Iz tabora hrvaških doom metalcev Old Night sporočajo, da jih je zapustil vokalist in kitarist Matej Hanžek. Vrzel v zasedbi bo na vokalu tako zapolnil njegov brat Ivan, na kitari pa se je zasedbi pridružil Rafael Cvitković (Nekroza). Spodaj lahko preberete celotno izjavo banda:

»This is a post I write with a heavy heart, yet full of hope and with a bright look on the future. After eight years with us as our lead singer and frontman, earlier this year Matej decided to step down from his duties within Old Night. I know you are hoping for some gossip or a sassy story, but there was no drama involved. He just wants to focus on other things in life and at this point, music is not a priority for him. Having said that, I wish to thank him on our behalf for everything he has done for us, all the great times we shared on stage and backstage, but also for all the long hours he has put in working on our first three records. It was a privilege and you'll always be a part of our family. Obviously, this news has taken us aback and we had to figure out how best to proceed. We took some time to see what our options were, as this is an important role we needed to fill. After much deliberation we figured out we need not look outside our band for a perfect candidate as we have one in our midst. Ivan has been singing all the backing vocals from day one and from now on he will be handling all the lead vocals. No need to worry, he’ll remain our lead guitarist as well.

The only piece of the puzzle left to figure out was who’ll play the rhythm guitars? Without further ado, we welcome Rafael Cvitković, from the Croatian death metal machine Nekroza, as our new guitarist. If you attended our concerts, you might have already seen him filling in on sound checks or working on our merch booth. Nekroza just released their debut album on InsArt Records – you can check them out and show them your support.

With our line-up complete, we will continue working on our new record and we hope we’ll have some news in that regard soon. In a couple of weeks, we’ll have our first concert with the new line-up and we can’t wait to present you the New Old Night.«

Ukrajinska blackened death/doom zasedba Sidus Atrum, ki od lani deluje kot dvojec, je posnela besedilni videospot za pesem Pulse of Life s prihajajočega albuma Torn Sky. Plošček bo izšel 10. maja pri Kvlt und Kaos Productions in bo prinesel šest pesmi:

Розірване небо (Torn Sky)
Коли земля кричала (When the Earth Was Screaming)
Сталеві янголи (Angels of Steel)
Гірше за ката (Worse than the Torturer)
Чи поглине нас темрява? (Will Darkness Swallow Us?)
Пульс життя (Pulse of Life)

Ameriški tehnični death metal band Vale Of Pnath, v katerem delujejo člani Abigail Williams, predstavlja komad Soul Offering, za katerega je posnel spodnji videospot. Omenjeni komad je že drugi single s tretjega albuma Between The Worlds Of Life And Death, ki bo 24. maja izšel pri Willowtip Records in obsega te naslove:

The Forgotten Path (Intro)
Silent Prayer
Soul Offering
Shadow
Uncertain Tomorrow
Beneath Ashen Skies
No Return, No Regret
Echoes of the Past (Interlude)
Burning Light

Organizatorji dogodkov Hangtime Agency sporočajo, da je nedeljski koncert zasedb Grima in Ultar v zagrebškem klubu Močvara odpovedan. Odpovedana sta tudi koncerta v Beogradu in Novem Sadu ter tudi 40 drugih nastopov skupin po Evropi. Zapletlo se je namreč pri vizah. Izjava banda:

»Dear followers of the Grima cult, sometimes even the biggest and oldest spruce tree can't withstand (in)human acts. There is a point where we have to bow down and accept what cannot be changed.
After 4 months of non-stop efforts from everyone involved behind the scenes, the best we got is a 30 days stay in the Schengen area. We have applied for a 90 days arts science visa, which we have been granted in past years, but not this time, the reasons have not been communicated to us.
We did everything we could do, Asgaardian Events and even Les Acteurs de L'Ombre Productions helped us as much as possible, but all we got are these 30 days for now, which we shall use to the fullest.
Our first show will be on the April 25 in Switzerland and the last one will be on the May 22 in Paris. Any other show will be cancelled. There will be no further rescheduling. We will be happy to see each one of our cultists at these shows. We won't have any other Central European tours in the near future, except a few festivals next year, which we are already negotiating with.«

Deathcorovci Chelsea Grin sporočajo, da je vrzel na bobnarskem stolčku zapolnil Josh Miller. Zasedba se je pred kratkim razšla z bobnarjem Pablom Viverosom in tako je nov polnopravni član zasedbe postal Josh. Izjava banda:

»We hope everyone has been doing well; we have some updates. We have parted ways with our fill-in drummer, Nathan Pearson. We sincerely value his friendship, as well as his devotion to furthering his craft and bringing his all to the stage. We truly look forward to watching his drumming career continue to blossom and advance, and value his time with us.

Furthermore, the band and Pablo have mutually agreed to separate. Pablo is one of our oldest friends, the life of the party, a masterful player, and a powerful creative. After Pablo spent some years away from the band, we all came together and realized that personal visions had diverged through time. We will always wish the very best for him, and seriously value all that he brought not only to the band, but to our lives. Nothing but tremendous love for him, always. We also encourage everyone to show support for him, Jaek and Alex’s new band, Ameonna.

Moving forward, we are proud and excited to announce that Josh Miller will be joining Chelsea Grin. It goes without saying that the future is bright – you will hear it in our music and witness it in our performances.

