The renowned Swedish black metal band MARDUK is back with a new release entitled Memento Mori. Today, MARDUK release the video for their latest single “Shovel Beats Sceptre”. Watch it here:
As anticipation continues to build for Memento Mori, the PRE-ORDER has begun and the LP is available in the following formats:
Ltd. Deluxe Gatefold Ultra Clear-Black Splatter Vinyl With Alternative Cover Artwork (Incl. LP-Booklet, Art-Print & Poster) (Limited to 2,000 copies / All Outlets)
Red Gatefold Vinyl (Limited to 300 copies / Available at Century Media Shop)
White Gatefold Vinyl (Limited to 500 copies / Available via Century Media Shop)
Golden Gatefold Vinyl (Limited to 500 copies / Available at Levykauppa ÄX, Bengans, Supreme Chaos)
Silver Gatefold Vinyl (Limited to 500 copies / Available at EMP & Nuclear Blast)
Black Gatefold Vinyl (All Outlets)
CD Mediabook (All Outlets)
Commenting on the album, MARDUK frontman Daniel Rostén shares: “Memento Mori is, all at once, a bold leap forward, a calculated sidestep, and a wistful backward glance. Meaning, we have broken new ground without forgetting our legacy or the journey that brought us to this point.”
Since their inception in the early ’90s, MARDUK has become one of the most influential and revered bands in the black metal genre. With a discography that spans over three decades, the band has consistently delivered uncompromising and aggressive music that resonates with metal fans worldwide. Memento Mori promises to be another groundbreaking chapter in their storied career, cementing their status as true legends of the genre.
MARDUK is: Daniel Rostén (Vocals) Morgan Hakansson (Guitar) Devo Andersson (Bass) Simon Schilling (Drums)
Riding high on the critical acclaim afforded their highly anticipated fourth
album, Throne Ablaze – released on November 26th, 2018 via
W.T.C. Productions – starting this week, Swedish black metal
elite Valkyrja will be touring as direct support to the
legendary Marduk as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 3” tour. Following the
release of Throne Ablaze last year, Valkyrja took to
the road with Marduk across Europe as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 2” tour
along with the equally legendary Archgoat. A rousing success overall, these new
tour dates will continue both bands’ dominance of the nowadays black metal
scene, and further the spell that Swedish black metal has had over the
underground. Full list of dates as well as poster are as follows: April 13 POL Zabrze @ Wiatrak April
14 CZE Ostrava @ Barrack April 16 CZE Brno @ Melodka April 17 AUT Wien @
Viper Room April 18 SVK Bratislava @ Randal April 19 ROU Cluj Napoca @
/Form Space April 20 ROU Bucarest @ Quantic April 21 BUL Sofia @ Mixtape
5 April 23 MKD Skopje @ MKC April 24 SRB Beograd @ Dom Omladine April
25 CRO Zagreb @ Vintage Industrial Bar April 26 ITA Milan @ Legend April
27 SUI Luzern @ Konzerthaus Schuur April 28 FRA Lyon @ CCO
Villeurbanne April 30 FRA Toulouse @ Metronum May 01 ESP Barcelona @
Boveda May 02 ESP Madrid @ Caracol May 03 POR Lisbon @ RCA Club May 04
POR Porto @ Hard Club May 05 ESP Pamplona @ Totem May 07 FRA Colmar @ Le
Grillen May 08 NED Helmond @ Cacao Fabriek May 09 GER Munster @
Sputnikhalle May 10 FRA Nilvange @ Le Gueulard Plus May 11 NED Hoogeven @
Graveland Festival
Valkyrja was founded in 2004 with the earnest intention of
channeling violence, deprivation, and loathing through means of extraordinarily
potent audio emissions. Their ideals were permeated by passionate and boundless
perversion – a sickly urge festering ever so vibrantly in the essence of its
members, a will to cast off the manacles of societal enslavement and leave a
dying world behind. While the brotherhood took shape, opposition and defiance
surfaced from the deepest recesses of the mind: a fierce hostility towards the
laws and morals of their surroundings, notions which felt entirely alien to the
band’s core.
As part of Valkyrja‘s philosophy of
ridding themselves from limitations, no specific genre was ever chosen since it
would only serve to establish a framework of useless expectation. The artistic
output created under the flag of Valkyrja defies all earthly
shackles, including those of commercial categorization. With ideology as
lodestar, venturing into darkness without a backwards glance, they took their
first fledgling steps on a road staked out by the night
itself.
Valkyrja‘s debut album, The Invocation of
Demise, was recorded in Necromorbus Studio during March 2007 and then
released in physical form by Northern Silence Productions six months later.
Valkyrja quickly gained their reputation as a ferocious live
act: a display of carnal lust leaving each stage with the foul scent of death.
Drawn to the stench of putrid bereavement, Metal Blade Records contracted the
band in 2009. The Invocation of Demise was treated to a re-release by
their new ally, thus spreading the curse even further. The same year also saw a
return to Necromorbus Studio for the recording of their second album, the most
aptly named Contamination. The new tracks would prove to be a crucial
part of the band’s live setlist as they, the following autumn, embarked on their
first European campaign.
