The music of John the Baptist is slow and heavy like the rumblings of the earth. Their message is grand and grim. Here presented are six tracks each an epic of a song in itself. They are sad tales ranging from primordial floods to the devastation looming in the future. Tales of the templar knights, mischievous shamans and self-discovery through crushing depression into a warrior out of time. You know, all the good stuff. Devoid of all the trends, of retro pastiches and lukewarm empowerment. Heavy Metal as it was, is and ever should be. In fear and spite of the Lord of this world.
This is a CD reissue of the album which was originally released only on digital form in 2021 and specially mastered for the CD version.
Solemn Ceremony is Phil Howlett's (Lucifer's Fall, Rote Mare) traditional doom metal solo project. Heavy and melodic old-school doom topped with Phil's individual instantly recognizable raw vocal style. Helped out by Kieren Provis (lead guitar - Lucifer's Fall) and Adam Holmes (drums - Eldritch Rites) on the latest album "Demise", Solemn Ceremony should appeal to fans of Reverend Bizarre, Saint Vitus, The Lamp Of Thoth, Cirith Ungol and the like. Obscure traditional doom metal of the purest form!
Long before the existence of mankind, when wicked storms roamed the earth, an evil king emerged from the clouds. Riding on a skin-torn horse, as lifeless as its master. Now battered by greed and neglect, since mortal souls failed to prevail. Wielding shield and sword. Galloping into vengeance. Soon the lands will be cloaked in darkness. Its name is Bladecrusher.
And thus the tale begins in which Bladecrusher blends lyrics inspired by fantasy lore with real-life events and uses these as metaphors, to write about all the good and bad that mankind faces these days. Influenced by metal and hardcore punk, Bladecrusher brings that raw energy that you just can’t ignore. Prepare yourself for some fast thrash metal, varied with catchy headbang riffs and epic guitar solos.
On the EP Tempest you can clearly hear that the band is influenced by old-school thrash bands such as Slayer and Exodus, combined with a more hardcore crossover sound such as Cro-Mags and Power Trip. This mix provides a fierce and energetic sound that will appeal to both metalheads and hardcore punks.
M-Theory Audio will be releasing “Born to Fall,” the second album – and label debut – from Southern death metal slingers GUILLOTINE A.D. The band's music blends the sounds of old-school Florida death metal, Scandinavian black metal, and New Orleans sludge into a wholly unique brew. The Athens, GA-based brother duo of Adam Miller (bass/vocals) and Lance Miller (guitars/vocals) – joined by drummer Evan Posey – take inspiration from the classic death metal of Cannibal Corpse and Six Feet Under, the New Orleans sludge of Crowbar and Eyehategod, and the Scandinavian black metal of Mayhem and early Enslaved. The trio self-describes the motivation of their sound as wanting “to sound like if Obituary moved to New Orleans and tried to play down-tuned versions of Satyricon songs.”
Since the October 2017 release of their self-released and self-titled debut album (originally under the name GUILLOTINE), the group has taken their sound to live stages all over the Southeast United States, supporting bands such as Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse, and Hate Eternal. The band also participated in Slaughter Que 2019, which was headlined by acts such as Exodus, Kataklysm, Exhorder, and more. The trio also shared stages alongside fellow rising extreme metal acts such as Cloak, Frozen Soul and Sanguisugabogg.
The group officially changed their name to GUILLOTINE A.D. in December 2021 and signed with M-Theory Audio to formally usher in a new era for the band along with the new album. “Born to Fall.” The new album was produced by Matt Washburn at LedBelly Sound Studio (Atheist, Mastodon, Withered), and features cover art by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Soulfly, Trivium, Crowbar). GUILLOTINE A.D. will also be taking their new songs to the road Summer 2022 with a still-growing slate of live performances throughout the Southeast United States.
Ljubljana death metal legion Ensaguinate have unleashed “Death Vernacular,” the follow-up to the “Lowermost Baptisms” single, off the debut Eldritch Anatomy. The album will be released on digital, CD, and LP (black vinyl, limited to 300 units) via Emanzipation Productions on 02 September 2022 (Pre-Orders available RIGHT HERE).
Speaking of the track “Death Vernacular,” Ensanguinate offers:
“DEATH VERNACULAR is a freeze-frame of the longest moment at the end of every life, where words fail and rationale gives way to pure intuition and knowledge through oneness with death. It is the only point where de Saussure’s signifier is truly bypassed and no longer burdens the ego, allowing it to dissolve and fully meld with the signified: true Death.
