DECEASED set release date for new HELLS HEADBANGERS album, reveal first track

Today, Hells Headbangers Records announces August 30th as the international release date for Deceased‘s highly anticipated eighth album, Children of the Morgue, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

In lieu of this announcement, the band reveal the new title track “Children of the Morgue.” Hear Deceased‘s title track “Children of the Morgue” in its entirety here:

By now, Deceased need no introduction. One of the longest-running American death metal bands, since 1985, Deceased have been there for it all: death metal’s genesis, its creative peak, its commercial peak and subsequent sink into trendiness, the eventual fallout and “un-trendiness,” its rebirth at the hands of a new generation, and on and on. There they have stood, simply and 100% always Deceased, not caring what year it is or what is hip – simply, always, DEATH METAL FROM THE GRAVE!

And across their sizable-yet-succinct discography, at their heart, Deceased have always been a great HEAVY METAL band. They proved it with 1997’s landmark Fearless Undead Machines and continued to prove it with every album thereafter, with 2018’s Ghostly White showing that even this MANY years on, their pistons are pumping harder and more creatively than ever.

During those past three decades, Deceased have not been without ambition. Even when stretching the limits of complexity like on 1995’s The Blueprints for Madness, true-to-death storytelling has always been at the fore of their work, vividly illustrated by the characteristic throat of founder / former drummer King Fowley. And although Fearless Undead Machines was perhaps the apex of that storytelling, never before have Deceased attempted such an emotional, topically rooted-in-death album…until now!

Enter Children of the MorgueDeceased‘s darkest record to date. The album’s concept is on dying and all that it entails, and suitably do the band integrate nearly every element of their past and present arsenal into its 55-minute runtime. “There will be fast parts, slow parts, melodic parts, noisy parts, and everything in between,” Fowley claimed pre-release, and he’s not wrong! But how Deceased manage to thread everything together so seamlessly speaks to the strength of their songwriting – always recognizable, but never resting on past laurels. Here on Children of the Morgue, moody-yet-melodic riffing and lead-work take center stage as Fowley narrates this epic-length tale of life and death. The album’s exceptional pacing and engaging, always-going-forward song constructions heighten the sensation that the record is a lot shorter than it actually is; however, if one was to do some quick math, he’d surmise at least half these tracks are indeed EPIC – at or above the eight-minute mark. Nevertheless, the sum effect is mesmerizing and even majestic, unremittingly DARK as the subject matter may be. The final icing on the cake (or slamming of the morgue’s doors?) is the warm & rustic recording courtesy of Oblivion Studios, where the aforementioned Fearless Undead Machines and co-classic Supernatural Addiction were rendered onto tape.

Nearly 40 years since their formation, Deceased show no signs of stopping – and, in fact, are arguably more potent than ever. You can now add Children of the Morgue to their list of undeniable classics…but this is not the end!

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Deceased’s Children of the Morgue
1. Destination: Morgue 
2. Children of the Morgue
3. Turn to Wither
4. Terrornaut 
5. The Reaper is Nesting 
6. Uninvited Dirge 
7. The Grave Digger 
8. Eerie Wavelengths 
9. Fed to Mother Earth 
10. Skull with the Vacant Stare 
11. Brooding Lament 
12. Farewell (Taken to Forever) 

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/deceasedofficial

www.hellsheadbangers.com
www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers 

CONCRETE WINDS set release date for new SEPULCHRAL VOICE album, reveal first track

Today, Sepulchral Voice Records announces August 30th as the international release date for Concrete Winds‘ highly anticipated third album, self-titled Concrete Winds, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

To all death metal lunatics and black metal psychopaths left out there in this toothless and tamed scene, let us proclaim the word! Concrete Winds are back to push spikes, needles, and barbed wire into your flesh and ears.

Once again, the noise aggressors slit the veil from beyond and step into our world to pillage and hound to death all what was known, predictable, and comfortable in metal music. Their third album is self-titled for mandatory reasons and shows the band furthermore exploring the EXTREME in extreme metal. This truly is rabies set to music!

While their debut, 2019’s Primitive Force, was a beacon of strife in stretching and redefining the boundaries of unholy, grinding death metal, the successor, 2021’s Nerve Butcherer, pushed the limits even harder and set new standards in the world of audial bulldozing destruction and blitzin’ torment. 

