Greyhawk (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Listen to the fresh new 2020 album Keepers Of The Flame by Greyhawk (Washington state). Their previous recording Ride Out is from 2018.

Keepers Of The Flame by Greyhawk

Ride Out by Greyhawk

deathCAVE (Washington state, U.S.A.

There will be new music by deathCAVE (Washington state). They call themselves "cosmic doom": "deathCAVE is a cosmic doom trio from Seattle, WA and formed in 2018 when Freiburger asked Benny Koslosky to join his project with Tony Muñoz. They hit the ground running as all three are veterans of touring underground bands. Their music incorporates elements of thrash, psychedelic, stoner, and doom metal, with lyrics based on personal stories reinterpreted in the realm of mythological tales."

Smoking Mountain by deathCAVE

Eye of Nix (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Ligeia is the 2020 album by Eye of Nix (Washington state). They describe their music as "avant-garde, doom metal, black metal, alternative." The new album is available at Bandcamp.

Biography: Formed in Seattle in 2012, EYE OF NIX has released two albums and a demo EP to date and has shared the stage with artists like Voivod, Alcest, Jarboe, Worm Ouroboros, Sabbath Assembly, and Eight Bells. The band’s creative intent is to craft music that is threatening, beautiful, and harsh through mesmerizing rhythms, emotive melodies, and intense dynamics.

In 2018 the group joined the roster of German/US label Prophecy, and has a new full-length album slated for release in 2020. Their 2017 LP Black Somnia (recorded by Billy Anderson) was initially released on Scry Recordings and re-issued by Prophecy the following year. The album centers on themes of fear, control, and anxiety while shape-shifting through a lens of blackened psychedelia and doom. The band collaborated with ritual visual artist Anima Nocturna and an international group of Butoh dance artists to create the album’s stunning artwork.

EYE OF NIX has appeared at Northwest Terror Fest, Prophecy Fest US, Litha Cascadia & Thirst For Light, and toured the western and northeast states. In 2018, founding vocalist Joy Von Spain, guitarist Nicholas Martinez, and sound artist Masaaki Masao were joined by bassist Zach Wise (Hissing) and drummer Luke LaPlante.

Moros, their first LP, was released in 2015 via Eugene-based imprint Belief Mower (Muscle And Marrow, Hungers). The album was captured by the hands of accomplished Seattle-based engineer Brandon Fitzsimons (Bell Witch, Anhedonist) at Airport Grocery and mastered by Justin Weis at Trakworx in San Francisco. The record was reissued digitally with two bonus studio tracks: Blood in the Fire and Rome Burned. Michael Ray Sheets and Joy Von Spain created a short film for Elysium Elusive in 2015, featuring movement by Vanessa Skantze.

Ligeia by EYE OF NIX

Zan (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Behold the Key is the 2020 album by Zan from Washington state. Listen to the complete album on Bandcamp. This is the band's Facebook biography: "Zan is an American metal band from southeast Washington State, founded by members Ace Michel (vocals), David Huber (guitar) and Jason Turner (drums) in the year 2000. Chase McClendon (guitar) joined the band in 2010, followed by Ryan Johnson (bass) in 2013. Starting with a handful of original songs, the writing style of the band progressed over the years from traditional metal to a more technical, polyrhythmic, 'mathy' approach."

Behold The Key by Zan

Negro Terror

Negro Terror is a U.S. left-wing, old-school punk band. This is their Facebook biography: "Negro Terror, the brainchild of bassist and reggae frontman Omar Higgins, is an all American, all hardcore punk group that just happens to be all black. But the music that's played has no color, just the crimson red of pure aggression."

Negro Terror - Voice of Memphis - Recorded Live @ Al Town Skate Park

facebook.com/NegroTerror/

Atrocity Girl (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Here is a YouTube video of a recent concert by Washington state's Atrocity Girl. This is their biography: “'Ready ladies?' called out front woman Johnny Angel, turning to her band mates beside her at Seattle's Substation. 'Let’s fucking do it!' And, with that, the era of Atrocity Girl began. But the band - comprised of rumbling vocalist Johnny, lightening-strike drummer Angie, thunderous guitarist Jess, and quaking bass, aims to do more than just play good music. Atrocity Girl plays hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll. Vocals growl and shout, guitars hammer and drums crash. It's mesmeric. And while the band is new - beginning in just 2019 - with their combined creative spirits, the quartet is assured to deliver power at each step moving forward. Watch for new Atrocity Girl music in 2020."

AG Live Stream from Louie G's!

Peel @ Louie G's

Say My Name live in Tacoma at O'Malley's with Atrocity Girl, all-female band from Seattle

facebook.com/atrocitygirl/

Assault & Battery (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Assault & Battery was a thrash band in Washington state. It's not known to this publication how many recording they did, but Metal Archives shows their 1989 demo Assault & Battery. Below is a YouTube video of one of their shows. Apparently the video is from 1991.

If any readers have more information about this band, their recordings, and if they are posted online, feel free to comment.

Assault & Battery

Assault & Battery

Demo

1989

Side A

1. Population Control 05:18

2. Fade to Death 03:40

3. False Prophet 04:40

Side B

4. Interrogation 03:57

5. The Hereafter 05:21

6. Population Control 05:18

total time 28:14

Assault & Battery - live @ The Vogue 12-10-91

Asema (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Check out the "thrash/deathcore" of Asema in Washington state. So far, on Bandcamp they have their 2019 EP Heathens.

Biography: Hailing from the great Northwest, Asema combines thrash, modern deathcore and black metal to create an original sonic assult. Their new EP "Heathens' proves just that. Asema first formed in 2006 with Brittany Bingle on vocals, Joe Mason on drums and Zack Krebs on guitar. they later added Danyell Robertson on bass an Kyle Gonzales on guitar. After recording their first full length "Your silence is golden" the band decided to take their music to a darer heavier sound. Brit and Danyell decided to part ways. After a long hiatus and multiple lineup changes, Asema is back in full force, adding vocalist Kenny Combs and bass player Steve La Rue. Asema has shared the stage with I Declare War, Forever in Terror, MurderDeathKill, Suffokate, Lazarus AD, 3 inches of blood, Soulfly, The Browning, Amorphis, Samael, Chimaira, Kittie, Meldrom, Striaghtline Stich, Obituary, Death, and many more! Look out for shows coming near you!!!!!

