Review: THUNGUR – ‘No Going Back’ [Album Stream]

 

 

Thungur formed in Malmoe, Sweden as Bend And Break in 2014. The band has a hard hitting heavy rock sound that binds melodic soothing vocal tones and harsh rapid fire moments as well. Under the name Bend And Break they have two earlier releases available on streaming platforms. ‘The Village Sessions’ is a collection of old singles and the EP ‘The Cage’ was released in 2015. Fast forward to 2017 and the band has released their debut full length album as Thungur. ‘No Going Back’ is a 100% a DIY effort. It was tracked, produced and mixed by guitarist Bjorn Stegerling and bass player Roger Nielsen. The bulk of the album was recorded at Bjorn’s studio in Malmoe. Mastering and the cover design was completed by Bjorn as well. In addition to being the bands first full length it is also the bands first physical release.

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Review: VOIDS – ‘No Character : No Crown’ [Official Videos]

Voids hasn’t been in the game for a long time yet their sound suggests otherwise, beginning with the 2015 EP ‘As Above, So Below’ they already proved that they understand the deep roots of metalcore and with the 2017 release of ‘No Character : No Crown’ they have shown us that they only have improved ever since. Their new album offers a huge quality difference as well as a mature sounding character. With that being said, let’s get right into the review!

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State Of The Art – AWAKEN ANTAGONIST

Welcome back to a brand new State Of The Art, we decided to pick Alaska this month due to the crazy scene going on so let’s get started!

Awaken Antagonist is the very first band to be featured this month and it is a blend of the greatest parts of deathcore and metal. They have only released their debut (which is self titled) and recently they have released their first full album which goes by the name of ‘Shepherd Of Plagues’. It got out via bandcamp on the 28th of July and on their official youtube page on the 5th of September. The transition between the 2 music pieces are fenomenal, the debut is one of the best I have heard but their full album blows me away. They matured so much just after their first piece that it is almost unbelievable. Check the album art below (made by Art and Layout by Soul Asphyx Arts), it is violent!

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Into The Grave Spotlight: AMON AMARTH!

Raise your goddamn horns for the vikings of Death Metal Amon Amarth, they will be headlining next to Arch Enemy and Overkill on the second day of Into The Grave. They will add another layer of heaviness to the festival as well as (hopefully) bring a viking ship with them and ofcourse some beer!

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MIST OF MISERY Release Single Broken Chains From Upcoming EP!

 

Mist Of Misery is for sure one of the most unique Black Metal bands I have ever come across, they combine the best elements from some of the most beautiful aspects from Black Metal together and make it their own. While listening you will almost get overwhelmed by their diversity, you will hear some clear influences of depressive, atmospheric, symphonic and melodic black metal. It is crazy how these guys do it but it sounds insanely good. I have fallen in love with them right after the release of their 2016 album ‘Absence’. It moves you into this mood that you can’t explain in words, it is magical. You for sure need to check it out, I have linked it down below and you can also click on the album name right above.

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Into The Grave Spotlight: EMBER FALLS

Ember Falls is a Finnish metalcore band that I bet you haven’t heard about yet, if you have then you know what we are in for. They released their first ever single ”Shut Down With Me” on the 20th of August 2015 without a record label. As soon as people found out about the song they went crazy, the songwriting is exceptional and their sound is unique. Duo to this huge succes the record label Spinefarm / Universal Music Group got in touch with them and gave them a spot on their label. After this crazy start they decided to release their debut album ‘Welcome To Ember Falls’ and I got to tell you, I do feel very welcome. It got out on the 20th of February this year and it for sure got them higher into the game. (Listen to it on spotify HERE). I have never heard anything similar, really looking forward on hearing them at Into The Grave this August!

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State Of The Art: DAEDALVS

    *This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

                                                 This month’s State is North Carolina!