With Concrete Winds, the band now open wide again the portals to the abattoir and continue right where Nerve Butcherer had left the listener helplessly in a sonic wasteland of scorched earth, barren soil, and sheer darkness. They manifest their will to tear the listeners’ drumheads out and to creep deep into souls black. As expected, the album is rooted in outrageous speed, heaviest trembling rhythm passages, abysmal croaked curses, turbulent breaks, and repulsive shrieking leads which let you drown in a maelstrom of insanity. But this time, new layers are also added to the pandemonic universe, as weird staccato riffing sections bleed into witching industrial scenarios.

Concrete Winds have always gone further than any recent extreme metal outfit and leave out everything that’s established in music, cut off what became comfortable in metal, and blow away what still feels “appropriate” in extreme metal. It seems that this once-urgent attitude to explore limits finally has a new helmsman. Nevertheless, they stay ever loyal to the elder originators of bloody metal mayhem, but evolve those inspirations taken from masters like Morbid Angel, Necrovore, and Repulsion to a very unique and nearly “reference-less” hellwitchin’ sound.

No less than Lawrence Mackrory – with the help of Matti Mäkelä – recorded, mixed, and mastered this cacophonic eruption mostly at Rorysounds Studios in Uppsala, Sweden. All of it is bound together in nine signature two-word-titled songs that altogether does not exceed the 27-minute mark. Calculators may wrongly estimate it as “short,” but measured in CW units, it has the perfect length to die a thousand deaths. 

Concrete Winds have never been for the faint-hearted. They always killed any scent of entertaining characters straight from the seed. It’s easy not to understand them; it’s easy not to comprehend them; it’s easy not to love them. But it should not be easy to confuse entertainment with art: true art must hurt.

However, this is Concrete fucking Winds‘ third album! And it will definitely not leave anyone untouched, no matter in which way – PERIOD.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Infernal Repeater”  here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Concrete Winds’ Concrete Winds
1. Permanent Dissonance
2. Virulent Glow
3. Daylight Amputations
4. Infernal Repeater
5. Subterranean Persuasion
6. Hell Trance
7. Systematic Distortion
8. Demented Gospels
9. Pounding Devotion

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/aggressivenoisetorment
www.concretewinds.bandcamp.com

www.sepulchralvoice.de
www.facebook.com/sepulchralvoicerecords

FÖRGJORD reveal first video from upcoming new WEREWOLF album

Today, Finnish black metallers Förgjord reveal the new video “Käärmeenkieli.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated seventh album, Perkeleen Weri, which should see release via Werewolf Records during the second half of 2024. See & hear Förgjord‘s “Käärmeenkieli” video in its entirety here:

For years one of Finnish black metal’s best-kept secrets, in recent times have Förgjord sprung to prominence among the adventurous as practitioners of a strangely alluring sort of obsidian. Although existing since the mid ’90s and patiently parceling out their recordings in an almost-clandestine manner, the upswing in activity began with Förgjord‘s third album (and first with Werewolf), Uhripuu, in 2017 and was followed by the equally challenging Ilmestykset in 2019, the comparatively more rockin’ Laulu kuolemasta a year later, and the draw-everything together Ruumissaarna Pt. 1 in 2022. Among those four full-lengths, the Finnish trio solidified and strengthened their strident aesthetic – malodorous melodicism, hypnotically rendered through a ripped-raw soundfield, making their strangely hummable ruminations on triumph & tragedy sound all the more alien, each album unified yet unique within that aesthetic – and made it all seem effortless. Finally, it seemed that the name Förgjord was no longer a “secret.”

As such, it makes total sense for Förgjord to strike back with inarguably their most-direct and least-tweaked album yet: Perkeleen Weri. The band’s seventh full-length, Perkeleen Weri is definitely – and immediately – recognizable as Förgjord, maintaining mostly all those above characteristics and chiseled into new-yet-familiar shapes. However, the distinct difference here is that the band have dialed down the atmosphere for the sake of the almighty RIFF. Indeed, Perkeleen Weri is rife with riffs…riff after riff after riff after RIFF, all of them rough and rowdy and catchy and cantankerous. It’s a sonic / psychic move back to ancient times, primordial “regression” of a most ’80s manner (or, at the very least, the very early ’90s) that’s symbolic of both youth and older age. While nostalgic in essence, the burning-black flame here strides forward, ready to burn past, present, and future; suitably, the execution and especially recording feel almost clearheaded in context, or at least Förgjord‘s most crystalized attack yet. Melodicism abounds, of course, but there’s a murderous edge to Perkeleen Weri that’s never been this fully explored. Add to that palpitating attack a tasteful dose of organ and some chorus FX and you have a black metal record that’s simultaneously traditional and nuanced.