Heathens by Asema

out June 26: Draemora

Draemora is a new progressive extreme band in the state of Washington, U.S.A. Their debut recording is called Awakening and it will be released on June 26th, 2020. Here are two songs posted on YouTube, and a couple of other videos from the band's YouTube channel. At the bottom, after the official information, you will also find their Facebook page.

Draemora was formed in November 2019 in the Seattle, USA area by Terry Jenkins (vocals/guitar) after his separation from his previous band Odyssian. Seeing it as an opportunity to take a chance and try something different, he wrote a handful of songs with lyrics and demoed them out at his house. These demos attracted the attention of soon to be bandmate, ex-Jesus Wears Armani drummer Jared Conelie and ex-Odyssian vocalist Taylor Wood.

After fleshing out the demos with their own personal touches on the songs, Jenkins found local guitar player Max Taylor and set out to record the 5 song EP “Awakening”. The EP is nothing short of heavy, melodic metal infused with honest and heartfelt lyrics; This combination works perfectly with the band’s mission to evoke an intense emotional and spiritual experience that brings out the raw emotions that are suppressed all day in normal day to day lives.

“This EP lyrically is all about battles with drugs and alcohol and the long journey out of that hell. I feel that it will connect with anyone who has ever had mental problems, family problems, or experienced relationships falling apart. I didn’t want to come across as disingenuous, or contrived and wrote about things that I really went through and put my life and my problems out there for anyone to interact with as they wish. I think this recording is intense and beautiful. It’s angry and sad and uplifting and I think is a reflection of a human living in modern-day society.” says Jenkins.

With a slight pause in the band’s plans due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Draemora is already working away on a full-length album to follow and getting ready for when they can pummel crowds live with their heavy melodic brand of progressive death metal.

Their debut EP “Awakening” is due out June 26, 2020 via Ultra Nast Records and will be available on all major digital platforms.

"HOME" // DRAEMORA // AWAKENING EP

"GUILT" // DRAEMORA // AWAKENING EP

Draemora // Making of Awakening // part 1 Drums

HOME" GUITAR PLAYTHROUGH

facebook.com/Draemoramusic/

Battle Born

According to Battle Born's praxis, their music should be, above all, rocking fun. What is that? Plug in, pound the drums and rock! What is the agenda of this band? The goal is to rock. Equipped with sky-high enthusiasm for traditional, melodic, ear-friendly songs, and the ability to match that enthusiasm, the British band is putting out the call to all fans of singing and melodies to join the campaign to lift up joyous, fists-in-the-air music and to be proud of it. Can you sing? Then sing out loud with these songs. Maybe your singing abilities are of doubtful quality? Don't worry about it, you're in your car, and you car is your castle, and in your castle you are royalty, and no one will judge you if your singing is slightly less below stadium rock level. Feel free to do as much air guitar as possible in your room. If necessary, do it in your seat on the bus on the ride home because if you must do air guitar then you must. Maybe these sweet keyboards will inspire you to play air keyboards. Why not. Life is short. If air keyboards is your calling, why should anyone stop you from doing what you love.

"How can we write songs that will get the fans hooked?" appears to be the question that Battle Born presented to themselves, and what a plan it is. Is their debut? It appears so. Five songs that the German fans will welcome immediately, and the Greek fans will recognize right away, and maybe the Brits can begin to awaken more interest in the rocking sounds that so many U.K. bands pioneered decades ago. Those brave Americans that dare to support melodic bands now have new heroes coming to provide the reinforcements so badly needed this side of the pond.

Four of the five songs are uptempo and one is a power ballad because even the most steeled warriors need tenderness once in a while before they ride out again to the mountains searching for the gold-hoarding dragons and gremlins that make our lives in these forgotten hills so difficult. With Battle Born arrived, life will be a little bit better now.

Battle Born by Battle Born

Vale of Amonition

The long-running doomsters Vale of Amonition (Uganda) have some new things that they have announced. First, they have announced, without yet giving much in the way of details, a rhythm and blues album. Second, there is a new collaboration called Funeral Deal (see below). Third, there is a new split recording from May 15th, 2020: "Vale of Amonition appears on this massive split The Canopy of Omniscience which is released today [May 15th] and also features contributions from Demogoroth Satanum, Sands In Darkness, Shrine ov Belial and many more. Victor Rosewrath also contributed vocals and lyrics to the song 'Grief Of The Ghost Children' by Funeral Deal, a collaboration with Sands In Darkness and Cavemaster." (see below)

Here are some recordings by Vale of Amonition, and below them you will find the other projects.

Ancient, Evil & African by Vale Of Amonition

Those of Tartarean Ancestry by Vale Of Amonition

Grief of the Ghost Children by Funeral Deal

The Canopy of Omniscience (Split)

facebook.com/valeofamonitionwebcult/

Tony MacAlpine: rescheduled European dates

Friends in Europe,

Legendary guitarist Tony MacAlpine some time ago announced the new dates for Europe. In case that you missed it, here is the announcement and dates.

****EUROPEAN TOUR RESCHEDULE****

To our dear friends in Europe, as I’m sure you are well aware, the Coronavirus has wreaked havoc amongst live events and we all must be responsible in following instructions by the authorities to ensure we all get through this difficult time. We have rescheduled (and added a few) shows in Europe and are excited to bring the best show possible to you. All ticket sales and VIP upgrade packages will be honored. You are the reason we do this. We will rise together.

Biography: The name Tony MacAlpine is synonymous with modern musical virtuosity. Whether performing as a solo artist, band member, session player, touring hired-gun, or as a producer, Tony MacAlpine continues to prove that he truly is one of rock’s most amazing and versatile musicians. He incorporates classical, jazz and fusion influences into the hard rock/metal genre on both guitar and keyboards.

