Ameriška death rock/punk hardcore zasedba Final Gasp je razkrila pesem Blood and Sulfur s prihajajočega prvenca Mourning Moon, ki izide 22. septembra pri Relapse Records.

Grški depresivni black metalci Sorry... so razkrili, da bo njihov tretji studijski album z naslovom Self Inflicted Razor Cutting izšel 20. oktobra pri založbi Tragedy Productions. Plošček prinaša teh devet komadov:

Self Inflicted Razor Cutting
Lying in a Pool of Blood
Complete Isolation
Days of Uselessness
Broken Promises
Never Reached Dreams (Hanging Garden Cover)
Window to Another Pointless Sunset
A Tortured Sight and The Final Breath
Path of Nothingness

Francoska death metal/powerviolence/crust zasedba Karras bo 29. septembra pri založbi M-Theory Audio izdala svoj drugi album z naslovom We Poison Their Young, katerega naslovnico je razkrila pred kratkim. Album bo vseboval 13 komadaov:

Prelude to the Depths
A Chaplain's Breath
Roland Doe
The Hermit's Anger
Lutheran Blade
New Pariah
Demons Got Rhythm
Ritual Overdose
Fear Me, Go Fast
The Ouija
My Aim Is Violence
Final High
Negative Life

Nemške thrasherje Rezet boste septembra lahko ujeli na turneji Triple Thrash Threat, in sicer z zasedbama Blind Illusion in Fateful Finality. Vse datume turneje, ki obsegajo izključno nastope v Nemčiji in enega v avstrijskem Salzburgu, lahko preverite na priloženi sliki.

Sicer pa band še sporoča, da sta miks in mastering novega albuma končana in da bodo nove informacije v tej zvezi znane kmalu.

Ameriška death rock/punk hardcore zasedba Final Gasp s komadom Climax Infinity napoveduje debitantski album Mourning Moon, ki bo izšel 22. septembra pri Relapse Records na vinilu, zgoščenki, kaseti in digitalno.

Power metalci Dragonheart napovedujejo izid petega studijskega albuma. Ta bo nosil naslov The Dragonheart's Tale in bo pri založbi Rockshots Records izšel 25. avgusta ter bo zajemal te komade:

The Hangman Willy's Tavern
Dragonheart's Tale
Act 1: Sea, Waves And Gunpowder
Under The Black Flag
Ghost Of The Storm
Barbarian Armada
Act 2: Battle, Honor And Blood
Eric, The Red
Westgate Battlefield
Act 3: Magic, Anvil And Fire
The Devil Is By My Side
Plague Maker
Finale: The Bard
The Ballad Of John Cursed
Early Days

Domači progresivni death metalci Morost sporočajo, da so podpisali z založbo TeufelsZeug Records. Spodaj lahko v celoti preberete uradno sporočilo banda:

»It is with great honor and joy that I inform you that Morost has signed a contract with the German metal label TeufelsZeug Records.

We first met at Kaltenbach Open Air 2022, where a windy storm got us all in a bit of trouble. Seeing T-shirts flying around the merch stand, we helped each other out and a few hours later we were already talking over beer. Some meetings and calls later, we can finally announce the signing of a contract.«

Ameriška black metal zasedba Lucifixion predstavlja komad O To Strike One Great and Final Wound on Thee Sum of Thee Lives of Thee Earthe kot drugi single s prihajajočega prvenca Trisect Joy of Pierced Hearts. Ta bo konec junija izšel pri Sentient Ruin Laboratories.

Domači thrasherji Black Camo se bodo v petek, 16. junija, pomerili v finalu Špil lige, ki se bo v okviru festivala Junij v Ljubljani odvijala na Kongresnem trgu v Ljubljani. Black Camo so na sporedu ob 20. uri, vstop pa je prost.

Avtorica fotografije: Tia Brzin.

Ameriška black metal zasedba Lucifixion je obelodanila komad Howl, Thy Desolate Sound, s katerim napoveduje prvenec Trisect Joy of Pierced Hearts. Ta bo izšel konec junija pri založbi Sentient Ruin Laboratories in prinaša naslednje komade:

Hammer of Fevered Lights
Howl, Thy Desolate Sound
Feral Mass
Agony Fugue
O, to Strike One Great and Final Wound on Thee Sum of Thee Earthe
Iron Outer Midnyghte
Trisect Joys

Organizatorji legendarnega festivala Bang Your Head sporočajo, da se je ta za vedno poslovil. Več podrobnosti lahko preberete v izjavi organizatorja:

