Technical death metal giants Origin just announced their Bloodletting North American headlining tour, presented by MetalSucks, IndieMerch and Blakhart Guitars, with Canadian death metal band Archspire, german death metal act Defeated Sanity, Dyscarnate, Visceral Disgorge and last but certainly not least The Kennedy Veil!
It’s cliche to designate a heavy metal album as “epic.” The raging guitar riffs, thunderous bass, thrashing drums, and high pitch screams all create a sound that’s larger-than-life both sonically and thematically, and this go-big-or-go-home mentality was present at the genre’s inception with Black Sabbath and has continued into modernity with bands like Ghost and Avatar because let’s be honest here, if a metal band isn’t “epic” in some capacity or another then it isn’t worth its salt.
With that said, “epic” is the only proper descriptor that encapsulates my feelings on the wonderfully named symphonic death metal band Septicflesh. Originating from Athens, Greece in the mid 1990s and currently consisting of Seth Siro Anton on bass/vocals, Christos Antonou playing the guitar and writing the orchestrals, Sotiris Anunnaki V providing an additional guitar and clean vocals, and Kerim “Krimh” Lechner on drums, Septicflesh is one of the very few metal bands that can gracefully blend the rough brutality of death metal with the awe-inspiring sound of a sweeping orchestra, and this dark yet beautacious sound is ever-so present on Septicflesh’s 10th and most recent studio album ‘Codex Omega’ which is a more than worthy follow-up to their 2014 LP ‘Titan’ due to it being stunning in its scale and punishing in its ferocity.
GONE IN APRIL, the symphonic melodic death metal ensemble from Canada-USA, releases a WW II inspired music video for ‘As Hope Welcomes Death‘, filmed and edited by Norwegian artist Thomas Mortveit. The song ‘As Hope Welcomes Death‘ is taken from the band’s sophomore album ‘Threads of Existence‘, recorded at WaveTransform Studio, USA.
Hailing from one of Europe’s most pristine and beautiful countries, Austria, they are dark, grim and blasphemous, something that is of stark contrast from their motherland. BELPHEGOR continue to raise horns and spit out epic dark and heavy music as we await their all new 11th studio album ‘Totentritual‘ coming out this September 15, via Nuclear Blast Records. In support of their new album the band has released a second single in the form of a lyric video for the song, ‘Apophis – Black Dragon‘. The song sounds blasphemous and vicious. Psst, that double bass though!
Also check out the previously released first track, ‘Baphomet‘ HERE!
Check it out below.
The jack of all trades when it comes to melo-death, ARCH ENEMY is back with yet another trademark and beautiful music video for their second single ‘The Eagle Flies Alone‘ off the upcoming album ‘Will To Power‘, which is due out on September 8 via Century Media Records worldwide and True Trooper Entertainment in Japan. The video was directed by Patric Ullaeus, who has previously helped bands like IN FLAMES, AMARANTHE, DIMMU BORGIR, EVERGREY etc. with his artistic and visionary directing skills. The video looks cool and everything that has went in to the making of this video is just epic and awe inspiring. From production, which I would say is one of the most classy, exhilarating and of grandeur nature ARCH ENEMY has ever done, to the lighting, camera angles and close up shots, no stones have been left un-turned, everything in the video has been done to pin point perfection.
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER just a day ago released their all new music video for the title track from the upcoming eighth full length ‘Nightbringers‘, which you can check it out HERE! Now, they are back with another update and this time it is about a massive North American trek with fellow death metallers SUFFOCATION, DECREPIT BIRTH, NECROT and WORMWITCH. This October/November THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER will go out on this headlining tour in support of their all new album ‘Nightbringers‘ coming out via Metal Blade Records on October 6th, this year. Starting the tour off on Rochester, NY on the 6th of October, the tour will encompass major North American cities like New York, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Toronto, Ottawa including many others spanning just over a month. This is a must attend tour for every extreme metal fan alike. Check out the tour dates below and all the details regarding the same!