In his 25 year career he has produced, written and arranged eleven solo instrumental studio albums. Tony has also released four albums with his jazz-fusion band CAB, three albums with his progressive rock band Planet X, and a number of other band projects. In addition, MacAlpine has contributed both guitar and keyboards to a long list of records by other artists.

Tony was born and raised in Springfield Massachusetts, and in his early years was a classically trained pianist and violinist. He began his musical education at age 5 as a piano major at the Springfield Conservatory of Music, where he studied under the direction of Marion Jensen for twelve years. Tony furthered his studies at HARTT College under the tutelage of Professor Raymond Hanson at the University of Hartford, Connecticut.

At age 12, Tony picked up the guitar. He was later “discovered” in the pages of Guitar Player magazine by Mike Varney in 1984, and became a leader in the neoclassical guitar virtuoso movement of the mid to late 80s. MacAlpine was possibly the first new rock guitar instrumental artist of the 80s to break 100,000 units in the USA. His debut album Edge Of Insanity (1986) and sophomore release Maximum Security (1987) are cited by countless guitarists as major influences. Tony performed guitar and keyboards on Edge Of Insanity (with Billy Sheehan on bass and Steve Smith on drums), and all instruments (with the exception of drums by Deen Castronovo and Atma Anur) on Maximum Security, highlighting his musical dexterity.

MacAlpine continued his extraordinary output into the 90s, with critically acclaimed releases Freedom to Fly (1992), Madness (1993), Premonition (1994) and Evolution (1995), which all remain among his discography’s best sellers.

In the late 90s, Tony joined forces with Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol) and Virgil Donati (Steve Vai, Scott Henderson) to form progressive rock band Planet X, regularly touring Europe and South America. In 1999, bassist Bunny Brunel (Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock) tapped MacAlpine to join his jazz-fusion band CAB, along with drummer Dennis Chambers (John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana) and keyboardist Brian Auger (Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix). This lead to the release of their self-titled album in 2000, and their GRAMMY-nominated CAB2 album in 2001. Two further CAB albums followed and the band toured the world, including Europe, Asia and Russia.

Shortly after, Tony was invited to join the band of fellow guitar virtuoso Steve Vai (along with Billy Sheehan on bass) where he played both guitar and keyboards, often doubling Vai’s formidable leads on both instruments. Tony performed and toured the world with Vai for seven years, playing to hundreds of thousands of people, and appearing on the certified double-platinum DVD Live At The Astoria, London, along with the G3’03 Live In Denver and G3 Live In Tokyo DVDs.

In 2006, Shrapnel Records celebrated Tony’s 20 year career with “Collection - The Shrapnel Years” - an album containing some of his hottest musical moments — comprised of aggressive rock and fusion compositions which highlight Tony’s incredible technique and melodic flair. These tracks contain standout performances by some of the greatest musicians in progressive music, including drummers Steve Smith and Deen Castronovo as well as bassists Billy Sheehan and Tony Franklin and other world class players.

In 2007, Tony was the featured guitarist for French pop legend Michel Polnareff’s highly successful comeback tour in France, playing to over half a million people during the tour’s three month run. A special performance of this event was televised across France. He also appeared in the 2008 award-winning motion picture Crazy: The Hank Garland Story making a cameo as Wes Montgomery.

His new self-titled album is due out on June 21, 2011 and marks a highly anticipated return to solo work. It features 12 blistering tracks of MacAlpine on 7 and 8-stringed guitars, keyboards, bass and programming, along with appearances from drum legends Virgil Donati and Marco Minnemann. Described by MacAlpine as his best work to date, the album is destined to again set the bar for guitarists everywhere.

Tony endorses Ibanez guitars, Hughes & Kettner amplifiers, DiMarzio pickups and cables, Ernie Ball strings, Source Audio pedals, and Toontrack software.

Tony likes motorcycles. He lives in Pasadena, CA.

Tony MacAlpine and band perform "Tears of Sahara" on EMGtv

Tony MacAlpine and band perform "Concrete Gardens" live on EMGtv

Tony MacAlpine and Jeff Loomis play "Square Circles" live on EMGtv

facebook.com/tonymacalpineofficial/

Alkiniah

Alkiniah is "melodic power metal" from Madagascar. Here are some of their music videos. This band is for fans that like traditional, melodic singing that can go high, and very melodic guitars.

ALLKINIAH ft KEN (MAGE 4) - FITIA MANDRAKIZAY (Clip Gasy 2018)

Alkiniah - Ny Ety an tany (Official Clip Video)

ALKINIAH - Setrin'ny fahotana (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

ALKINIAH - Andro farany (VIDEO OFFICIEL)

facebook.com/Alkiniah-121883984563891/

Angor Animi

Angor Animi is a solo project of "depressive melancholic black metal." Kjiel, the person behind the project, also works with or has additional projects: Eyelessight, Freitodt, Lifeless, Sacrimoon, Black Faith, Black Whispers, Hibernus, amongst others. All this information is available at Metal Archives. Below are two recordings of Angor Animi.

LOVE​(​lorn) by Angor Animi

Cyclothymia by Angor Animi

Yucca

Here are some videos of Yucca, a political, Spanish-language groove band ("alternative metal") from Argentina. It looks like this year they issued their first album. This is their Facebook biography.

Biography: Yucca is an alternative metal / rock band currently made up of Emilia Paredes on vocals, Melisa Dimartino and Florencia Aquino on guitars, Lara Ruiz Díaz on bass and Ana Lourdes Paredes on drums. They were formed in 2012 in the city of Formosa.

In August 2014 they were winners of Pre-Taragüí Rock, becoming the first female rock band to play on the Taragui Rock stage in Corrientes. In November of that same year they were finalists in Rock BA, representing the NEA region in the City of Buenos Aires.

In March 2015 they participated in the sixth edition of the Kuña Fest held in Asunción Paraguay. In October they were winners of the contest Closer to art, managing to record at CIAM (Center for Research Applied to Music), located in Tecnópolis.

In August 2016 they participated in the Rock del País contest, where they achieved notoriety as an emerging band.