“Mimicking this is ENSANGUINATE’s goal. It is both a paradox and ironic, to be sure, yet by staring into the abyss and immersing ourselves in death and tragedy through these songs - an additional layer to the lyrics for DEATH VERNACULAR - and pairing them with the proper keys during our live performances, we may at least glimpse our goal and eschew language for true intuition, if only briefly.
“Some seek the Devil through the ritualistic nature of art, others still will find Him at the end of a rope.”
Formed in 2020, Ensanguinate is Slovenia’s putrid entry into the death metal grimoire of old. Leaning heavily on the genre’s occult beginnings, the band stands out by distilling Possessed, Morbid Angel, and Grotesque into a searing death/thrash assault that deviates from today’s run-of-the-mill death metal.
Eldritch Anatomy, the debut album of Slovenian death metal upstarts Ensanguinate, promises to deliver a furious maelstrom of classic 80s extreme metal. Consisting of nine tracks that run the gamut from slow and brooding to fast-paced blasts of energy, “Eldritch Anatomy” has enough extreme underground metal pedigree to satisfy fans of Possessed, Morbid Angel, and Death as well as those who are accustomed to the sinister melodic edge of Watain and Dissection.
Bolstered by a hard-hitting production that marries power and definition to old school filth, as well as a striking front cover by Gorgoroth’s very own Atterigner, a.k.a. Khaos Diktator, Ensanguinate show they are out for blood and are poised to stand out by crafting catchy, powerful funeral hymns in the true death metal spirit of old.
Having fought their way through every hindering obstacle that life could throw at them, Portland, Oregon’s Forsaken Eternity are back, with a debut album that soars beyond every hope and expectation. Vast in scale, epic in vision, breathtaking in delivery A Kingdom Of Ice is a thrilling ride through sonic landscapes of frozen grandeur, an adrenalin fuelled charge into another world.
Since the band formed in 2015, releasing the EP The Eternal Journey that same year, Forsaken Eternity have forged a reputation for delivering dramatic, ambitious music that blends symphonic metal, black metal, power metal and melodic death metal into one superlative elixir of enthralling sound. Their contribution to the Pacific Northwest Symphonic Invasion split release in 2020, alongside Empyrean Fire and Storm Forger further demonstrated the band’s huge potential, all of which has been fulfilled with the incredible A Kingdom Of Ice. With songs such as ‘Endless Light’ and ‘A Dark Divinity’ Forsaken Eternity weave fantastical stories through an array of shifting moods and tempos, as emotion and atmosphere embrace thunderous drums, intricate riffs, swirling keys, cascading solos and raw, impassioned vocals. A fiery, driving cover of guitar maestro Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Rising Force’ provides a fitting climax to this outstanding album of metal magnificence.
With the strength and dedication of their new label, Rottweiler Records now behind them, Forsaken Eternity are armed and ready to take their creed of powerful, melodic metal to the world. When A Kingdom Of Ice charges down from the Oregon mountains on July 8th, flock to the Forsaken Eternity banner and be prepared for the ride of your life!
Melodeath-charged thrashers Katapult has dropped the video for the “Nihilism for the Gods” single. The track serves as the first preview of the Basel/Umeå outfit’s debut album, Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes, which arrives on 25 November 2022 digitally and on digipak CD via Discouraged Records [Pre-Orders Available AT THIS LOCATION].
Comments Florian Moritz (Guitars) on the track:
“‘Nihilism for the Gods’ started as a song about total exhaustion from fighting your everyday battles and being vulnerable. Then it turned into something bigger about the human duality and sheer disgust of people’s behavior and how the big picture is connected to our very own and personal battles we have each day.”
Born in a backstage area in Sweden in the summer of 2017, Katapult is the brainchild of Florian Moritz and Johan Norström. As everyone and their grandmother know, not many bands born in backstage areas survive their infancy, but despite being raised in both Switzerland and Sweden, Katapult endured. As time went by, Joel Purificacion was invited to shred some solos on their debut EP, A Fistful of Truth, and being such a good fit, he ended up joining the ranks. Similarly, Felix Bacher and David Stutzer ended up sticking with Katapult while being invited to track bass and drums, respectively, during the production of the second EP, Shut the Fuck Up and Press Play.