THAT WAS IT! Hello friends, it is with a heavy heart that we are writing these lines. But there is no other way. We really gave and did everything we could to finally catch up with celebrating the big BANG YOU HEAD!!! anniversary in 2023, and eagerly anticipated this summer like no other. But: We alone, unfortunately, did not have control over creating the circumstances needed to set up an event of this caliber with the requirement to quality connected to the name BANG YOUR HEAD!!! and actually make it happen. A lot changed in the past three years and not a lot of it was and is good. All in all, it can and must be said: The whole scene changed, and the preconditions for organizing an open-air event in Balingen are completely different in 2023 than they were in 2019 – also from an economic perspective. All in all, we thus come to the conclusion, even if it is incredibly sad, that there are too many factors and forces working against us, and pushing through to organize an event at any cost would cause more losses for us and others involved than putting an end to it now. And this is how it is now: The BANG YOUR HEAD!!! 2023 can and will NOT take place. Due to the abovementioned reasons which we can’t describe in further detail due to reasons that are hopefully understandable, there is no viable path that we can take responsibility for aside from calling off the big anniversary party in Balingen. We hope for your understanding and thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts that supported us, believed in us, and kept their tickets or even bought new ones. Especially for you we tried everything to finally raise the BANG YOUR HEAD!!! flag again over the Swabian Alb, but it seems like it was not meant to be. And to make sure to avoid any potential misunderstandings: There will be no more BANG YOUR HEAD!!! festivals in the future. This was it. Because we know that many of you waited for the BYH!!! this year with immense anticipation, we intensely tried to come up with a way to marginally make up for the cancellation of the event. So, we had an idea for a ticket exchange to the ROCK OF AGES festival 2023 which you can read up on in the detailed statement on www.bang-your-head.de. Of course, we will also reimburse the purchasing price to everybody who would like to return their tickets – irrespective of which of the past years the tickets for 2023 were purchased. We will inform you about the detailed process shortly through our channels. We want to thank you once again for your support at all 24 festivals and we would be thrilled to greet you as part of the LOYAL ONES in Seebronn on 28th June! Stay heavy! Horst and the BANG YOUR HEAD!!!-Team

Nemški power/folk metalci Winterstorm in pevka Elina Siirala so posneli videospot za single The Phoenix Died (Remember), ki je del prihajajočega albuma Everfrost. Album bo izšel 14. julija pri AFM Records in bo zajemal 11 pesmi:

Origin
To the End of All Known
The Phoenix Died (Remember)
Circle of Greed
Future Times
Everfrost
Final Journey
Fate of the Atlanteans
Crusade
Overcome the Fear
Silence

Pred časom smo že poročali, da so melodični death metalci The Agonist iz Kanade odpovedali nastop na letošnji ediciji festivala MetalDays. Sedaj pa je iz tabora zasedbe tudi odjeknila vest, da je uradno prenehala z delovanjem. Več si lahko preberete v spodnji izjavi:

Dear friends, it's time to make a very difficult but necessary announcement.
We have decided that The Agonist as a band, has come to an end. Much deliberation and care has been put into making this decision, and unfortunately, given the circumstances, this is the conclusion that makes the most sense for the band and us as individuals.
There are many factors that led to this decision. It is a mix of personal, financial and industry related issues, but in the end the 5 of us are no longer able to agree on a way forward that would benefit The Agonist business as a whole, while respecting each member's personal lives and wishes.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to the fans for coming out to the shows, buying our merch, and supporting us over the years. Nothing is more satisfying than connecting with our fellow human beings via the gift of music. It is the number one factor that has always driven us- to make you, the listener, feel something. In the end, we know that we've accomplished this together.
Some members of the band will continue to work on music in various ways, others will focus on personal projects and family. We kindly ask you to respect their privacy on this particular matter and encourage you to follow them on their individual social media accounts to support their future endeavors.
Vicky Psarakis will be carrying on with her band, Sicksense. They have a new EP coming out this summer and she will be playing 2 live shows with them in Montreal, in June.
You can also directly support her by following her on Patreon and Twitch.
Simon McKay is currently looking to join a new band full-time, while offering session work for studio and live gigs. Also, keep an eye out for new music coming soon from his solo project.
Chris Kells will be focusing on his career as a videographer. Since 2015, he has directed all of The Agonist's music videos, as well as many other established bands.
Danny Marino is currently writing music for 2 new projects.
Pascal "Paco" Jobin will be releasing new music with his project Leading the betrayed.
Our US-based merch store with Sound Escape Agency will remain open. We have also put together an EU-based store for our European fans. Inventory is final and there will be no restocks. Proceeds will go directly to the band to help us pay off our remaining debt.
Once again, we thank you and we love you.
»We will survive. At the end of the tunnel there's always a light.« - The Agonist

Vsekakor je še nekoliko hitro za takšno napoved, a ker pripravljamo za vas nekaj posebnega, smo se odločili, da praznovanje četrt stoletja delovanja, ki ga bomo dopolnili 14. marca naslednje leto, napovemo že zdaj. Medtem ko bo potekalo praznovanje tradicionalno metalsko, se pravi v obliki koncerta, bo že letošnji april v duhu tega praznovanja. V uredništvu Paranoida želimo v to zgodbo vključiti tudi nekdanje sodelavce, ki so tako ali drugače sooblikovali časopis in sceno ter s tem pripomogli k temu, da danes sploh še obstajamo.

V ta namen smo se obrnili na več bivših kolegov, izmed katerih bo vsak prispeval po en članek, posebno kolumno o (metal) glasbi, s čimer si bomo krajšali odštevanje naslednjih 12 mesecev do novega mejnika Paranoida. Veselimo se torej lahko zanimivih misli, ki jih bodo naši bivši sodelavci še zadnjič zlili na imaginarni papir, medtem ko čakamo na veliki finale v obliki koncerta.

Nemški melodični black/death metalci Thulcandra so posneli videospot za naslovno skladbo prihajajočega albuma Hail The Abyss, ki bo izšel 19. maja pri Napalm Records. Bandov peti studijski celovečerec sicer prinaša naslednje skladbe:

In the Eye of Heaven
Hail the Abyss
At Night
Velvet Damnation
On the Wings of Cosmic Fire
Acheronian Cult
As I Walk Through the Gateway
Blood of Slaves
In Darkness We Descend
The Final Closure
The Second Fall (live)
Deliverance in Sin and Death (live)