In April 2018 they participated in the documentary "The girls are fine", produced by Andrea Álvarez. They are currently in the process of releasing their first album.

His songs, of his own authorship, refer to the transfeminist struggle with a combative imprint that seeks to make gender inequality visible, reflect on socio-political issues as well as spread myths and legends typical of their region. Its staging transmits fury and feminine power.

Metamorfosis Cultural

Kurusú - Yucca

Yucca: Kurusú en vivo

facebook.com/yuccafsa/

review: Stygian Crown

Stygian Crown

Stygian Crown

Cruz Del Sur Music

26 June 2020

Playing slow and heavy is more than a temporary trend, and has ended up becoming a lasting popular choice for metal musicians and fans. Unfortunately, the result is that there are too many bands are good in an average way, and that are too centered on simply playing slow. Besides the just-ok über simplistic slow guitar playing and sleepy-jack drumming, the vocals often seem only so-so: some fat-belly yelling, lots of hollering, emotionally-distressed screaming, medication-addict squawking, so on and so forth. Regardless, the American listeners have spoken and they have said that they like it, otherwise why do so many average-ok doom bands keep popping up in a such an unrelenting, stubborn and endless fashion year after year after year? You like it! Would you feel the same way if you heard a bunch of them every month? Not two or three; but more like 25 stoner, sludge and groove bands a month. Maybe you would still like them all?

Not all of us are convinced with all the simplistic doom mania, a sort of contemporary explosion of the blues, if you will. The blues by a different name but the blues all the same. There are exceptions, however. What if a band confronts the problem of the vocals? What if they dedicate themselves to solving said problem? Maybe it means learning to sing, taking vocal lessons or finding a singer. The thing is that in metal singing is scarce. Somewhere along the line it became acceptable to have average vocals, due to the necessity or the desire by guitarists to have total control. The guitarists decided to holler over a microphone rather dealing with learning to sing or finding a singer: “Forget it! I’ll just do the vocals myself and that way I can have more control over everything!” Good for business, good for egos, good for efficiency. Not good for art.

Doom fans, say “hello” to Stygian Crown. They are here to help us all get out of the quagmire of average-ok doom. All the above problems are addressed. It turns out that doom can be great. Who knew! They have a real heavy (enough for death metal) guitar sound, and it’s clean so that the listener can hear the riffs. They have a strong, traditional voice that challenges the listener to sing along. You probably can’t keep up, but you’ll want to try it out. Just pretend that you can! The songs themselves stand out from each other, but because the album lasts more than 50 minutes, it will take a few listens before it feels like the entire picture has come together. The songs are heavy, of course, but there are guitar melodies to help the listener along, and there are also guitar solos, and that adds variety to the songs. The pace of the songs is slow, but there are some segments in which they pick up the pace to a nice, headbobbing point, and this helps to avoid the monotony of a formula. Of course, this is still doom, it might still be too slow for too much of the time for some metal fans who are not big on doom. Perhaps this is still too strictly framed within the doom genre for other fans to dig it, especially if they want a little bit more upbeat or headbanging moments. Nevertheless, for most fans of doom with singing this album should be a very pleasant experience and maybe a contender for album of the month, of the summer and may be on the short list of candidates for doom album of the year.

Stygian Crown by Stygian Crown

review: Lantern

Lantern

Dimensions

Dark Descent Records

June 24, 2020

There is something about this Finnish enterprise. Maybe it’s the vocals. It is a semi-intelligible growl-scream similar to Motörhead, Max-era Sepultura, 1990s Death, Gojira, Dismember or Fear Factory. These vocals could appeal to fans who prefer better enunciation in growling vocals, and not so much the totally incomprehensible gargling, although for the same reason the genre zealot fiends might not like these vocals for not being vile guttural enough. At any rate, you will almost, kind of, feel like you understand what the vocals say.

What is it about Lantern? Perhaps it’s the guitars. The sound is unmistakably death, but it’s how they do it. It seems like they manage to make the music memorable without resorting to the clichéd sugary melodies, as if to walk a more satisfying, more skilled path. There are melodies, there are good riffs (not grooves), and it’s done with skill, and it’s cool to hear the extra effort taken to reach other depths, searching for that sound that is fresh to the ear while also working in a respectful way towards tradition, and not trying to be weird for the sake of being strange. The guitar tone, you could say, is death, and there are lots of death riffs and all, but thrash, black and heavy metal riffs are in there, too, smoothly and coherently knitted into the sound. However, this is not a genre mixing album and the guitar work is not attempting to have a mixed-style salad. It is a rather smooth style that the band does. It’s only with repeated listens that the glimpses and flashes of these previously mentioned things begin to shine through more strongly.

What is it about Lantern? Maybe it’s the songs. Listeners will sense the confidence that what is important is the songs, not the genre. One might even find hooks and licks that can be traced back to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, such as on song number four “Cauldron of Souls.” This is a Finnish band, but they don’t do that provincial thing about sounding “Finnish.” Yes, one can hear some old and classic “American” bits and pieces; some “Norwegian” riffs, so on and so forth, but all these things do not matter in Lantern. Perhaps that’s it! That one can hear some “doom” on “Shrine of Revelation,” without some formulaic plan. In another words, listeners won’t get the feeling that the band said, “Hey, amici miei, listen, our song is going well, but we need to add the ‘doom’ part! Let’s add it now!” One is not going to be listening to this thing waiting for the “doom,” or “thrash” part. That’s the difference. It’s not a strict recipe for every song.

In the 1990s it was obvious that Chuck Schuldiner was not interested in “making sure” that the music sounded like “death metal.” Fans can tell that Mille Petrozza a long time ago figured out that Kreator, once they got past the identity crisis, could do lots of things, without adhering to the “thrash” recipe. The crucial thing is not fitting into a genre. There are no retro intentions, for instance, but one might hear some things that remind of the classics. Lantern is, in fact, death metal. It’s just not a band trying to be prove it. It’s not “Finnish” death metal, whatever that means. Instead, it is a band that has made an effort to write memorable, quality songs, and it just so happens that their craft is extreme metal. What a wonderful album. A highlight in the month of June.