Perkeleen Weri is an album which is dedicated to glory days of black metal,” explains founding guitarist / bassist Valgrinder, “when things were pure and albums were built more on guitar riffs and not just atmosphere, when songs themselves weren’t hidden behind hellish tempos or under huge production. Perkeleen Weri is a pure, naked, and shameless album, for both good and bad – nothing more, nothing less.”

As always, a carefully cultivated lyricism informs Förgjord‘s latest work. Valgrinder again: “Lyrically, it is a compilation of small stories from our part of Savo area, stories that were told from one generation to the next. Whispered secrets, well-known tragedies, and horror stories that were told to children to keep them safe; memories from old days when brother stood against his brother – the untold sins of Finland’s civil war, wounds that never healed properly. It’s about hard times, when depression took over the lands and charlatans tried to exploit the common man – when the blood of Perkele was running and people did whatever they had to, just to survive. We are here not to judge, but to speak their stories.”Release date, cover, tracklisting to be announced shortly.

For more info, consult the links below.

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/forgjord

www.werewolf.fi
www.facebook.com/werewolf.rex

AGRYPNIE set release date for new AOP RECORDS album, reveal first track featuring SECRETS OF THE MOON member

Today, AOP Records announces September 13th as the international release date of Agrypnie‘s highly anticipated seventh album, Erg, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Founded in 2004 by songwriter Torsten H., who is also active in the bands Nocte Obducta, Theotoxin, and Suel as well as other musical projects, Agrypnie have developed into a significant force in the black metal scene over the years. What began as a solo project was expanded into a full band to enable live performances in 2007, a year after the release of the debut album F51.4.

With nine releases, including six albums, Agrypnie have created an extensive discography that reflects the variety and depth of their musical universe. Over time, Agrypnie have completed numerous tours and festival as well as club performances, captivating their audience with their intense stage presence and powerful performances.  And as of 2024, with the planned release of their seventh album, Erg, drum recordings for the eighth album are already completed.

The album Metamorphosis, released in 2021, was Agrypnie‘s first under the renowned label AOP Records and reached #29 on the official German album charts. Additionally, it was named one of the top five black metal releases of 2021 by the German Metal Hammer. These recent successes, along with past achievements, highlight the band’s continuous development.

And that development arguably reaches its apex with Erg. In one sense, Erg is Agrypnie‘s most aggressive album to date; every instrument attacks from every angle, almost overwhelmingly so if not for the clear & cutting recording and the band’s enviously sharp execution. In another sense, Erg displays considerable daring and depth; while “black metal” in foundation, the album’s songwriting crests and crashes with kaleidoscopic wonder and cathartic urgency alike. That Agrypnie manage to make these eight compositions (“Blut” is a two-part suite) a forever-unfolding adventure that reveals ever-deeper truths the more one listens to it is a testament to their power and prowess as both songwriters and musicians. Rich sonically and in emotion, majestic even when plumbing the depths of melancholy, Erg is a tour de force of wide-screen BLACK METAL regardless of “progressive” or “post-” appellations. 

Currently, along with Torsten, drummer Flo – songwriter for labelmates Theotoxin, drummer for Schirenc Plays Pungent Stench, and live drummer for bands such as Benighted and Schammasch – is the only permanent studio musician. The live musicians Lykanthrop (Batushka, guitar), Chris (Perchta, guitar), and Andi (ex-Paul Di’Anno Band, bass) complete  Agrypnie.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Aus rauchlosem Feuer” featuring Phil Jonas of Secrets of the Moon here:

Cover artwork, courtesy of syn2 / Marco Klein, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Agrypnie’s Erg
1. Aus rauchlosem Feuer
2. Meer ohne Wasser
3. Sturm
4. Blut
5. Entität
6. Stunde des Wolfes
7. Geister
8. Unter Sandessen und verscharrt

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/agrypnie.official

www.aoprecords.de
www.facebook.com/aoprecords

GRAVENOIRE Release First Single “France de l’Ombre”

In an era where the essence of black metal has been diluted by the sands of time and commercial ambition, GRAVENOIRE stands as the unyielding monument to its original, uncompromising spirit. Today, GRAVENOIRE is proud to announce the first beacon from their much-anticipated album, Devant La Porte Des Étoiles – the premiere single, France de l’Ombre.