Forged and conceived to reflect blood and fire,
the third Valkyrja album, The
Antagonist’s Fire, set the world aflame on the eleventh day of the
eleventh month in the year 2013. The opus also marked the beginning of
Valkyrja‘s long-running collaboration with elite underground
label World Terror Committee. During the past decade,
facilitated by Massive Music and accompanied by titans of extreme metal, over
100 different European cities has been forced to swallow the bitter wine of
sonic violence. Furthermore, 2016 and 2017 saw two extensive North American
tours with Valkyrja as co-headliner, during which 22 different
states were soaked in rotten blood.
Five years removed from the third
opus, Valkyrja return under a new guise. The past few years
have seen the band subjected to several crucial lineup changes, igniting a
period of utter despair that would sow the seeds for what has now come to
pass: Throne Ablaze was unleashed upon the world on November 26th,
2018. The album reflects the passion and dedication of everyone involved, those
who face every storm – past and future – with weapon in hand. It will forever
stand as a monument of continuous struggles – so right there, in the core of
this strife to conquer every obstacle, kneel and obey the fires of the blazing
throne! Cover art, courtesy of Nestor Avalos, and tracklisting are as
follows:
Tracklisting for Valkyrja’s Throne
Ablaze 1. In Ruins I Set
My Throne 2. Crowned Serpent 3. Opposer of Light 4. Tombs Into
Flesh 5. Halo of Lies 6. Transcendental Death 7. Paradise Lost 8.
Throne Ablaze
Riding high on the critical acclaim afforded their highly anticipated fourth
album, Throne Ablaze – released on November 26th, 2018 via
W.T.C. Productions – today, Swedish black metal
elite Valkyrja announce that they’ll be touring as direct
support to the legendary Marduk as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 3” tour.
Following the release of Throne Ablaze last year, Valkyrja
took to the road with Marduk across Europe as part of the “Viktoria
Europa Part 2” tour along with the equally legendary Archgoat. A rousing success
overall, these new tour dates will continue both bands’ dominance of the
nowadays black metal scene, and further the spell that Swedish black metal has
had over the underground. Full list of dates as well as poster are as
follows: April 13 POL Zabrze @ Wiatrak April
14 CZE Ostrava @ Barrack April 16 CZE Brno @ Melodka April 17 AUT Wien @
Viper Room April 18 SVK Bratislava @ Randal April 19 ROU Cluj Napoca @
/Form Space April 20 ROU Bucarest @ Quantic April 21 BUL Sofia @ Mixtape
5 April 23 MKD Skopje @ MKC April 24 SRB Beograd @ Dom Omladine April
25 CRO Zagreb @ Vintage Industrial Bar April 26 ITA Milan @ Legend April
27 SUI Luzern @ Konzerthaus Schuur April 28 FRA Lyon @ CCO
Villeurbanne April 30 FRA Toulouse @ Metronum May 01 ESP Barcelona @
Boveda May 02 ESP Madrid @ Caracol May 03 POR Lisbon @ RCA Club May 04
POR Porto @ Hard Club May 05 ESP Pamplona @ Totem May 07 FRA Colmar @ Le
Grillen May 08 NED Helmond @ Cacao Fabriek May 09 GER Munster @
Sputnikhalle May 10 FRA Nilvange @ Le Gueulard Plus May 11 NED Hoogeven @
Graveland Festival
Valkyrja was founded in 2004 with the earnest intention of
channeling violence, deprivation, and loathing through means of extraordinarily
potent audio emissions. Their ideals were permeated by passionate and boundless
perversion – a sickly urge festering ever so vibrantly in the essence of its
members, a will to cast off the manacles of societal enslavement and leave a
dying world behind. While the brotherhood took shape, opposition and defiance
surfaced from the deepest recesses of the mind: a fierce hostility towards the
laws and morals of their surroundings, notions which felt entirely alien to the
band’s core.
As part of Valkyrja‘s philosophy of
ridding themselves from limitations, no specific genre was ever chosen since it
would only serve to establish a framework of useless expectation. The artistic
output created under the flag of Valkyrja defies all earthly
shackles, including those of commercial categorization. With ideology as
lodestar, venturing into darkness without a backwards glance, they took their
first fledgling steps on a road staked out by the night
itself.
Valkyrja‘s debut album, The Invocation of
Demise, was recorded in Necromorbus Studio during March 2007 and then
released in physical form by Northern Silence Productions six months later.
Valkyrja quickly gained their reputation as a ferocious live
act: a display of carnal lust leaving each stage with the foul scent of death.
Drawn to the stench of putrid bereavement, Metal Blade Records contracted the
band in 2009. The Invocation of Demise was treated to a re-release by
their new ally, thus spreading the curse even further. The same year also saw a
return to Necromorbus Studio for the recording of their second album, the most
aptly named Contamination. The new tracks would prove to be a crucial
part of the band’s live setlist as they, the following autumn, embarked on their
first European campaign.