The upcoming album Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes is a merry-go-round of dark emotions, filled with 13 tracks ranging from blistering rage to immense sorrow, all sprinkled with a layer of “go fuck yourself” attitude. Where tracks like “Comfortably Dumb” deal with the hypocrisy of accepting the meat industry, “21th Century Gladiator Boy” points and laughs at all influencers trying to out-stupid one another, “Litany of Spirals” was written during a sleepless night caused by burnout borderline depression, and “Bränn bilder och minnen” is a giant “Fuck you” to that guy from school who is a proud fucking nazi nowadays. To fuel this record with unusual elans, Katapult has utilized the services of a special batch of musicians and their artistry, including vocals, percussion, pedal steel, Hammond, violin, cello, and orchestral arrangement.
For Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes, no less than six videos are in production as Katapult continues to have a strong visual presence. This is not just a bold statement as band members Johan and Florian both work professionally as filmmakers. Johan is an experienced editor, colorist, and animator, and Florian is an exceptional director of photography. Keeping in mind that the video for their track “Du brinner ihjäl” received awards for its storytelling and cinematography, Katapult has all the intentions to surpass that video with what comes next.
In the meantime, Katapult eagerly awaits their first live performance. The pandemic outbreak and the geographical distance between Switzerland and Sweden have not even allowed all the band members to congregate under one roof.
Track Listing:
01. The End
02. Comfortably Numb
03. The Hands of the Devil
04. Sweetheart Come
05. The Arsonist
06. Nihilism for the Gods
07. Litany of Spirals
08. Invite the Sin
09. Schädel
10. All This Because of Greed
11. 21th Century Gladiator Boy
12. Bränn bilder och minnen (feat Fredrik Lindkvist)
13. Oh God for One More Breath
Credits:
— Katapult —
Johan Norström (Terrortory, ex- Starship Monolit) – Vocals
Florian Moritz (ex-Arcturon) – Guitars
Joel Purificacion (ex-FallDown) – Guitars
David Stutzer [ex-Darrow, Breakdown of Sanity (by proxy)] – Drums
Felix Bacher (Hektor, Britney, ex-Arcturon) – Bass
— Guest Musicians —
Fredrik Lindkvist (Riwen, Sista Brytet, Fred Lee & the Restless, ex-Totalt Jävla Mörker) – Vocals on “Bränn bilder och minnen”
Christian Augustin [Ştiu Nu Ştiu, This Gift Is A Curse, Cult of Line (live) ex-Totalt Jävla Mörker, Soldier One + more] – Percussion on “Oh God for One More Breath”
Gilda Travella (The Travella Sisters) – Violin on “Oh God for One More Breath”
Lucia Travella (The Travella Sisters) – Cello on “Oh God for One More Breath”
Michael Bergvall (The Grand 95, Ben Carbine & The 18 Wheelers, ex-Terrortory) – Pedal Steel on “Sweetheart Come”
Marcel Hertner – Hammond on “Sweetheart Come”
Sebastian Mårtensson (Misplaced) – Orchestral Arrangement “Litany of Spirals”
— Others —
Cover Art and Design by Fredrik Aaro.
Photography by Florian Moritz.
Produced by Katapult.
Drums recorded at Fist Studios by Sven Bürgin and Florian Moritz.
Mixed by Johan Norström.
Mastered by Kai Stahlenberg at Kohlekeller Studio.
Stefano Pelosi (aka Stige76 on Youtube) and Soul Reborn is a one-man band solo project. Stefano takes care of writing the songs, the lyrics, production and mixing. He plays all the instruments except the drum, which he composed with superior drummer 3, and he has an external singer to sing the songs. Mastering is entrusted to Imperial Mastering. Stefano was born in Milan, Italy, and started playing guitar at the age of 8 thanks to the Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd records that his father made him listen to. Later he was introduced to Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth and death metal! After playing clubs in Milan as a cover band he decided to completely leave the instrument because he was bored with what he was playing. A few years ago, he took up the guitar again with the aim of producing music without filters and without the influences of other musicians. Thus, was born the Soul Reborn project in which you can find all of his ideals, dreams, nightmares and above all his passion for the music that accompanied him through life.
Italian horror metal veterans CADAVERIA unveil their latest video for "Silver Rain". The dark and atmospheric new hymn is taken from the band's sixth full-length record "Emptiness", out now via Time To Kill Records.