Crafted in the crucible of raw emotion and shrouded mysteries, France de l’Ombre is a declaration, a ritualistic embrace of the shadows that define our existence. This composition dives deep into the heart of darkness, resurrecting the primordial sounds of 90’s black metal, intertwined with the unique mystical essence that courses through GRAVENOIRE‘s veins. It’s a journey back to the roots, back to a time when music was a gateway to the primal and the arcane.

GRAVENOIRE, forged in the sacred fires of artistic rebellion and spiritual awakening, channels the raw, unfiltered energies of spectral and telluric realms. This song, like each chapter of Devant La Porte Des Étoiles, serves as a tome, inscribed with the ink of defiance and the undying lust for transcendence. The musicianship of GRAVENOIRE, a covenant of beings bound by their shared lineage within the pantheon of black metal elites such as Anorexia Nervosa, BÂ’A, and Diablation, ascends in France de l’Ombre to guide listeners through forgotten paths under a starlit dome.

Devant La Porte Des Étoiles is out August 23 on Season of Mist: Underground Activists.

Witness the arcane majesty. Pre-save and pre-order your journey into the shadows here: 
https://orcd.co/gravenoiredevantlaportedesetoiles

Watch the video for France de l’Ombre here:

Tracklist:1. Pavens (1:27)
2. France de l’Ombre (5:53) [WATCH]
3. Ordo Opera Cultura (4:03)
4. Aux Chiens (4:18)
5. Granit (5:21)
6. Gravenoire (4:11)
Total runtime: 25:16

GRAVENOIRE was formed in early 2022 by Maximilien Brigliadori (BÂ’A, Diablation, former Hyrgal), Emmanuel Zuccaro (BÂ’A, Verfallen, former Hyrgal), Vicomte Vampyr Arkames (Diablation (former Seth / Ad-Inferna) and RMS Hreidmarr(Glaciation, BÂ’A, former Anorexia Nervosa / The CNK), with the clear intention of reconnecting with their past and a somewhat uncompromising vision of 90s Black Metal.
 
The band’s first album, “Devant La Porte Des Étoiles“, was recorded live on rehearsal, with no tracking, no triggers, no click track, no artifice. No compromise with reality, for it is through it and by it that we foresee other dimensions. 
 
GRAVENOIRE is not, however, merely nostalgic or backward-looking; it’s a project deeply rooted in its native lands, in their popular as well as spiritual and mystical traditions, drawing its essence from sacred places, cosmic architecture and primordial telluric forces. “The cosmos is a revolving door”.
Line-up:
Maximilien Brigliadori – Guitars, Bass Guitar
Emmanuel Zuccaro – Drums, Keys
Vicomte Vampyr Arkames – Vocals
RMS Hreidmarr – Vocals

Recording Studio:
Gravenoire Rehearsal Room, Location Unknown

Production Credits:
Produced & Engineered by Gravenoire
Mixed & Mastered by Arnaud Ménard at Sicarius Productions

Cover Art:
Aude Sine

Photography:
Aude Sine, Nel Walden & Gravenoire

Stream & Order: https://orcd.co/gravenoiredevantlaportedesetoiles

Links/Follow Artist:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553036631501
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gravenoireoff/

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Crystal Clear
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Purple w/ ​Black Splatters

Germany’s UPRISING reveal second track from new AOP RECORDS album – features members of WALDGEFLÜSTER, PANOPTICON+++

Today, German black metallers Uprising reveal the new track “While the World is Burning.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, III, set for international release on July 19th via AOP Records. Hear Uprising‘s “While the World is Burning” in its entirety here:

Uprising was wretched from the shadows in 2016 by W. – a founding member of Waldgeflüster – with the release of I. While rooted in the classic tropes and topics of black metal, I already started to deal with social and political issues, which became the main focus on its successor, II, in 2020. II continued where I ended, incorporating rocking riffs and melancholic melodies built upon an aggressive and driving black metal foundation. 

In 2024 follows III, continuing the path that was started eight years ago. Supported by the furious drumming by Austin Lunn of Panopticon, a sonically and spiritually suiting counterpart, Uprising‘s third album again focuses on melodies and aggression in the vein of its two predecessors – desperate but triumphant, furious but refined, and always maintaining an urgency no matter how epic a composition gets – but this time with a more refined sound and fully embracing the social and political criticism, which became one of the trademarks of this project. One could call III the band’s cleanest and clearest recording, and he would not be wrong; the tradeoff is that that sociopolitical criticism hits harder, for what good is a message if it’s not spoken in its sharpest voice? From social injustice to raging hymns advocating climate protection, Uprising stay true to their moniker and show again that black metal can be relevant to society. 

