeilungFutha

Style: Amplified History / Neofolk

Booking contact: luc@doomstarbookings.com

Shop SoM: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/Heilung
Shop Heilung: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/heilung-tvm-shop

Available formats
Digipak CD
CD sew bound hardcover book
Gatefold double LP in various colours
Deluxe gatefold double LP Box (male/female edition)
Cassette

New Music + Videos From Employed To Serve

EMPLOYED TO SERVE RELEASE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR "MARK OF THE GRAVE"

NEW STUDIO ALBUM CONQUERING OUT SEPTEMBER 17 VIA SPINEFARM — PRE-ORDER HERE

Employed To Serve have released the music video for their latest single "Mark Of The Grave." Check it out

"Mark Of The Grave" is the second single from the forthcoming album, Conquering, and demonstrates the band at their most metal yet. The video is a trip, to say the least...

"With this video we just wanted to have fun," says frontwoman Justine Jones. "After months of being cooped up inside, we wanted to focus on a project that was more light-hearted. We shot the music video at Miracle Theatre in Cornwall with director Ryan Mackfall. The theatre was kind enough to give us free reign of their studio and stage costumes. Everything was shot in front of a green screen to maximize the opportunity to have fun with the edit. We then sent over a few notes to VFX artist Nadav Rotem and assistant Jake Potter, as soon as they came back with Sammy doing a solo on a flying, flaming skull, I knew it was going to be my favorite video — it's wild and we love it."

Conquering releases on September 17 and is Employed To Serve's second full-length album on Spinefarm.

Drawing influence from the music of their youth and a new perspective on how to nurture the positive aspects of humanity and individual growth, Conquering is a celebration and acknowledgement of triumph in the face of a world that can be relentlessly adversarial. The band began recording the album in the "unforgiving winter" of 2020; produced and mixed by Lewis Johns at The Ranch, Southampton, mastered by Grant Berry at Fader Mastering, Employed To Serve took the time thrown at them by a world stopped still to write their most visceral material to date.

Pre-orders are live, with an instant download of singles, "Exist" and "Mark Of The Grave,” plus special bundle options.

ABOUT EMPLOYED TO SERVE:

Employed to Serve's origins are essentially humble, with the core duo of Justine Jones (vocals) and Sammy Urwin (guitar/vocals) initially starting the band as a two-piece grindcore project backed by a drum machine. Early experiences on the UK festival scene expanded their horizons and perceptions of what weightier music could be. Seeing heavy-hitters such as Converge, Meshuggah, and Glassjaw alongside smaller but no less important acts like Rolo Tomassi, Veils, and The Chariot inspired the duo to develop their vision. 2014's Change Nothing Regret Everything EP operated as a stepping stone into full band territory, before 2015's critically acclaimed debut album, Greyer Than You Remember, became their calling card, followed up two years later by The Warmth of a Dying Sun, then their 2019 Spinefarm debut Eternal Forward Motion. Employed to Serve have already proved themselves as a searingly intense and honest live experience, sharing bills with the cream of the crop of modern heavy music, including Code Orange, Bury Tomorrow, Stick To Your Guns, Loathe, Counterparts, and Underoath. They’ve also decimated stages at some of the UK and Europe's leading music festivals, the likes of Download, Glastonbury, Graspop, and Hellfest. And the accolades are unstoppable; from their Kerrang! Album of the Year win back in 2017, achieving the assumed impossible with a KKKKKK (yes, that is 6 K's!) live review, landing in Metal Hammer's reader and staff Top 10 Album polls, and a 2020 sold-out Underworld performance, to a plethora of cover features across Music Week, Metro Weekend, Upset, and Kerrang!, Employed to Serve are unflinching at the forefront of metal innovation.

VREID Releases Video for Song "Milorg," Announces Signature Beer and Historic Live Show

Milorg - In the mountains of Sognametal (Official Music Video) taken from the live streaming session in Sogndalsdalen June 13th 2020. Video made by: Håvard N...

In the beginning of June, Norwegian hard rock icons VREID streamed a unique live performance that took place against the backdrop of the mountains in their hometown of Sogndal, Norway. The stream was an immense success with over 130,000 people viewers across the globe! Now, the band has partnered with Ghost Cult Magazine to release the video clip for the song "Milorg," which is the titled track from their WWII themed record of the same name

In addition to the video, VREID will be reopening the concert scene in Oslo (NO) on August 15, 2020! The historic performance will take place at the legendary Rockefeller venue and will be the first metal show in the city since the Covid-19 closure. The show sold out immediately and due to the demand, a second show has been added.