Aurora's Eyes (Washington state, U.S.A.)

This is Aurora's Eyes in the state of Washington. They are a contemporary prog band and their album The Grief was just released a few days ago on the 19th of June, 2020. Unless memory is failing, this is a brand new band to this publication. In fact, we are just beginning to listen to their album right now.

The Grief by Aurora's Eyes

Arisen From Nothing (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Here are some videos from Arisen From Nothing, a groove band from Washington state.

Biography: In reference to BROKEN, Gary “G.A.” Allen of KHTQ Rock 94½ FM said, “Having followed you guys for awhile now I can honestly say this is one of those DNA in a bands evolution, really well done!”

Seattle has long been a melting pot of great music, a veritable cauldron of creativity. Seattle has given the world bands of the diverse caliber of Heart, Sanctuary and Soundgarden. It is a place where aural alchemy is real and bands know they are in a magical place to create music.Such a band is ARISEN FROM NOTHING, even their name is powerful, conjuring forth images of the phoenix in the flames; a potent symbol of strength and rebirth.Inspired by Lamb of God, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, guitarist Troy Elmore describes ARISEN FROM NOTHING’s sound as “aggressive, driving, groovy, powerful, brutal.”He is stoked for fans to hear AFN’s new EP “Broken”, which draws inspiration from the state of the world around us and is a strident call for unity.

“There’s a lot of subject matter fans should be able to relate to so I’m hoping it will be received well. Fans will appreciate the new AFN sound, and new direction the band is going in. We wanted songs that had moments of musical complexity but maintain a groove that gets your toes tapping and your head banging.”

Live, AFN are untouchable.

“You can expect a high energy show and a band that is accessible. Hanging after the gig with friends and fans has always been part of what AFN is about and we feel it is important to let them known how much they are appreciated. Life is a busy thing for most folks so when they choose to spend their time and hard-earned money for a night out, the least we can do is give them the best show possible…People can expect to see a very in-your-face, tight and aggressive performance, we are confident we can walk onto any stage and deliver a performance that fans will not forget.”

“Broken” is due out September 29, 2017 via Collective Wave Records.

ARISEN FROM NOTHING - Chaos (Official Music Video)

ARISEN FROM NOTHING - Better Off Dead (Official Music Video)

ARISEN FROM NOTHING - Falling From Grace (Official Lyric Video)

Arisen From Nothing: "In Nothing We Trust" [HD] (Official Music Video)

facebook.com/afnfan/

Ara'Kus (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Ara'Kus is a form of theatrical metal that they call "fantasy rock opera." Ara'Kus is the stage production of a metal opera, a bit of which you can see by watching the videos below. On Bandcamp they have an album called Aeterno Elementum.

About: Ara'Kus Productions combines fantasy based, atmospheric, story-driven theater with their signature style of symphonic, operatic heavy metal.

Our premiere production, Aeterno Elementum tells the story of a world not entirely unlike our own which has descended into darkness, and of it’s inevitable and violent purification. Featuring fire dancing, aerial performance, acrobatic martial artists, fully armed and armored knights in large scale combat, and a cast of highly talented actors and musicians of all types, this is a spectacle that must be witnessed in order to be fully understood.

"Falling" Ara'Kus music video from "Mordecai's Masquerade", A Dark Darkness production.

Arakus: Aeterno Elementum July 31st, 2010

Aeterno Elementum by ArA'KuS

Antitheus (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Antitheus is (was?) extreme metal in the state of Washington, U.S.A. This publication is unable to provide much information about the current situation, but they have music from 2016 and 2014 on Bandcamp.

No Time Left by Antitheus

Evocator by Antitheus

Anti-Ben (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Anti-Ben is humor metal in Washington. The most important thing to know is that uptight people should stay far away because their feelings are going to get hurt. If you have a sense of humor, you might just have found your new favorite band and they are right here in the state of Washington!

This publication has no information about this entity. They do not like people named Ben, of course. Otherwise just go to their Facebook page and get funky with them. Check the section Band Profile to hear some of their music. This publication cannot guarantee that any of the stuff that this entity says is true or not. They claim to have several albums or EPs and stuff, but who knows if anything is real or not. It's not even clear if this is a defunct or an active project at this point.

Again, just to repeat, don't click on any of this stuff if you are uptight. You are not going to like this! It's ridiculous stuff.

Biography: One day I, The Anti-Ben, was bored. So I took ****. When all was well and wiped I wrote some songs. We are at war with Ben! If you're name is Ben we hate you and will destroy you! We play True Necro Country Jazz Grind Funk(you) Thrash Black Death metal madness that will obliterate your ass just like your dad!

Discography:

The Anti-Ben Lives!!! (2001)

Ben: The World's Perfect Shooting Target (2001)

The Ben Massacre (2002)

Bloodthirsty Benslayers (2003)

An Orgy Of Celestial Sounds & Ben Hatred (2011 Headsplit/Torn Flesh)

Anti-Ben - Party Time!

facebook.com/Anti-Ben-208567185839649/

Anthropocene (Washington state, U.S.A.)

Anthropocene is extreme metal in Washington state, U.S.A. It looks like they have not been active since 2017 or so. They called their music "blackened death/thrash." Check out their 2016 recording below.

Biography: Anthropocene's artistic themes concern nature, climate change, pollution, apocalypse, mass extinction, and tribal warfare. We play a combination of thrash metal, black metal, old-school death metal, and grindcore. We focus on providing an entertaining live performance, combined with powerful, innovative songwriting.

Our songs range in length from six minutes to just over sixty seconds. For us, keeping the crowd engaged is a priority, and so we continuously move with the utmost speed and aggression during performances. To provide a continuous onslaught of raw sound, most of our songs are less than three minutes in length and packed with rapidly changing material that switches fluidly between tempo and genre.