Also hear the previously revealed “Eternal Mantra” HERE, also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of Misanthropic Art, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Uprising (Germany)’s III
1. Eternal Mantra [6:39]
2. Uprise III [7:05]
3. Raise a Glass [6:36]
4. A Message to the Hypocrites [4:08]
5. While the World Is Burning [7:55]
6. Brace Yourself [8:05]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/uprisingblackmetal

www.aoprecords.de
www.facebook.com/aoprecords

WORMED Traverse the Pleoverse on new Single

WORMED unveils Pleoverse Omninertia, the latest single from their eagerly anticipated Sci-Fi Tech Death Metal album, OmegonWORMED has once again successfully harnessed the raw essence of cosmic dissonance; Pleoverse Omninertia showcases their unparalleled mastery. Recorded in the spectral shadows of BlackStorm Studios, and given form by the alchemical wizardry of Colin Marston at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves, this track propels the listener into a labyrinth of quantum entanglements and cosmic lore.

Pleoverse Omninertia immerses audiences into a cryptic dimension where reality itself bends to the divine algorithms of the Pleoverse. Beneath the veneer of chaos lies an ordered dance of subatomic particles, narrating the saga of Krighsu, the transcendent timeline hacker, in his perpetual quest for the Omegon—a substance of unimaginable power that lies at the heart of ancient galactic conflict.

As Krighsu navigates through the surreal tapestry of the Pleoverse, the track’s brutal elegance and technical precision unravel a narrative steeped in the metaphysical struggle for power, truth, and the manipulation of cosmic forces. Echoing the enigmatic essence of its creators, Pleoverse Omninertia is but a glimpse into the multidimensional battlefield that WORMED invites you to traverse.

Listen to Pleoverse Omninertia here:

Omegon comes out July 5 on Season of Mist.

Tracklist
1. Automaton Virtulague (4:13) [WATCH]
2. Pareidolia Robotica (4:56)
3. Protogod (4:48) [LISTEN]
4. Pleoverse Omninertia (3:44) [LISTEN]
5. Malignant Nexus (1:58)
6. Virtual Teratogenesis (4:28)
7. Aetheric Transdimensionalization (4:53)
8. Gravitational Servo Matrix (4:25)
9. Omegon (7:31)
Total runtime: 41:00

Space – the final frontier. Yet, when WORMED reach out into the void, the results sound far more like a dark space opera inhabited by bizarre aliens, genetically and technically evolved meta-humans struggling for power and survival in galactic empires. Now, the nano-technological war has been unleashed in the void to defeat the last sower of human life, Krighsu!

Odd-time signatures, avalanches of breaks and complex rhythmical as well as melodic patterns will excite every aficionado of extreme technicality, while growls down-tuned strings and double-bass assaults will more than satisfy extreme metal connoisseurs. While being outstandingly skilled musicians WORMED are avoiding any self-indulgent show of prowess for its own sake. Instead, the five-piece from Madrid clearly lays its emphasis on creating atmospheric songs, which develop and grow along the underlying story.

Originating from Spain’s capital Madrid in 1998, WORMED immediately made an impact in the death metal scene with the release of their ‘Floating Cadaver in the Monochrome’ MCD (1999). Following a promo CD under the title ‘Voxel Mitosis’ (2001), the first studio album ‘Planisphaerium’ received high acclaim by critics and fans alike in 2003. In the wake of their debut full-length, the Spanish received invitations to international festival shows and touring around the globe. WORMED performed in Japan alongside GORATORY and VOMIT REMNANTS and afterwards hit Europe with MALIGNANCY and DESPONDENCY.

A creative hiatus, partly due to line-up changes and filled with re-issues of their previous released as well as the single ‘Quasineutrality’ (2010) finally ended, when their sophomore album ‘Exodromos’ came out in 2013. On their third full-length ‘Krighsu’ (2016), the fast-rising Spanish Sci-Fi tech death prodigies are telling a dystopian cosmic story with lyrics and music joined into an overarching concept. Its intense brutality, dissonant dynamic riffing, and tremendous heaviness combined with an amazing futuristic concept, which introduced the character Krighsu – last human in the cosmos, harvested top reviews and saw WORMED headlining in the US and co-headlining in Europe.