From releasing their first album in 2003, they have come a long way in a very short amount of time. Carrying forward the aggressiveness and brutality along with the emotion filled music, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER are all set to release their new album, ‘Nightbringers‘, via Metal Blade Records on October 6th, this year. ‘Nightbringers‘ will be the eighth full length album the band will offer after 2015’s equally hard hitting ‘Abysmal‘. To celebrate the new album, the band have already put out a new music video which is for the title track. You can check the video at the bottom.
The members recorded their own part in the album independently by splitting up, which helped bring out the best in the individuals. With former bassist Ryan Williams once again assisting, the drums were tracked at The Pipe Yard in Plymouth, Michigan and rhythm guitars and bass in the band’s practice space in Warren, Michigan. Ellis then recorded his many mind boggling solos in his home studio, while Strnad opted to record at his home in Auburn Hills, Michigan with Joe Cincotta (SUFFOCATION, INTERNAL BLEEDING) of Full Force Studios overseeing his sessions. The ghoulish cover art was the brainchild of Kristian Wahlin, aka Necrolord, who has designed seminal artwork for the likes of AT THE GATES, BATHORY, EMPEROR and also TBDM‘s 2007 release, ‘Nocturnal‘. “I think he’s the most prominent artist when it comes to classic releases in the melodic death metal genre, and kind of bringing things full circle with it being the ten-year anniversary of ‘Nocturnal’ felt right. By now people probably wouldn’t have expected us to go back to him, so it’s kind of a surprise, but at the same time it’s a very classic cover too.“, Strnad speaks.
*In this series we pose the age old questions to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them*
A month back I caught up with Sahil Makhija at AntiSocial, New Delhi, India, also known better as DEMONSTEALER who is the front man of the blackened death metal band from the sea side city, Mumbai in India, DEMONIC RESURRECTION. If you have not heard DEMONIC RESURRECTION yet, you’re clearly blaspheming ! Just kidding, you’re missing out on a lot though to be honest. So the band has been around for a good number of years now, starting out as teenagers back in the day in the year 2000, and they have since then put up a decent catalog of five albums and two EPs all this while, which is incredible in itself. They have really pinned India on the global metal map and are rightly called the ‘flag bearers of Indian metal’. They have also done shows in reputed European festivals like Wacken Open Air in Germany, Bloodstock Festival in the U.K., and the beautiful MetalDays festival in Slovenia etc. They also have a Metal Hammer Golden God award under their belt. It all began with their debut album titled, ‘Demonstealer’ in 2000 and since then you can actually see they have not only been a dynamic outfit but also a reckoning force in the underground scene and also in the domestic scene in India.
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state*
This month’s state is Illinois!
Ey yo people! Welcome back to the weekly edition of our State Of The Art series, where every Monday we get a bit generous and pull the curtains down and shed some limelight to the lesser known and underground bands who already are wrecking shit up at your local town or city, or even across oceans apart. Last month I highlighted the fast and punishing thrash metal band called WARHEAD from Phoenix, Arizona, which you can check it out HERE. Today I am here to rejuvenate your boring Monday with another kick ass band that has been stirring some major shit up since their self-titled, debut album came out in 2002. And especially, this year with their new highly acclaimed 2017 record, ‘Cloak Of Skies‘. This week’s band is Industrial/Doom-death metal outfit from the capital city Chicago, Illinois, DRUG HONKEY. You thought I’d be doing a hat-trick on thrash bands? Didn’t you? Well, this band really turned my head and got my attention real good, for all the new and genre breaking antics they’re up to.
Underground metalheads are in for a treat as guitar virtuoso Toby Knapp, who previously was an ex-GODLESS RISING member, and also is in WAXEN, WHERE EVIL FOLLOWS, is back with his new solo band AFFLIKTOR. Playing a sacrilegous and dirty breed of black and thrash metal. Toby Knapp has been a reckoning force in the underground since the 90s, working in many bands and delivering genre crossing and boundary shattering metal albums. Be it progressive metal, classic metal, black or death or just pure thrash, you name it, it’s already there. The self titled debut AFFLIKTOR record is slated for its release in October 20, 2017 through Indian label Transcending Obscurity, which is one of the best underground metal record labels out there. Check them out, you won’t disappointed.