Bitter Beginnings EP by Anthropocene

out August 14: Fermentor

Words are overrated. Just ask Fermentor. No vocals, no lyrics, just the music. Fermentor consists of the drumming by Dylan Marks and the guitar by Adam Wollach. That's it. Let the blasting, thrashing begin. The release date for the album Continuance is August 14th, 2020, but six out of the ten songs are streaming now at Bandcamp. This music is for fans of extreme metal. This is not an experimental band, even though the official information below may lead some people to believe that. This is headbanging metal, basically death metal without vocals, and without lots of sugary melodies. If you like thrash and death, and you want to hear that music without a person yelling over the music, this is a chance to experience that.

There are many cases of high-class musical chemistry, but that of Dylan Marks and Adam Wollach is one of the best to emerge from the packed San Diego scene. Fermentor, their longest running partnership, is a band that dares to defy listeners expectations of what instrumental metal can be. After experimenting on two EPs and a demo, the duo are finally ready to announce their first full-length, entitled Continuance, ready to enter the fray once more.

Kicking off on “The Stench”, there’s no hanging around as riffs whizz past like bullets and the drums fire off into hyper-speed. Wollach’s blend of styles is fascinating: at parts it draws from Dysrhythmia and Behold...the Arctopus in all their tech-death glory; in others there are hints of the extreme end of thrash à la Revocation; further still, there moments of jazzy fusion (such as on “Thunderboss”) to throw the listener off the scent, before the track then dives back into technical chaos. Meanwhile, Marks is ferocious and relentless on his kit as he blasts and rolls, though naturally there are plenty of more technical moments to dazzle as well. As is tradition, Continuance contains a film sample, this time a playful reference to UK show Peep Show that sets the tone for the ominous “Project Zeus” as the two guys barrel on through the finish line.

One thing that is constant, however, is the steady improvement across each release in the audio quality. Continuance sounds sharp and crisp in no small part due to Wollach’s production work - aided by Dale Holland at K St Recordings and Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, and this is one contributing factor to the record’s high level of replayability.

Continuance will undoubtedly be of interest to all who appreciate forward-thinking music of a technical and progressive nature. Fermentor have struck the ball out of the park on this one, and it is guaranteed to garner them a lot of attention.

Continuance by Fermentor

out August 14: Atræ Bilis

Hear the songs "Phantom Veins Trumpet" and "Ectopian" from the deathsters Atræ Bilis, a contemporary extreme band from Canada. Their August 14th, 2020 album will be called Divinihility. You may find it of interest to learn how the band themselves see their music. Earlier this year in an interview with the publication called The Covenant (the interview is called "ATRÆ BILIS achieve divine nihility in the pursuit of understanding") they explained their work at this point in time the following way: “I think it’s interesting, we still have no real expectations of what the band should sound like,” says Stepanavicius. “We never had the discussion about what we wanted to sound like and even when we first met we had no preconceptions about what kind of music this may or may not sound like. We feel very much like we’re tuning into some kind of energy that we both really share. It’s not like we are any kind of death metal revivalists, we listen to so much different music. Of course, our focus is on death metal and extreme metal and just heavy metal in general.”

Said publication continues, "The themes on Divinihility are metaphysical, but not written as a full conceptual piece and drawing from many different areas, both spiritual and psychotropic." To which the band adds, “I was personally dealing with a lot of ego-related stuff,” says Stepanavicius. “I was also accepting a lot more, particularly with psychedelics, and I wanted to understand why. And there are common themes in so many different trains of thought from different people all across the world, that it’s almost difficult not to make the connections. Particularly with hermetic philosophy, the idea of reincarnation over in the east, it all just came together. So, lyrically, the album is about being reincarnated within the corpse of one’s own body.”

Below is the official information about the band and album.

Atræ Bilis from Canada are ingesting the best elements of all the styles of death metal and spewing forth an amalgam that turns the genre inside out. There is no template for their kind of music. It's wildly unpredictable but remains coherent and catchy despite it all. It has traces of technical death, brutal death, dark death and even dissonant death, with a tinge of melody and atmosphere to top things off. This is an intense shapeshifter of an album that remains engrossing from start to finish, without losing the core sound and aesthetics. The album feels like an exercise in what's great about the genre without adhering to a particular style for too long and thereby sidestepping its trappings too. 'Divinihility' will mark a new chapter in engaging, furious, forward-thinking death metal that sets the tone for other similar-minded bands on the label such as Depravity, Cutterred Flesh, Replicant and more. For fans of - Gorguts, Ulcerate, Suffocation, Cattle Decapitation, Atheist, Depravity, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Death

Divinihility by ATRÆ BILIS

out August 7: Messiah

On August 7th, 2020 Messiah (est. 1984; Switzerland) will have the three-song EP Fatal Grotesque Symbols - Darken Universe, and there are plans for a new full-length studio album later on in 2020 called FRACMONT (see the album cover below). On the EP the firs song is new and the other two songs are new versions of 1980s tracks.

TRACKLIST

1. Fatal Grotesque Symbols - Darken Universe (5:14)

2. Space Invaders (3:39)

3. Extreme Cold Weather (4:43)

LINE-UP

Andy Kaina - Vocals

Brögi - Guitars

Patrick Hersche - Bass

Steve Karrer - Drums

The year 1994 was, for all practical purposes, the last time that the world heard Messiah with a full-length studio recording. Now then, Metal Archives does show other releases like compilations, old demos, live albums, and things like that, but the fact of the matter is that, at least according to Metal Archives and Wikipedia, there has been no new music from the Swiss act since 1994, despite being active for some time now. Interestingly enough, their 1985 demo has a review on Metal Archives, saying, in part: "Messiah were an excellent Swiss band that started out playing sloppy, yet awesome, thrash with Hellhammer-like early black metal elements. Then later, around 1986, they had developed an amazing, brutal, death/thrash sound, which eventually evolved into straight-up death metal. The fact that this is an early recording is very apparent, but in all of its raw, rotten glory, it is still a great recording. Considering this was a low-budget demo recorded in 1985, the production is surprisingly excellent. The vocals are front and center with a heavy slap-back delay effect, making them sound all the more possessed. The guitar is double-tracked and has a great fuzz tone, backed up by the cleanly played bass. The drums also have a clear sound, and are appropriately pushed up in the mix.