Watch the video HERE.
Frontwoman Cadaveria comments: "We want to thank you all for the great feedback you are giving us on the 'Emptiness' album! This video is dedicated to those who, finding themselves in adversity, have learned to dance in the rain, without waiting for the storm to end. Surely someone will see in some scenes an explicit homage to David Lynch, who has always been our mentor in the language of cinema, and to the recently deceased Julee Cruise".
Whether you call them horror, gothic or dark metal, one thing is certain: in their 20+ years career CADAVERIA have become one of the most iconic bands of the Italian metal scene.
"Emptiness" tracklist:
01 - The Great Journey (04.55)
02 - Shamanic Path (05.10)
03 - Emptiness (05.00)
04 - The Woman Who Fell to Earth (05.52)
05 - Divination (03.07)
06 - Matryoshcada (05.09)
07 - Silver Rain (04.24)
08 - The Cure (04.52)
09 - Life After (04.35)
10 - La Casa dell'Anima (04.55)
11 - The Sky That Screams Above Us (05.33)
12 - * Return (04.04) - Deine Lakaien cover
*bonus track, on the vinyl version only
CADAVERIA is the creative alter-ego of Italian-based metal singer Raffaella Rivarolo, better known by her stage name Cadaveria, one of the first women to hit the extreme metal scene in the early Nineties.
CADAVERIA band was founded in 2001 by Cadaveria herself and drummer Marçelo Santos, to freely express themselves as musicians and extreme artists.
Since CADAVERIA’s debut album The Shadows' Madame (2002) the band’s style is labeled Horror Metal. Their personal sound is imbued with gloomy and sinister atmospheres and it mixes Black Metal with classical Heavy Metal, Death Metal and Gothic influences. The lyrics, scheming, hermetic and introspective, mirror the dark soul and the vexed personality of the singer Cadaveria.
2021 is a meaningful one for CADAVERIA band, as the band celebrate its 20 years of activity. A career that boasts five full length albums, some reissues, an EP (with Necrodeath), a retrospective double DVD and a huge support from fans of Central America, where CADAVERIA have made a series of headlining tours, between 2007 and 2015.
From 2012 on, with the release of the most recent albums Horror Metal and Silence, CADAVERIA have been engaged in many live dates that have seen them protagonists of different stages in Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, Romania, as well as numerous Italian shows as headliner and in support of Cradle of Filth, Arch Enemy and many more.
CADAVERIA have recently released a series of new singles, that mark the band's return to the scene after a long pause, during which the singer had to be treated for cancer.
From the beginning an ending was decreed; our time was always finite and we were always destined to tumble into the flames at the end of the road. There will be no gentle descent into eternal sleep; we shall be impaled upon the spikes of folly, torn upon the racks of shame as our aeons of weakness and sin are weighed against our blackened, cowardly hearts. Save your beseeching tears and prepare for pain, for the termination in terror promised at our first breath...
Dutch death metal masters Carceri have seen the future and know that it is both bleak and black. With nihilistic new album From Source To End, their first release in more than a decade, they hammer the nails of destruction home with merciless, relentless power. Seething, monstrous tracks like ‘Eminent Demise’ leave no stone unturned, no sanctuary inviolate as they preach their gospel of devastation. Now fronted by renowned extreme metal vocalist Robbe Kok (Disavowed, Arsebreed etc) Carceri have delivered a veritable beast of classic death metal with From Source To End. Enticing, melodic guitar solos spiral upwards from the ironclad riffs and the panzer engine roar of the rhythm section, while barbed hooks sink deep allowing no escape from the magnificent war-torn tumult. By capturing the essence of death metal’s glory days and imbuing those sounds with a fresh ferocity Carceri have carved out a charismatic beast of an album whose claws will plunge into the rotten hearts of fans everywhere. The superb artwork created by Jon Zig (Defeated Sanity, Deeds Of Flesh etc) is like a banner, a call to arms, promising that might and mystery, death and desolation lie within.
With production duties being handled by vocalist Robbe Kok (Officium Triste, Houwitser etc) and drums being recorded by Dave Schinkel (Ayreon, Epica etc) From Source To End sounds both vibrant and venomous. This is one incredible return to action from Carceri and with Brutal Mind disseminating their darkness throughout the world this will undoubtedly prove to be their most successful campaign to date. Watch the horizon, because the death metal war machine is coming!