Today we are going to be talking about the death metal band Daedalvs from yet again North Carolina. They are a 4 piece band that consists of vocalist Pancho Mortem, drummer Aaron Charlton with assistance on the guitars from Spencer Starnes and Christian Chadwick. Daedalvs has been one of the most unique sounding upcoming bands I have ever seen. There is a lot of competition in the death metal scene but these guys push the boundries like no other band does, in no time they will be on the top! So far they have released 1 EP named ‘Apotheosis’, this masterpiece has been around since the 24th of February via the biggest death metal label SLAM WORLDWIDE. Just 4 days before this release they released their single ”God Machine” which is from that very same album, this song really got death metal fans talking about the band. For everyone that hasn’t heard of SLAM WORLDWIDE before I will introduce you to them real quick. As quoted by the owner the page is about ”ONE MAN PROMOTING MACHINE BRINGING YOU ONLY THE HEAVIEST UNDERGROUND MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD SINCE 2014.”. So any underground heavy band is welcome on this brutal page, luckily for us Daedalvs has claimed their spot and we can only hope for more awesome music!

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Review: MISS MAY I – ‘Shadows Inside’ [Official Videos]

Miss May I is a band everyone has heard of one way or another, they are almost impossible to miss out on. This soul touching metalcore band formed in 2007 and are from Ohio, America. They are mostly known for their powerful release ‘Vows For A Massacre’, this is an EP that features the song ”Apologies Are For The Weak” which got the band a spot on Rise Records. This song has also been included in the famous video game Saints Row: The Third! ‘Monument’ from the year 2010 is their debut album, this album peaked at 10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Besides that they have released 4 albums including their newest one ‘Shadows Inside’ which will get released tomorrow via SharpTone Records! The 2th of June to be exact. Albums like ‘At Heart’, ‘Rise Of The Lion’ and ‘Deathless’ debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Hard Music chart. There is no band out there that has had such a great start into the genre as them, they have always delivered and they always will. 

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Review: DRAGONFORCE – ‘Reaching Into Infinity’ [Official Videos]

DragonForce, yes the one and only fast riffing powermetal band from London, England released their new forceful album called ‘Reaching Into Infinity’, released by Metal Blade Records, and it’s all their older album combined with better production! They again made an album that is as fast as the speed of sound with vocals that are out of this world. For those of you that don’t know the band, which I really doubt, they formed in 1999 and were known as ‘DragonHeart’ till the year 2002. From 2003 till the present they are known as ‘DragonForce’. Their best album might be their debut ‘Valley Of The Damned’, it reached insane amount of views and has been very populair since. Album ‘Sonic Rampage” proved to be even more succesful, it featured their new bassist Adrian lambert and drummer Dave Mackintosh in the widely known song ”Fury Of The Storm”. This album was really the biggest game changer for the band because this brought double bass rhythms and blast beats to the band. With song  ‘Through The Fire And Flames” from the album ‘Inhuman Rampage’ the band went oficially mainstream. This song has reached far over 85.000.000 viewsand over 360.000 likes! Not on  a pop song but a freaking metal one! DragonForce has toured with Slipknot and Disturbed right before they were releasing their album ‘Ultra Beatdown’, if you get to tour with the big guys you know you made it! Next to these insane releases they made 3 albums. ‘Twilight Dementia’, ‘The Power Within’ and my favorite ‘Maximum Overload’. You would think that the band didn’t make any more music for a while after so much intense and speedy albums but no, they created a best of album named ‘Killer Elite’ which ofcourse featured the song ”Through The Fire And Flames”. Fans have been asking about full live performances on DVDs for a while now but finally DragonForce heard our calls and made ‘In The Line Of Fire…Larger Than Live’ that was recorded on the 2014’s Load Park Festival. For sure one album you need for your collection!

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KATATONIA, CASPIAN, UNCURED Take Over Washington, D.C. [Photo Gallery]

Katatonia

Last Thursday night I found myself doing something I absolutely despise, taking the horrid DC metro rail, to do something I dearly love, enjoying live music. Katatonia, was opening the North American tour in support of their album ‘The Fall of Hearts’ at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. A small venue with a prominent stage with excellent lighting and sound system, many consider 9:30 Club to be the heart and soul of the music scene in Washington D.C. And I have never been to this iconic venue in our nations capital, despite having lived in the area for multiple years. This, combined with the excitement of seeing Katatonia live for the first time, my excitement was palpable. Still, I had little idea how good a night this was going to be. Katatonia is one of the finest heavy metal bands to have emerged from Sweden, and their ten studio albums bear testimony to that. The last album ‘The Fall of Hearts’ was released mid last year, which garnered excellent reviews from fans and critics alike. On this North American leg, they are supported by Caspian and Uncured. Continue reading