In the summer of 2019, WORMED brought their ultra-technical cosmic sonic onslaught to new heights on their 4-track EP ‘Metaportal’, released through Season of Mist. Praised as a monstrously satisfying addition to their catalogue, the EP bridged the gap between their previously released 2016 ‘Krighsu’ and their newest project. Atmospheric yet faithful to the skull-crushing mindboggling textures they’ve given fans over the years, ‘Metaportal’ allowed WORMED to come to terms with the loss of Guillermo Calero in 2018 and move forward.

On ‘Omegon’, WORMED’s upcoming 2024 release, they continue the story of Krigshu, a timeline hacker entangled in manipulation by cosmic forces. As viciously as the aggression they bring on their technically impressive instruments, Krigshu battles his way to unlock the mysteries of Omegon, a mysterious cosmic substance holding ultimate power. With 9 tracks of ultimate interstellar chaos, a story unfolds and WORMED prove yet again that they reign supreme on the technical death metal genre.

Line-up
Phlegeton – Vocals
Migueloud – Guitars
D-Kazar – Guitars
Guillemoth – Bass
V-Kazar – Drums

Recording Studio
BlackStorm Studios (Karrantza, Basque Country)

Production Credits
Ekaitz Garmendia – Producer & Sound Engineer
Mixed & Mastered by Colin Marston at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves (Queens, NY, USA)
Editing by Simon Da Silva at The Empty Hall (Madrid, ES)

Cover Art
Phlegeton – “Phlegeton Art Studio

Stream & Order: https://orcd.co/wormedomegon

Links/Follow Artist:
Official Website: http://www.wormed.net/
Bandcamp: https://wormed.bandcamp.com/
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/324196
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wormed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wormedband/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wormedband
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/WormedTV
Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/artist/wormed/id341334269
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1YXwL0RvyKn9swZ6CsVDwk
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B002XOX5EY/wormed

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – White
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Transparent Blue
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Blue, Black & White Marbled

SHOW ME A DINOSAUR to have third album released worldwide by AOP RECORDS

On July 26th, AOP Records is proud to present a worldwide edition of Show Me a Dinosaur‘s third album, Plantgazer, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Show Me a Dinosaur are a heavy post-rock / blackgaze band from Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. This genre-defying band formed in 2010 and released their critically acclaimed debut EP, Evolvent, in 2011 and the dark, brooding masterpiece Dust in 2014.

The unwavering desire to explore an increasingly desperate and harsher sound led to personnel changes. Dinosaur felt a new lease of life and the urge to explode, so in 2015, they took to the road with good friends Trna for an incredibly adventurous Russian spring tour.

In March 2016, they released their self-titled second album, Show Me a Dinosaur, a juggernaut of raw emotions and technical prowess. The release was included in Post-Rock Listener’s Choice 50 Best Releases of 2016, Arctic Drones’ 50 Favourite Albums of 2016, and featured at #12 in Post-Rock Essentials Top 30 Releases of 2016.

On May 20, 2017, Show Me a Dinosaur released a new song called “Unsaid” on a five-band split album called Imperfect. The band went on to perform in July of that year at Devilstone 17 in Lithuania and in September at Vivid, a post-rock festival in Norway.

The band lineup changed again in 2018, and Show Me a Dinosaur hit the road in 2019 for European tour with dear friends Trna. The band – now consisting of Pavel Volkov (guitar), Artem Selyugin (guitar, vocals), Philip Chernonog (bass), and Daniel Kourdakov (drums) – have evolved into one of the most intense and awe-inspiring bands in Europe.

Plantgazer was released on December 4, 2020 digitally and physically, the latter as an independent self-release. AOP Records is now proud to re-release the album on European soil on July 26, 2024.

Plantgazer is an album born from someone locked inside his home. Someone gazing at his house plants day in, day out, and trying to figure out answers to the many questions this new world has given rise to. An album born from the hope of breaking through a growing anxiety.

In the meantime, see & hear a special guitar playthrough for “Red River” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Show Me a Dinosaur’s Plantgazer
1. Sunflower
2. Marsh
3. Red River
4. Selva
5. Unsaid I
6. Hum
7. Unsaid II

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/showmeadinosaur 

www.aoprecords.de
www.facebook.com/aoprecords

ADON set release date for NEUROPA debut – features members of DECAPITATED, VADER+++

Today, Neuropa Records announces August 2nd as the international release date for ADON’s highly anticipated debut album, Adon, on CD and vinyl formats.