Forged and conceived to reflect blood and fire,
the third Valkyrja album, The
Antagonist’s Fire, set the world aflame on the eleventh day of the
eleventh month in the year 2013. The opus also marked the beginning of
Valkyrja‘s long-running collaboration with elite underground
label World Terror Committee. During the past decade,
facilitated by Massive Music and accompanied by titans of extreme metal, over
100 different European cities has been forced to swallow the bitter wine of
sonic violence. Furthermore, 2016 and 2017 saw two extensive North American
tours with Valkyrja as co-headliner, during which 22 different
states were soaked in rotten blood.
Five years removed from the third
opus, Valkyrja return under a new guise. The past few years
have seen the band subjected to several crucial lineup changes, igniting a
period of utter despair that would sow the seeds for what has now come to
pass: Throne Ablaze was unleashed upon the world on November 26th,
2018. The album reflects the passion and dedication of everyone involved, those
who face every storm – past and future – with weapon in hand. It will forever
stand as a monument of continuous struggles – so right there, in the core of
this strife to conquer every obstacle, kneel and obey the fires of the blazing
throne! Cover art, courtesy of Nestor Avalos, and tracklisting are as
follows:
Tracklisting for Valkyrja’s Throne
Ablaze 1. In Ruins I Set
My Throne 2. Crowned Serpent 3. Opposer of Light 4. Tombs Into
Flesh 5. Halo of Lies 6. Transcendental Death 7. Paradise Lost 8.
Throne Ablaze
MERRIMACK have announced Japanese tour dates in support of their latest album ”Omegaphilia”, which was released on June 09, 2017. The Parisian black metal fanatics will hit the road to Japan in November, where they will join MARDUK for four shows. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.
MERRIMACK comment on the tour: “9 Years after our successful USA tour with the mighty Marduk, Merrimack will support the Swedish devils again for 4 shows in Japan this November. We are stoked to explore the Nippon territories for the first time, and deliver some pure french Black Metal, played with devotion and faith, to the maniacs there. It’s a brand new experience for us, but it will definitely leave a mark on the Japanese crowd as well!”
MERRIMACK Japan tour
+Marduk
22 Nov 18 Osaka (JP) Fan J Twice
23 Nov 18 Nagoya (JP) Imaike 3 Stars
24 Nov 18 Tokyo (JP) Cyclone
25 Nov 18 Tokyo (JP) Cyclone
MERRIMACK will be playing in support of their latest release ‘Omegaphilia’, which was released on June 9th, 2017 and is streaming in full here!
The cover art of ‘Omegaphilia’, which has been created by Dehn Sora and the album’s track-list can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Cauterizing Cosmos
2. The Falsified Son
3. Apophatic Weaponry
4. Gutters of Pain
5. Sights in the Abysmal Lure
6. Cesspool Coronation
7. At the Vanguard of Deception
Musicians as any artists can be roughly categorised into different groups by their approach to composing. There are those for example, who come with restless souls and always try to find new ways and break into uncharted territories. Others prefer to evolve within a certain genre, driven by a desire to hone their skills and striving to bring their art to perfection. MERRIMACK as black metal traditionalists obviously belong to the latter circle and their fifth full-length with the apocalyptic title ‘Omegaphilia’ is an impressive demonstration of how far the French band has matured.
MERRIMACK are breathing fresh life into an exhausted genre, not by heaping up epithets such as progressive, post-, and avant-garde, but by razor-sharp songwriting, captivating melodies, and close to perfect arrangements. ‘Omegaphilia’ achieves excellence through hard work and experience that shows through on every single song.
MERRIMACK were founded by guitarist Perversifier in 1994 with a clear vision to keep the black metal flame burning as an act of aesthetic terrorism – as adamantly based in the underground as opposed to any attempts to co-opt, commercialise, or turn the style into a self-parody.
With a number of demo recordings (‘Prologue’ – 1995, ‘Act 1’ – 1995, ‘Horns Defeat Thorns’ – 2001) and split releases (with Hirilorn in 1998 and Sargeist in 2002), the French gained respect in the scene by remaining true to their words. Although MERRIMACK decided to reach out to a larger audience with the release of their first full-length ‘Ashes of Purification’ (2002), the Parisians did not sever their roots with the underground at any time.
‘Of Entropy and Life Denial’ (2006) and ‘Grey Rigorism’ (2009) followed and witnessed MERRIMACK closing ranks with the most influential, active, and authentic acts of the French black metal scene. Their classic combination of harsh sound with epic structures appealed to critics and fans alike and put the band on their celebrated first US tour with MARDUK and NACHTMYSTIUM in 2009.
Following the recording of ‘The Acausal Mass’ (2012) again in the legendary Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, DESTRÖYER 666), MERRIMACK embarked on a European tour with Norwegian icons MAYHEM and accepted invitations to prestigious festivals such as Hellfest in their native France, Germany’s Party-San Open Air and Summer Breeze and Montreal’s Messe des Morts in Canada.
Having firmly established their black name and message around the globe, MERRIMACK are setting a bold exclamation mark with ‘Omegaphilia’. Be warned, this album is determined to remain in your playlist for a long time.