The main element that indicates the fact that this is one of the band’s first demos and had been recorded within a year of the band’s inception is the underdeveloped nature of it all. But much like Hellhammer, its primitive naivety and inexperienced aggression is partly what makes it so great. The riffing, the songwriting, the musicianship – all of it is at the level you would expect from a young band, but the way they make it all work is what makes the early Messiah material so special. It shows lots of potential, and hints towards what would become the mightiness that is ‘Hymn to Abramelin’."

A reviewer there also says the following about the band's 1986 debut album Hymn to Abramelin: "Commonalities between this album and that of Hellhammer, Bathory, Sepultura, and Possessed (among a few others) are pretty easy to pick out, as this album comes packed with an extremely sinister and wicked sound that was still considered a fringe element even 3 years after the release of 'Show No Mercy' and 2 years after the earliest Sodom releases. The vocal character of this album is a bit more high-pitched than the grunting character of Chuck Schuldiner, which this band would adopt in the early 90s, but what it may lack in guttural nastiness it makes up for in maddened raves. The production quality is laced with enough reverb to upstage the most open sounding of concert halls, and a frequent usage of brief spoken intros with a particularly heavy reverb aesthetic gives this album something of a theatrical quality that isn't too far off from early Mercyful Fate (another indirect tie this band shares with the eventual Norwegian 2nd wave in terms of common influence).

Nevertheless, from a musical standpoint this album is far more centered in the thrashing character of 'Seven Churches' and 'Morbid Visions' than the chunkier, heavier, more consistently chaotic character of the first couple of Death albums, though those were in turn largely closer to Slayer musically than what the style became by 1991. The transitions between fast and slow are a bit more abrupt and extreme than what had been explored by Slayer up till this point, but most of the faster elements at play on here are based in the rapid, tremolo picked riffing character that typified 'Hell Await'. The only area where things get a little bit out of character by 1986 standards is the blast beat utilized on "Messiah", arguably the most overtly death metal leaning of all the songs found on here. But overall, there is still a pretty strong helping of NWOBHM influenced riffing here that plays to the typical evolution of this time period, and along for the ride is the usual fits of fast and flashy lead guitar work, which actually doesn't resemble Slayer so much as it does the speed metal shredding character of the earliest Teutonic thrash offerings.

While overshadowed by the likes of 'Pleasure To Kill, 'Seven Churches' and 'Morbid Visions', this is an excellent formative album that should definitely be considered, and not merely for its historical significance. While it's production quality is a bit low-fi next to what became standard amongst the Bay Area scene, it definitely conforms quite nicely to what has since become a preferred sound within the post-2nd wave era of black metal, and anyone with any level of appreciation for the formative 1st wave black/thrash acts of the early 80s will find something pretty close to what was burning up the underground at that time. The narrations get a little bit comical at times, but what happens immediately after their brief input is not to be missed."

Below is the official information about the new music. Below you will find a teaser for the EP, and some older recordings available on YouTube. At the band's Bandcamp page, it looks like they do not have any music for fans to hear, only how to order the albums, but these YouTube recordings will help new fans. Of course, as we know, to support bands, Bandcamp is a much, much better medium and bands certainly prefer Bandcamp over YouTube for many obvious reasons that benefit the musicians much more directly.

Visit the band's Facebook page to keep up with the latest news from the band.

"With acts such as Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and Coroner but also more obscure outfits such as Fear Of God, Excruciation or Infected Switzerland has always been a fertile breeding ground for Extreme Metal. MESSIAH were formed in 1984 and issued two truly ground breaking records on Chainsaw Murder Records, Hymn To Abramelin in 1986 and Extreme Cold Weather a year later. In the early 1990s MESSIAH signed to Karl Walterbach’s Noise Records label and issued three more full-length albums: Choir Of Horrors (1991), Rotten Perish (1992) and Underground (1994).

A few years back MESSIAH decided to reform in the original line-up of their Noise Records albums with Andy Kaina on vocals, Steve Karrer on drums, Patrick Hersche on bass and band founder Brögi on guitar. The band’s original aim was to just have some fun and play sporadic live gigs for their dedicated fan base in Switzerland. Lavish re-issues of Hymn To Abramelin and Extreme Cold Weather on High Roller Records followed.

26 years after the last studio album MESSIAH are about to unleash the successor to their Underground record from 1994. The album is called »Fracmont« and will be issued by High Roller Records in a short while.

To shorten the waiting time, there will be an EP containing three songs not to be found on the following album. For starters, said EP contains re-recorded versions of “Space Invaders” from the band’s 1986 debut album Hymn To Abramelin as well as the title track of the second album Extreme Cold Weather (from 1987).

The title track of the EP is called “Fatal Grotesque Symbols – Darken Universe”, of which main man and guitarist Brögi says: 'The new song won’t be on the album. It does fit in very well with the re-recordings of the two old tunes. <> sounds pretty much like old school MESSIAH. Even my solo part goes back to the very early days of the band as it is quite chaotic. The lyrics for the song are really old, I did write them for a different project though. Our singer Andy Kaina re-arranged the text and now the whole song is a full-blown MESSIAH tune.'”

MESSIAH - TRAILER 1 «FATAL GROTESQUE SYMBOLS - DARKEN UNIVERSE»

MESSIAH - Brutal Assault 2018

Messiah (Switzerland) - Hymn To Abramelin (Full Length) 1986

Messiah - "Extreme Cold Weather" (Full Album)

Messiah rotten perish full album

facebook.com/MESSIAHthrashingmadness/

messiah1984.bandcamp.com/music

out August 7: FACELESS BURIAL

Here is the teaser for the August 7th, 2020 album Speciation by death metal cultists FACELESS BURIAL. At this point it seems like this publication is unable to show you any new songs, but here is 2018's Multiversal Abattoir, which points in the direction of the style that the Australian band calls its own. In case you are interested, here is what a Metal Archives reviewer said, in part, about the 2018 recording that has a rating of 70 out of 100: " ... these Australians prove themselves a competent old school mashup of sounds you might recall from the Floridian scene, perhaps with a bit of the earlier Dutch masters, bands from Death and Obituary to Asphyx and Sinister, with a little Malevolent Creation and Morbid Angel mixed in for good measure. The guitars are chunky and clunky, cycling between clinical, evil harmonized riffs, fleshier low end grooves that almost remind me of a more jazzy and experimental, broken Blessed Are the Sick, with a dash of Gorguts' late 90s metamorphosis. They cram quite a lot into each tune in term of tectonic tempo shifting, living up to the cataclysmic cover artwork, and they keep the listener on the edge of his or her seat, straddling the abyss of their infernal creation." Below is the official information about the new music.