Formed in 2019, ADON are a black / death metal duo hailing from America, helmed by lifelong friends guitarist Nath and vocalist Æthelwulf II. They found solid footing in late 2020 with the addition of session drummer James Stewart (Decapitated, ex-Vader). Their first public release was the Arkane EP in October of that year. A period of silence lasting four years would follow as ADON worked on their full-length debut. The “Axiom” digital single was revealed at the very beginning of 2024, teasing the dark delights of that debut album.

At last, ADON’s first full-length arrived in the form of Adon, elegantly self-titled. Its initial release was exclusively through The Metalhead Box subscription service, but so impressed with its cold-steel majesty, Neuropa immediately sought to release the record worldwide on both CD and vinyl, with expanded deluxe layout. And for good reason: ADON’s opening salvo is a heat-seeking missile and massive wall of gleaming chrome alike, an example of “blackened death metal” that honors the full potential of such an appellation, and very simply a very superlative display of songwriting acumen and pummeling intensity.

An exploration into dark fantasy, a true story of repeating history – ADON characterize their main motives thusly, and so does Adon bring them to burned-black life. ADON examine the fragility of existence through story and violent legend, and supposes what happens when our world is ended. Illustrating that is a record that comprises six songs in 49 minutes that lay forth a stark, sometimes-sensual landscape of cutting clarity and rusted-razor violence. Its unique structure as an album – two distinct halves, which start with two conventional-length songs segueing into two respective titans, the nearly 17-minute “Adon” and the 11-minute closer “Æon,” which is to say nothing of every track beginning with the letter A – regulates and exacerbates the sturm und drang of their equally graceful and muscular execution, where quite-often-godly solos wind in and out of their slipstreaming surge. That latter aspect heightens the overall classiness of Adon, an all-too-rare accomplishment among today’s black / death scene where “good production” is often a slippery slope to sterility. Instead, ADON show themselves as astute craftsmen, able to put their considerable chops in service of the song, and evince a cold / hard / dead texture that feels palpably post-modern despite their authentically classic foundation.

Aesthetic signposts are there, to be sure – prime Necrophobic, Lord Belial, and Naglfar to Thorns’ lone album, post-Rebel Extravaganza Satyricon, and the Norwegian Zykon – but boundless in inspiration and bringing a distinctly American air to proceedings, ADON are undoubtedly on their way to conquering the underground with Adon. What could’ve been one of the “best-kept secrets” is now being released in a worldwide edition: immerse thyself in its alluring “Æther”!

In the meantime, hear Adon in its entirety here:

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for ADON’s Adon
1. Ascension [6:09]
2. Æther [5:27]
3. Adon [16:44]
4. Azimuth [5:19]
5. Axiom [3:48]
6. Æon [11:04]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/ADONmetal
www.adonmetal.bandcamp.com 

www.neuroparecords.com
www.facebook.com/neuroparecords
 

ROTTING CHRIST Release Bonus Track “Primal Resurrection”

Brothers and sisters of the sacred metal conclave, the hour is upon us to unite under the blackened banner of ROTTING CHRIST once more. With hearts ablaze and spirits untamed, the Tolis brothers proudly present to you the bonus single ‘Primal Resurrection’ from the recently released full-length album, Pro Xristou.

For over three electrifying decades, ROTTING CHRIST have harnessed the whispers of ancient gods, crafting symphonies that resonate with the soul of the true metal spirit. Pro Xristou, translating fervently to ‘Before Christ’, is a blackened testament, a beacon in the dark celebrating the endurance of pagan might amidst the looming shadows of Christianity.

Primal Resurrection emerges as a phoenix from the ashes of history, embodying the essence of our signature sound—a ceremonious blend of mesmeric melodies, harrowing atmospheres, and the valiant roar of epic metal. This song is a voyage back to an era where gods walked among men, and the last pagan kings battled valiantly against the encroaching tides of oblivion, safeguarding the relics of a wisdom too profound to perish.