We keep very much to ourselves at this stage in our lives, but when we check in we want each of you to know that you are deeply and sincerely valued – we are so grateful for the opportunity to do what we love. We cannot wait to bring more of our vision to you all. Thank you for the years of support and love, and we will see you on our current tour supporting Fit For A King.«

Avstralski progresivci Teramaze so napovedali enajsti album Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace. Ta je konceptualno nadaljevanje predhodnikov Her Halo (2015) in Sorella Minore (2021) in s tem tudi zaključek te trilogije. Tracklista:

A Place Called Halo
The Will of Eli
Step Right Up
I Mantissa
Madam Roma
Standing Ovation
Hands Are Tied
A Wonderful Fall From Grace

Kot smo januarja poročali, je v 78. letu starosti umrl Tony Clarkin, kitarist, ustanovitelj britanskih veteranov Magnum. Že takrat se je šušljalo, da to pomeni tudi konec za zasedbo, ki je to zdaj tudi uradno potrdila. Izjava vokalista Boba Catleyja:

»Hello, everybody. Bob here. All right. I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but I really can't carry on with Tony not here anymore. Please forgive me, and I hope you can understand how I feel. I've been thinking about it a lot lately.
Since we lost Tone, we lost our guiding light, the magnum force behind the band, our songwriter, our producer, our guitar player. He was everything to the band. He was everything to me. For the last 50 years, we never went anywhere without each other. On tour, in the studio, I was at his side constantly, working on stuff with him. I had a wonderful life with Tony. But now it's all too much for me, people. I can't carry on without Tony.
I may pop up in some other shape or form in the near future – you never know – but I can't keep going on like this. It's far too sad; it's all too sad.
So, I hope you understand. You've been fantastic – the best audience ever. You kept this band going year after year, album after album, and we thank you for that.
So, be good. Keep Tony's music in your heart always. I know I will. I will always carry MAGNUM inside me. And I will always have Tony Clarkin beside me wherever I go.
I love you. You've been brilliant. But it's time for me to bow out now. It's my last curtain call, okay? I'll see you sometime. Be good. Cheers. Bye-bye.«

Kanadski folk/black metal band SIG:AR:TYR po večletnem zatišju predstavlja svež material. Tukaj lahko prisluhnete novi skladbi Ascending the Stellar Throne s prihajajočega albuma Citadel of Stars, ki ga bo 31. maja izdala založba Hammerheart Records. Album obsega te naslove:

Awaiting the Last Dawn
Beyond the Stars Unknown
The Blood that Came Before You
Citadel of Stars
Ascending the Stellar Throne
I Sail on, Eternal
Who Will Guide Me Now
From the Land of the North
Where the Sun Never Sets

Švedska black metal/crust zasedba Dödsrit je prejšnji petek pri založbi Wolves of Hades izdala svoj četrti celovečerec Nocturnal Will, ki mu lahko v celoti prisluhnete tukaj.

Po petih letih tišine se z novim materialom vračajo Vale Of Pnath. Novi plošček Between The Worlds Of Life And Death bo izšel 24. maja pri Willowtip Records. Zasedba je že predstavila prvi single Burning Light.

Angleški ekstremneži Cradle Of Filth se potikajo v studiu, kjer pripravljajo material za 14. dolgometražec. Novico je v svojem profilu Instagram razkrila vokalistka in klaviaturistka Zoë M. Federoff:

»I am beyond humbled to have been allowed to contribute vocals and/or keys to many of the songs on this album. Dani and the guys showed a lot of faith in me for my first album with the gang, and I went in extremely nervous and hellbent on making them all proud. Thank God Dani Filth and producer Scott Atkins are so good at calming my nerves! That was the most fun and relaxing studio session I've had in ages!

Fourteen will be something very special, a distinctly new chapter, and it quite satisfies both the musician and the long-time Cradle fan inside me. A piece of each of our souls lives audibly in it. Prepare yourselves, Filthy family!«

Alexey Polyansky se je po desetih letih vrnil k domačim progresivcem Seventh Station. Tako pravi band: »Please give a warm welcome-back shout-out to Alexey for coming back to the band after 10 years of absence. Alexey is a very gifted musician and he will fill up the missing gap in the band in the bass guitar role. Alexey was also the co-founder of Seventh Station and we are so happy to see him come home.«

Avtor fotografije je Valeriy Lapshov.

Italijanski progresivni metalci Ghost On Mars bodo 3. maja pri Willowtip Records izdali dolgometražni prvenec z naslovom Out of Time and Space. Na svoj račun naj bi prišli ljubitelji zasedb, kot so Pain of Salvation, Leprous, Katatonia, Evergrey, The Contortionist in Soen. Seznam pesmi:

Beyond the Mist
Quarantine
They
Carbon Skin
Nocturnal
That Time I Saw the Moon
Under a Crescent Moon
Back from the Dead
Back to Life
Lost Signal

Nemški heavy/power metalci Hammer King predstavljajo video za komad The Devil Will I Do. Komad bo na prihajajočem albumu König und Kaiser, ki izide 22. marca pri Napalm Records.

Sylvaine predstavlja nov single s prihajajočega EP-ja. Tokrat gre za naslovno skladbo Eg Er Framand, multiinstrumentalistka pa jo je podkrepila tudi z vizualizerjem, ki ga je ustvaril William Lacalmontie. EP izide 22. marca pri Season Of Mist.