ME SACO UN OJO RECORDS and DARK DESCENT RECORDS are proud to present the highly anticipated second album from FACELESS BURIAL, ​Speciation​ on vinyl/CD/cassette and digital. For the past five years, Australia’s FACELESS BURIAL have been flying the flag of classicist ‘90s death metal, first across a demo in 2015 and then the subsequent (and acclaimed) ​Grotesque Miscreation​ debut album in 2017 and follow-up ​Multiversal Abattoir​ MLP a year later. Those latter two recordings, in particular, portrayed the potency of this power-trio, displaying an unremittingly dark and dexterous sound which draws in a variety of death metal traditions. Going from strength to strength, FACELESS BURIAL play their strongest hand yet with the full-length ​Speciation​. Altogether sharper and more finessed than all previous, Speciation​ spreads unimaginable DEATH METAL MIGHT with malignant ease.

FACELESS BURIAL exude a charisma that’s totally their own, which largely comes down to the songwriting itself. Where the preceding records maintained a murky ‘n’ malodorous aspect, that was predominantly in the sound itself; here on ​Speciation​, it’s been parlayed into the tense ‘n’ treacherous textures they explore. Otherwise, no great changes have been made, nor should there be: forever twisting and never stagnating, each of these six songs reveals new corridors through which to spelunk, and efficiently so across the album’s deceptively epic 36-minute runtime. Thankfully, once again, FACELESS BURIAL evade the riff-salad tendencies of so much tech-oriented death metal; their sound isn’t so much a restless blast through scattershot ideas as it is an endlessly malforming entity making rude shapes, and now one colored by narrative lead work. Which is to say nothing of ​the album’s powerful production, which is rendered in authentically analogue tones and further underlines the band’s reverent devotion to death metal classicism. Adorned with form-meeting-content cover artwork, Speciation​ is bound to be the year’s most forward-thinking/backwards-looking death metal album.

TRACK LISTING

1) Worship

2) Limbic Infirmary

3) Irreparably Corpsed

4) Speciation

5) Spuming Catarrhal Gruel

6) Ravished to the Unknown

Faceless Burial - Speciation teaser

Multiversal Abattoir by FACELESS BURIAL

facebook.com/facelessburial/

out August 7: Yanomamö

Once upon a time a Prince declared: Dearly beloved/We are gathered here today/To get through this thing called life. Electric word life/It means forever and that's a mighty long time/But I'm here to tell you/There's something else/The afterworld." To which the prince of the cynics responded, "The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind." When facing such contradictory views on the human animal's roundabout romp in the universe, it is reported by the greatest race car driver of all time that Colonel Sanders simply said, "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken." Enter the Australian sludge team by the name of Yanomamö. On the 7th of August, 2020 they will settle the score with Prince, Nietzsche, and the Colonel by launching new offensive of sludgestonerist barbecue named Sympathy for a Rat. They love the 1970s stoner foundation of Black Sabbath, but they are also substantially angrier and they curse like furious pirates at the local moonshine speakeasy taking turns between fighting each other, hugging each other, and telling stories about the time that a storm stranded them on the island on Hispaniola and they had to survive by learning to communicate with the Great Wise Turtle that ruled the island since the beginning of the circle of time.

It seems like this publication right now is unable to show you any of the new music, but if you listen to 2017's Neither Man nor Beast, you'll have a good idea of what to expect. Anyway, here is the official propaganda that the powers that be would like you to memorize ahead of the album.

It’s well established that pretty much everything in Australia is trying to kill you. So too, apparently, are their heavy metal bands. This particular specimen, roaming the streets of Sydney, are dealers in pitch-black sludge metal. The name is Yanomamö, named after an indigenous Amazonian group known for ritual endocannibalism (which itself is metal enough), and after nine years of existence their sound has only expanded further into new territory, this is self-evident on their new release, No Sympathy for a Rat (proceeding one album, two singles, and three EPs).

A lot is packed in for a half-hour record. The four tracks drip with whiskey-soaked swagger and somehow blends the collective wisdom of Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, and Kylesa - the latter especially in the title track, where crushing heaviness collides with psychedelic groove. The bass filters through like treacle, especially on the Evil Dead 3-inspired “Miasma” (“I can smell your filthy soul!”, we are reminded), and gets a real workout as it thunders through the speakers. The riffs are similarly inspired, with an instant memorability that sets each song apart.

Jack Thomas makes his presence felt with every punch and kick in the crisp and organic drumming. As well as this, cymbal abuse riddles mid-paced thrasher “The Offering” - and the monstrous crashes that happen in the latter third of the song. Whatever is being offered as a sacrifice appears to satiate the recipient. Meanwhile, Scott Tabone roars and shrieks in layers, echoing strains of Neurosis’ rawness, highlighting the troubles of war on “Iron Crown” in one of the record’s most potent moments that - unfortunately - brings the whole thing to a close.

Australia may not be first on people’s minds for ear-decimating metal, but based on the strength of this kind of release it should be. If you aren’t listening to No Sympathy for a Rat, then where the bloody hell are you?

Yanomamö are: Jason Higson: guitar; Clarence Wandren Albatross: bass; Jack Thomas: drums; Scott Tabone: vocals.

Recorded & mixed by Adrian Griffin, mastered in New York by Alan Douches at Westside Mastering.

track listing:

1. No Sympathy for a Rat

2. The Offering

3. Miasma

4. Iron Crown

Neither Man Nor Beast by Yanomamö