Pro Xristou & Pro Xristou – Deluxe Edition is out now on Season of Mist & all streaming platforms

 Order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/RottingChristProXristou

Track-list

1. Pro Xristou (Προ Χριστού) (1:29)
2. The Apostate (5:01) [WATCH]
3. Like Father, Like Son (4:35) [WATCH]
 4. The Sixth Day (3:56)
5. La Lettera Del Diavolo (4:01)
6. The Farewell (6:15)
7. Pix Lax Dax (4:33)
8. Pretty World, Pretty Dies (4:51) [WATCH]
9. Yggdrasil (5:04)
10. Saoirse (6:17) [WATCH]
11. Primal Resurrection (Bonus Track) (5:32) – Only Deluxe Editions! [WATCH]
12. All For One (Bonus Track) (3:37) – Only Deluxe Editions!
Total runtime: 55:17

In the dimly lit catacombs of extreme metal, one name stands as a monolith: ROTTING CHRIST. Sakis Tholis and his brother Themis started this band together back in 1987. In the three decades since, these Greek titans have left their blackened imprint all over the metal world. They’ve released 13 studio albums and played more than 1,300 concerts around the globe.  Underneath all this hard work, Rotting Christ have but one vision – an urge to not only push the boundaries of extreme metal, but to keep reinventing themselves along the way.

Rotting Christ’s evolution has unfolded across several distinct chapters. After starting out closer to the barely controlled chaos of grindcore, they went on to establish the iconic sound of Hellenic black metal. Their albums often embrace refined gothic soundscapes, only to plunge back into the depths of blasphemous fervour. Each chapter marked another, further exploration, and an unwavering commitment to push boundaries.

But the real turning point came in 2007, when Rotting Christ signed a pact with Season of Mist. They unleashed a series of albums for the French label that defied any and all expectations. From the piercing Theogonia and the symphonic grandeur of Aelo to the ritualistic intensity of Κατά Τον Δαίμονα Εαυτού, the cinematic experiences created by Rotting Christ became a spectacle of bombastic atmospheres, mesmerizing choirs, and neo-classical arrangements. The unexpected is their modus operandi, with the use of various languages (Latin, Arabic, Greek,  English) as well as the extensive use of famous poetry woven into their music, like Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’ on The Heretics.

In 2019, Rotting Christ’s epic journey continued with The Apocryphal Spell compilation, which offers fans an intimate glimpse into unreleased and rare material. This allowed them to gather strength, preparing for the release of their next, highly anticipated, 14th full-length studio album: Pro Xristou.

Pro Xristou
 (‘Before Christ’ in Greek), serves as a fervent tribute to the last Pagan kings who resisted the onslaught of Christianity, guarding their ancient values and knowledge. In this thematic odyssey, intricately woven through tracks such as ‘The Apostate’ and ‘Ygdrassil’, Rotting Christ delves into the legacies of historical figures such as Flavius Claudius Julianus and Nordic mythological kings, embodying the might of Pagan wisdom in the face of Christian adversity. The album encapsulates the essence of Rotting Christ’s signature style – melodic, yet harsh at times – reinventing themselves yet again, while remaining rooted in their 35-year legacy.

Line-up
Sakis Tolis – Guitar, Vocals
Themis Tolis – Drums
Kostas “Spades” Heliotis – Bass
Kostis Fouk – Guitar

Guest Musicians
Amdroniki Skoula – Vocals (on ‘La Letra Del Diavolo’)
Nikos Kerkiras – Keyboard
Christina Alexiou – Choir
Maria Tsironi – Choir
Alexandros Loyziotis – Choir
Vasilis Karatzas- Choir

Andrew Liles – Narration (on ‘The Apostate’, ‘Pretty World, Pretty Dies’)
Kim Diaz Holm – Narration (on ‘Ygdrassil’)

Recording Studio
Deva Sounds Studios (Athens, Greece)

Producer
Sakis TolisSound Engineer
Fotis Bernando
Aggelos Karatzas

Mixing
Jens Borgen at Fascination Street Studios (Örebro, Sweden)

Mastering
Tony Lidgren at Fascination Street Studios (Örebro, Sweden)

Artwork Artists
Thomas Cole – Artwork
Adrien Bousson – Digital Processing

Biography
Sébastien J. Gamez

Links:
Official Website: https://www.rotting-christ.com/en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rottingchristofficial/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rottingchristofficial/
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/athanatoieste
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RottingChristOfficia
Bandcamp: https://rottingchristofficial.bandcamp.com/
Apple Music: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/rotting-christ/id28441629
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7FhkwcO8Jd7BRWdllBpXBJ

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
CD Clamshell Box – Deluxe Digipak w/ Gold Foil + 2 Bonus
Tracks & Extras
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Crystal Clear
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Crystal Clear, Red & Blue Mixed
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Green
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Turquoise
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Yellow
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Blue
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – silver & Black Marbled
Limited Box Set Vinyl – 12″ Gold & Black Marbled w/ Gold Foil + 2 Bonus Tracks & Extras
Cassette