On this night, VREID will also launch their very own signature beer, which has been crafted by the band’s guitarist Stian “Strom” Bakketeig and Balder Brewery. 

Moreover, the band has finished material for the follow up to 2018's 'Lifehunger!' The new record will be released via Season of Mist during the first half of 2021. The band will enter the studio in early autumn and reports that the spirit in the band is stronger and darker than ever before. The Nordic flame burns stronger year by year!

The band comments:
“It’s strange and weird times for everyone. For Vreid, we have done as we always do, march onwards. I have been working hard on new material for the last months. Started working new stuff last year, but in the last few months things have fallen into place, and we will go into studio soon. I have such a great feeling for the new material, expect an early 2021 release and expect a dark and raw brew.

“Talking about brew, in August we launch our own Vreid Beer. It’s a cooperation with our local Balder Brewery, and its crafted by our own beer wizard Stian. We launch the beer when we do 2 shows at Rockefeller in Oslo on August 15. This will be the first metal show they do as part of their reopening, and we can’t wait to get back out that stage.

“But already this week things are happening as we release a video from the streaming session we did at my mountain farm. The response was completely overwhelming, so we decided to release a video for the track ‘Milorg’ for you. During autumn and winter we will have plenty of new and old (::wink::) news for you all. Fingers crossed that we can return to touring in 2021 as well. Stay strong, act reasonable and enjoy metal.” 
 

Earlier this year, VREID announced their participation in the prestigious "Songs That Changed the World" project. The band were commissioned by the Nobel Peace Center and Inferno Metal Festival to interpret and cover a song about freedom of expression. The event was slated to take place at the Nobel Peace Center on April 7, 2020, but has been postponed due to the pandemic. The new date is TBD.

'Lifehunger,' which was released in September 2018. Listen to the full album HERE.

VREID were formed in 2004. The Norwegian metal brigade rose from the ashes of WINDIR after the tragic perishing of the "Sognametal" legends with the declared mission of exploring new musical paths.
 
The Norsemen proved true to their words and have so far delivered 7 albums and one DVD, which each received high praise from critics and fans alike. VREID chose a course of constant evolution that is marked by thematically denoted phases regarding their often historically inspired lyrics.
 
This became particularly clear with albums 'I Krig' (2007) and 'Milorg' (2009), which both revolved around concepts dealing with resistance and liberation of Norway during World War II. With their following three records, VREIDreturned to their Norse roots, especially on latest full-length, 'Sólverv' which received high critical acclaim in 2015.
 
VREID have hammered out their success partly by being a heavily touring band. The four-piece performed more than 500 shows in 25 countries so far. Their everlasting march to conquer new territories has led the Norwegians to headline tours in Europe, North America, Japan, and India.
 
VREID's style is often referred to as black 'n roll and Metal Hammer UK described their music as "a unique time travel in metal" as elements of 70's rock, 80's classic metal, and Norwegian black metal are all clearly audible.
 
Now with eighth album 'Lifehunger', black 'n roll is back! With eight brand new tracks, VREID are ready for the next chapter.
 
Style: Norwegian Black 'n Roll
 
Line-up
Sture: Vocals & guitars
Strom: Guitars
Steingrim: Drums
Hváll- Bass and keys
 
Guest Musician
Aðalbjörn 'Addi' Tryggvason (SÓLSTAFIR): vocals on “Hello Darkness”
 
Recording: Nabolaget studio
Producer: Jarle Hváll Kvåle / Anders Nordengen
Mix: Anders Nordengen, Nabolaget studio
Mastering: Ruben Willem
 
Cover art: Remi Juliebø of Deformat

Shop: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/VreidLifehunger


Available formats
Digipak CD
Vinyl LP in various colours

For more on VREID, visit their official FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and INSTAGRAMpages.

Spider Bite Brewery hits the mark with Ryeno

Ryeno is a rye barrel aged American barleywine. A great Long Island brewery collaboration between Destination Unknown Brewing Company and Spiderbite Brewery. Using barrels from LIV, A fantastic Long Island distillery. This barleywine (it's a beer not a wine) comes in at a nice 12% abv which is very good for storing away till next year or longer. I chose to open this bad boy now and I was rewarded with its nice dark brown barrel aged color. Having a spicy rye alcohol smell. The beginning taste is all fruit, I mostly tasted fig. You get the rye going down the throat not overbearing, a very nice finish. Although the longer I let it sit, the more intense the finish became.
If you get a chance to get your hands on this very limited brew, you won't be disappointed.
Keep on Day Drinking.